December 17, 1862
Battle Of Goldsborough Bridge (AKA Goldsboro)
Dudley (near Goldsboro), North Carolina, in Wayne County
Maj. Gen. John G. Foster (17th Massachusetts and 9th New Jersey; Lieutenant George Graham of the 24th New York Artillery and Lieutenant Barnabas Mann of the 17th Massachusetts set fire to the bridge)
vs.
Brig. Gen. Thomas Clingman (51st and 52nd North Carolina regiments; counterattack by 8th and 61st North Carolina plus Mallett’s Battalion)
* Here is the culmination of Foster's Raid (defeating smaller Confederate forces at Southwest Creek, Kinston, and Whitehall along the way) to disrupt the railroad, though admittedly the Rebs rebuilt it within weeks. Ironically, the Rebs burned it down themselves when they fled from here in 1865 after Bentonville.
* Overshadowed by Fredericksburg, occurring almost simultaneously
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=284089 |
Battle Of Goldsborough Bridge
A "Perfect Success"
— Foster’s Raid —
Welcome to Goldsborough Battlefield Park. The fighting that occurred in the fields around you on December 17, 1862, was the last battle of what is known as Foster's Raid. The raid lasted for six days during frigid weather that caused misery for soldiers on both sides. Union Gen. Foster's goal was to burn the bridge for the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, and distract Confederate authorities from reinforcing Gen. Robert E. Lee's army around Fredericksburg, Va.
On December 11, Foster's 10,000 infantrymen, 640 cavalrymen, and 40 cannons left New Bern, a Union stronghold and thorn in the side of Confederate authorities. The Union soldiers captured Kinston and 400 Southern troops on the 13th. Union soldier Pvt. Henry Clapp wrote that his comrades huddled together at night, "five inches from a blazing fire" to stay warm, and frozen canteens frustrated their efforts to make warming morning coffee. Two days later fighting occurred at Whitehall (now Seven Springs) making Foster's objective clear. Foster was successful in driving off the Confederate resistance and burning the bridge here, but the span was rebuilt within a few weeks. Nonetheless, the Union raid damaged Southern morale in North Carolina, and Foster considered the raid a "perfect success."
The 32-acre park is operated by the Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield Association. The walking trail to the bridge site is 1 mile round trip, and interpretative signage tells the story of the fight. Please be respectful of the site and consider supporting the preservation efforts here.
(Captions)
"Skirmish at Goldsboro." Harpers Weekly
Approximate route of Gen. John G. Foster's raid from New Bern to Goldsboro, December 1862
Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=28541 |
Battle of Goldsborough Bridge
December 17, 1862
Nearly 15,000 men clashed on these fields December 17, 1862. At stake was the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad bridge which spanned the Neuse River here. Confederate troops, outnumbered five to one, fought bravely to defend the bridge, a vital link in the Confederate chain of supply between the deep South, the port at Wilmington[,] and Northern Virginia. Union troops, on a raid from occupied New Berne and in support of the simultaneous Union offensive at Fredericksburg, Virginia, attacked from the east side of the Railroad. After a fight lasting three hours Union forces succeeded in pushing the Confederates back and then destroyed the bridge by flames and artillery fire.
Late that afternoon, additional Confederate troops arrived to support a counterattack that was in progress against the Union rear guard as it prepared to leave the field. Two North Carolina regiments plus a battalion struck nearby a mile to the south, while two more regiments crossed this field and attacked the Union force across the railroad tracks. The North Carolinians that crossed here were turned back after sustaining heavy losses caused by massed Union artillery and infantry fire.
As the sun set the firing ceased, the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge was over at a cost of nearly 250 casualties. Units present or engaged that day were from North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. A list of those units present at the battle is inscribed hereon.
