I'm not sure of the specifics of the above cited problem, but it surely relates to a major philosophical clash between Whiting and Lynch. Whiting was extremely disturbed by the use of Wilmington as a base for cruisers (converted runners). His bottom line was that the depredations of the cruisers would inevitably result in the reinforcement of the blockade off the Cape Fear river and an increase in the number of runners lost or intercepted. The numbers tend to support his contention. The memoirs of Cdr. Wilkinson, who actually commanded one of the cruisers, takes the position that their employment from Wilmington was ill-advised. In fairness to Lynch, as the Naval commander of one of the few naval establishments with direct accesss to the sea, it would appear to most people that he should be doing something with this access. There were a series of foul-ups at Wilmington that probably didn't help Lynch. One was a fire that destroyed at least two torpedo boats under construction. Both ironclads built and launched at Wilmington were poorly built. He lost one of them returning from a sortie off the bar. There would have been a Court of Inquiry regarding this loss and the Board apparently thought Lynch was not to blame and left him in command at Wilmington. The Confederate navy never had the resources to break the blockade at Wilmington or convoy runners in an out of the river mouths. The Wilmington ironclads for a variety of reasons were essentially harbor defense ships with a primary mission of supporting the fixed artillery installations at Fort Fisher, Caswell, etc. There was a direct clash between the Army and Navy at Wilmington while Lynch was there involving a blockade-runner (Hansa?). We are talking Confederate marines squaring off with CSA troops. No shooting that I'm aware of, but it must have been a nervous time to be a trooper in Wilmington. Specific to Lynch, he appears to have had a personality issue. I base this on the fact that he didn't seem to get along with the Army (and some Navy) anywhere he was stationed. He drew severe criticism for early launching the Albemarle, resulting in additional time and work to install her propulsion. His record on the Yazoo probably deserves some investigation - although he really didn't have resources there and did try to keep the local Army commander and Naval secretary Mallory informed. Whiting appears to have been a brillant (and testy) soldier. He was not a favorite son in Richmond, so his position in his clash with Lynch must have appeared reasonable to his superiors. Hopefully, somone will do a good study of the situation at Wilmington. In theory, the Confederacy should have been able to use its resources in construction to build up a useful squadron that would project force beyond the bar. Late purchases of vessels in England intended for use at Wilmington indicate that the Navy intended to do so.