Island. Two days later, Elizabeth City, North Carolina was in Union hands. New Bern, North Carolina fell on March 14. Beaufort, North Carolina was captured by the end of April. Southfield played a major role in these Union conquests. Peninsula Campaign, 1862 Late in May, her effort in behalf of the Union cause in North Carolina was interrupted by General George McClellan's request for more naval assistance in his drive up the peninsula from Fort Monroe toward Richmond, Virginia. Southfield arrived at Hampton Roads on June 2 and devoted most of the summer to operations on the York and James Rivers which form the peninsula. At the end of August, after McClellan had evacuated his army, the double-ender was sent to the Norfolk Navy Yard for badly needed repairs before returning to the North Carolina sounds. Battle of Washington, 1863 Back in fighting trim, Southfield departed Hampton Roads on December 2, arrived at Hatteras Inlet the next day, and proceeded to Plymouth, North Carolina. On the morning of December 10, she engaged a Confederate land force which attacked that city. A Southern shot pierced her steam chest, disabling her engine and filling the ship with hot steam. The scalding vapor prevented the gunboat's crew from reaching her magazine and thus made it impossible for her guns to continue their fire. Boats were lowered to pull the disabled ship downstream; but , hearing the firing, steamed up, took Southfield in tow, and returned with her to Plymouth. By that time, the Confederate raiders had withdrawn. On the last day of March 1863, Confederate troops attacked and besieged the Union garrison at Washington, North Carolina. Southfield was ordered from Plymouth to the scene of the action where she engaged the investing forces. She and other Union gunboats also carried supplies through the blockade to sustain the beleaguered Northern troops, finally forcing the Southern attackers to withdraw on April 16. The next day, Southfield headed back for Plymouth and, for the following year of relative quiet in the sounds of North Carolina, labored to protect the Union's tenuous hold on the region. Battle of Plymouth, 1864 In February 1864, Confederate forces attacked New Bern and captured the gunboat . On the first day of March, Southfield and tinclad ascended the Chowan River to assist Army steamer USS Bombshell, which had been cut off by Confederates above Petty Shore. On March 2, they shelled