 General Henry A. Wise , commanding Roanoke , also demanded troops and supplies . He received little from Benjamin 's War Department that had no arms to send , as the Union blockade was preventing supplies from being imported . That Confederate armories were empty was a fact not publicly known at the time . Benjamin and Davis hoped the island 's defenses could hold off the Union forces , but an overwhelming number of troops were landed in February 1862 at an undefended point , and the Confederates were quickly defeated . Combined with Union General Ulysses S. Grant 's capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee , this was the most severe military blow yet to the Confederacy , and there was a public outcry against Benjamin , led by General Wise . 
