As Union forces advanced on the Carolina coast, Confederate troops dynamited Bodie Island Lighthouse and dismantled the Cape Hatteras light. In the spring of 1862, retreating Confederate troops attempted to blow up Cape Lookout Lighthouse. They were unsuccessful, but they did manage to damage the tower.
On April 3, 1864, a small band of Confederates, armed with powder kegs, launched a raid to destroy Cape Lookout Lighthouse. They were again unsuccessful but did manage to badly damage the lower portion of the tower’s stairway and destroy the station’s oil supply. When the steamer City of Jersey approached the station shortly after the explosion, the Confederates “skedaddled,”