On January 11, 1862, the Burnside Expedition left for Fort Monroe, Virginia, destined for Hatteras Inlet 120 miles to the south. Two days later, the fleet of over eighty vessels was struck by a strong Northeaster while crossing Hatteras Bar. Reassembling the fleet in Pamlico Sound was delayed until the month's end because of frequently stormy weather, and ships lost included the Pocahontas, Grapeshot, and City of New York. The fleet transported the 8th, 10th, and 11th Connecticut; the 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 27th Massachusetts; the 6th New Hampshire; the 9th New Jersey; the 1st, 9th, 51st, 89th, and 99th New York; the 48th and 51st Pennsylvania; and the 1st, 4th, and 5th Rhode Island. General Burnside's forces captured Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862, and in quick succession annexed thirteen counties and over thirty cities and towns, including New Bern, Plymouth, Beaufort, Edenton, Elizabeth City, and Washington. By July of 1862, the Confederate coastal supply line from the Deep South to Virginia was deeply compromised. The loss of the Outer Banks undermined Southern morale, boosted that of the North, intensified the secession controversy, and sharpened the conflict between the Confederate government and North Carolina.