But Butler got news of enemy reinforcements approaching, and in the worsening weather conditions, he aborted the operation, declaring the fort to be impregnable.

To his embarrassment, Butler was relieved of command on January 8, 1865, and was replaced by Major General Alfred H. Terry, who led a follow-up expedition that captured the fort one week later.

After the failed Bermuda Hundred Campaign, Major General Benjamin Butler and his Army of the James were assigned to an amphibious expedition against Fort Fisher.

[5] Fort Fisher, on Confederate Point, nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy",[6] was a formidable target commanding the Cape Fear River.

This force consisted of Major General Robert F. Hoke's division from the Army of Northern Virginia, which arrived on December 23.

[7] Expeditionary Corps (Army of the James) – MG. Benjamin F. Butler, MG Godfrey Weitzel (second-in-command) North Atlantic Blockading Squadron – Rear Admiral David D. Porter: United States forces prepared to leave Hampton Roads on December 10, but a winter storm hit the fleet for three days, preventing the fleet's departure until the 14th.

However, the Louisiana was farther out to sea than US Navy commanders thought, perhaps as far as a mile offshore; as a result, Fort Fisher was undamaged by the blast.

Despite firing close to 10,000 shells that day, only minor damage was caused, with four seacoast gun carriages disabled, one light artillery caisson destroyed, and 23 casualties in the garrison.

President Abraham Lincoln, recently reelected, no longer needed to keep the prominent Democrat in the US Army and he was relieved on January 8, 1865.

Although Whiting and Lamb were convinced that the US Navy would shortly return, Bragg withdrew Hoke's Division back to Wilmington and started making plans to once again capture New Bern.