Erected by the Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield Association, the Robert E. Lee Confederate Heritage Association, Matthews, N.C., The First North Carolina Battalion, the Stonewall Jackson Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and many friends in the North Carolina Civil War history community.
 |
| With apologies to Mount Olive, this trip West from the North Carolina coast has been fun. Just a little further West and we'll get to the late-war sites of Aversboro and Bentonville - might as well while here! |
 |
| Helpful overview of the sites here |
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=286091 |
This area was occupied by two North Carolina infantry regiments on the morning of December 17, 1862. The 52nd North Carolina was posted on the other side of the railroad across the field in front of you, and the 51st North Carolina was in the woods behind you. These men were supported by several cannon and additional troops across the river and near the county wagon bridge, one half mile upriver.
Around 11:00 several Union infantry regiments supported by artillery approached from the other side of the railroad tracks and engaged the 52nd. The 51st left the woods behind you and after crossing this field, took up position on the right of the 52nd. Both regiments fought in that position until they were in danger of being trapped by the Union advance and were compelled to withdraw.
Some troops took cover in the woods behind you where they continued to fire upon Union troops that were advancing atop the railroad embankment, while others crossed the railroad bridge and took position on the north bank of the Neuse River.
Erected by Brunswick Civil War Roundtable.
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=28554 |
Attack of the 17th Massachusetts
— Battle of Goldsborough Bridge —
It was along the top of this railroad embankment that one Union regiment, the 17th Massachusetts, approached the railroad bridge one quarter mile to your left. As the men of the 17th fought their way along the top of the embankment they came under heavy fire from Confederate troops who had taken refuge in the tree line behind you. One survivor of the regiment recalled: “from the skirt of woods bordering the field on the left, came whiz-z-z, a volley of musketry fired by file, followed in a half a minute’s time by another volley delivered at once....And then commenced a scene that it would be vain to attempt to describe....In less time than I can relate it, every man who was not wounded, had jumped, tumbled headlong or rolled over into the ditch at the right of the track and the regiment was thrown into the wildest confusion.” After regaining their composure, the Massachusetts men began to “commence a rapid fire upon the enemy, using the elevated bed of the railroad as a breastwork.” To add to their woes, the 17th was also subjected to artillery fire from a railroad car fitted with a cannon which was located at the entrance of the railroad bridge to your left and was firing down the tracks. One Union soldier noted that this gun “sent its bolts with such earnest precision as to force us to leave the track and hug the embankment.”
Erected by the Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield Association.
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=286223 |
Confederate Earthworks
This earthwork was built by Confederate forces before the battle for defense of the railroad bridge. A young Goldsboro boy named Frank Castex saw this work on a visit the day after the battle, remarking "the Confederates had two lines of breastworks, one near the railroad bridge another about half way between the railroad and the country covered bridge". This work was also shown on a survey map by Union engineers when this area was captured in 1865. The work originally extended farther to your left and extended at an angle to the right, ending near the railroad bridge. These features were destroyed after the war when the borrow pit from which earth was taken in 1839 to build the railroad embankment was enlarged.
Erected by Brunswick Civil War Round Table.
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=286092 |
Earthwork Cross-Section
This work consists of al deep front ditch, the earth from which was used to form the parapet. Behind the parapet a broad but shallow rear ditch was dug, and the earth was used to form a firing step upon d stand and fire over the parapet. The work is situated at an angle to the railroad so that fire can be directed at an enemy approaching along the top of the railroad embankment This work could have been used by infantry, or with the addition of a wooden platform over the rear ditch, by artillery.
Erected by Brunswick Civil War Roundtable.
 |
| Modern railroad bridge over the river in the same spot |
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=286260 |
Union Assault on the Bridge
— Battle of Goldsborough Bridge —
Union General John G. Foster’s prime objective, the wooden covered railroad bridge[,] crossed the Neuse River here. After the 51st and 52nd North Carolina regiments were pushed back by the Union advance, Union volunteers rushed forward to burn the bridge. Five enlisted men from the 17th Massachusetts and 9th New Jersey, led by two officers, Lieutenant George Graham of the 24th New York Artillery and Lieutenant Barnabas Mann of the 17th Massachusetts, made their way to the bridge. Mann was severely wounded in the assault, but the others continued forward. One witness described the assault:
“The Confederates on the bridge, and those nearby, plainly seeing the object upon which these men were bent, directed their fire upon them with terrible fury.”
