Rainbow Banks (also called Rainbow Bend and Rainbow Bluff) near Hamilton, N.C. was an ideal location for a Confederate earthen fortification. The bluff— about 70 feet above a bend in the Roanoke River two miles below Hamilton and about 60 miles from the mouth of the Roanoke near Plymouth—provided a clear view in both directions. Its height protected Confederates from the fire of approaching Union gunboats as well as offering an exceptional position of attack.
The earthworks at Rainbow Banks would become the cornerstone of the entire Roanoke Valley’s defense and serve several important purposes:
- It would deter Union advances on a weak point in the vital “lifeline of the Confederacy”, the rail link between the port at Wilmington and Richmond. That weak spot was the railway bridge over the Roanoke River near Weldon.
- It would protect the construction site of an ironclad ship at Edward’s Ferry above Hamilton. Once completed, the ram C.S.S. Albemarle would help regain control of the lower Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound by sinking the wooden vessels of the U.S. Navy in the battle of Plymouth.
- It offered protection for the lives and property of the upper Roanoke Valley’s citizens.