The power of state governments was another flaw in the Confederacy and a problem for Benjamin. Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown repeatedly demanded arms and the return of Georgian troops to defend his state. North Carolina Governor Henry T. Clark also wanted troops returned to him to defend his coastline. After Cape Hatteras, on the North Carolina's coast, was captured, Confederate forces fell back to Roanoke Island. If it fell, a number of ports in that area of the coast would be at risk, and Norfolk, Virginia, might be threatened by land.