One of the volunteers “crept down the embankment into the edge of the woods and, gathering an armful of dried leaves and light wood, scampered back... While clambering back up the embankment... was discovered by a party of Confederates under the bridge, who with bitter curses sent their compliments in the shape of a shower of bullets and buckshot, one passing through his canteen, one through his cup, another through his coat, and still another through his old cap. Placing the leaves, with the fuses, upon a beam...they were set on fire and in another minute the interior was enveloped in flames.”
Once the fire was set Foster brought all of his artillery to bear upon the bridge, to help in its destruction and to keep the Confederates from extinguishing the flames. In a short time, the bridge was destroyed. Union troops then stacked their muskets and began tearing up the railroad tracks to further damage the Confederate supply line.
Erected by the Brunswick Civil War Round Table.
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=28583 |
Confederate Counterattack
— Battle of Goldsborough Bridge —
After Union troops burned the railroad bridge they began to leave the field. The Confederates decided to re-cross the river by way of a wagon bridge one half mile above the railroad and counterattack the small Union rear guard.
The right wing of the Confederate force, consisting of the 8th and 61st North Carolina and Mallett’s Battalion, moved one mile south to strike the Union left, while the left wing, consisting of the 51st and 52nd North Carolina, emerged from the woods behind you and crossed this field. After climbing the railroad embankment in front of you the North Carolinians gave the “rebel yell” and charged the Union guns. Union reinforcements quickly returned to the field to meet the threat. One Union soldier recalled the action; “As the battery sent forth its deadly contents great gaps were made in the rebel ranks. Three times the colors were shot down and three times they were raised; but the fourth time they remained on the ground for want of anyone to raise them.”
The Confederate charge was turned back with heavy losses before the men of the 8th and 61st NC and Mallet’s Battalion were in position for a coordinated attack. Those men killed are listed among those buried in the Confederate mass grave at Willowdale Cemetery in Goldsboro.
Erected by the Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield Association.
 |
| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=286878 |
Confederate and Union Earthworks
This earthwork was built by the Confederates in 1862. It is located half way between the railroad bridge and the county wagon bridge and is parallel with the railroad tracks. This work is a simple rifle trench designed for use by infantry. The work extends approximately 400 feet to the Neuse River.
In 1865 this area was occupied by the Union army after the Battle of Bentonville. Union engineers extended this work at that time such that it crossed the field behind you and ended over one thousand feet away at the railroad embankment. The purpose of this extension, which has since been leveled, was to protect the railroad bridge for use by the Union army after it captured Goldsborough. These features can be seen on a survey map drawn by Union Army engineers in 1865.
Erected by Brunswick Civil War Roundtable.
 |
| Extant Earthworks |
River Road and Pontoon Bridges
While the burned railroad bridge was being rebuilt, the Confederates continued their supply efforts. Trains loaded with supplies were brought up from Wilmington and stopped at the burned railroad bridge. Supplies were loaded onto wagons and take on quarter mile up bank of the river along the road in front of you to the county wagon bridge, which had not been burned. The supplies were then take down a road on the opposite bank and loaded onto empty trains waiting on the north bank of the river near the burned bridge.
When the Confederate evacuated Goldsborough in 1865, they burned the railroad bridge and the county wagon bridge. UPon arrival of the Union army, after the Battle of Bentonville, two pontoon bridges were built to enable the 15th and 17th corps to cross the river and enter Goldsborough. The same road used in 1862 by the Confederates was now used by the Union to connect the two pontoon bridge sites. The road and pontoon sites can be seen on the survey map drawn by Union army engineers in 1865.
Sources / Suggested Reading:
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/goldsborough-bridge
https://goldsboroughbridge.org/
Comments
Post a Comment