The Dismal Swamp Canal was a much sought after prize of war during the Civil War. Confederates made good use of its facilities during the initial stages of the conflict, and a large volume of supplies passed through in both directions. Naval ordinances and supplies were shipped through the canal for the CSS Sea Bird, commanded by Flag Officer W.F. Lynch, at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on February 10, 1862, but the supplies did not arrive before Union naval forces under Commander S.C. Rowan in the USS Commodore Perry rammed and sank the Sea Bird. During this engagement in the Pasquotank River, all but two of the Confederate mosquito fleet were destroyed or captured. The CSS Appomattox and CSS Beaufort then sought escape via the canal to Norfolk; the Appomattox was two inches too wide to enter the first lock and was burned by the Confederates, while the Beaufort could negotiate the locks and made it safely to Norfolk. No attempts were made to capture the canal until two months later, when the Union, fearing that the Confederates planned to send an ironclad to the Albermarle Sound through the canal, mounted an expedition to block it. On April 17, 1862, 3,000 men commanded by Brig. Gen. J.L. Reno marched toward South Mills, where the Confederates had constructed fortifications, and a brisk but brief engagement occurred there on April 19. The Confederates were forced to retreat, but Union forces were unable to destroy the locks at South Mills. The Union gained control of the canal shortly after the fall of Norfolk on May 10, 1862, yet by 1863 its control over the region was tenuous. Great quantities of supplies were smuggled through the canal by Southern sympathizers, Confederate guerrillas annoyed Federal forces with periodic raids, and Brig. Gen. Edward A. Wild led a punitive expedition on May 15, 1863, from Norfolk toward South Mills and Camden Court House. The expedition did not appear to serve any legitimate purpose. Black troops were used, causing great resentment among local inhabitants, and while guerrillas constantly pestered the Union advance and escaped capture in the vastness of the swamp, all settlements discovered along the march were burned and property confiscated.