N.C. and the Southside: New Bern

March 14, 1862

This is not a big sign and it's low to the ground so its easy to miss.

Finding the New Bern Battlefield proved to be a bit tricky so let me give you some hints: First, the battle was fought astride the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad, with lines stretching west from Fort Thompson on the Neuse River to Brices Creek; The protected portion of the battlefield is right along the railroad west of highway 70; the entrance to the park is right next to the tracks on Taberna Way, there is a Dunkin Donuts on one corner of Taberna Way and a car lot on the other corner, turn into the driveway as soon as you cross the tracks. The phone number of the Visitor’s Center is (252) 638-8558. There are volunteers there most of the day who will take you on a tour of the park; they are very knowledgeable about the battle and its significance. There is also a small park in town right after the bridge on Business 70 and across the street from the civic center that has some informational signs about the battle. There is a Visitor’s Center inside the Civic Center with more information.

The New Bern Battlefield is owned, operated and maintained by the New Bern Historical Society. They are actively improving the Visitor’s Center and have installed and paved a new parking lot so the internet admonition to park in the street is no longer true. I would like to thank Richard Meirs and Jerry Shake for their patience and forbearance with my questions and especially for a very well done tour of the battlefield.

The Battle of New Bern

General Ambrose Burnside landed a force of 11,000 troops at Slocum Island on March 13, 1862 with objective of capturing New Bern and the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad. New Bern sits on the confluence of the Trent and Neuse Rivers, that and the fact that the main North-South Railroad runs through town made it a very important site for both the Confederate and the Union Armies seeking to control North Carolina Tidelands. The Union Anaconda Campaign called for strangling the South by shutting down its ablity to import from and export to the world markets. Control of the rugged Carolina coastal ports through occupation of important towns or by blockade was a key element in the plan.

The railroad everyone was fighting over.

Look at that wonderful brick work for a railroad culvert.

From Slocum Island Burnside advanced toward New Bern under the cover of 13 gunboats under the command of Commodore Stephen Rowan. Blocking the advance was 4,500 raw recruits manning an existing line of trenches that had been prepared using slave labor well in advance under the command of General Laurence O’Bryan Branch. For some reason Branch abandoned this position and fell back to a newer less prepared position closer to town, and there he made his battle.

Not only were Branch’s men virtually untrained they were also very poorly armed, many of them packing shot and varmint gund. Many of them were too young or too old to be manning trenches in the face of a well drilled and well armed enemy. The center of the Confederate line had a natural weak spot of the railroad itself which could not be dug up by the defenders for the very reason they had to fight to hold it. To try and plug the hole Branch had a cannon mounted on a railcar and brought up to the line setup so as to fire grape down the track. East of the tracks there was a straight trench that ran to Fort Thomas, west of the tracks the defenders dug a series of strong points called redans, on the ridgelines overlooking Bullen’s Branch. The creek had been dammed up to create a very nasty swamp about four feet deep for the Union to cross. Felled timber completed the obstacles blocking the Unions path.

The works here are in very good condition. There are multiple positions on the five fingers overlooking the creek. All of the work are in very good condition.

Another example of the works.

The flooded low lands of Bullen’s Branch.

Right next to the railroad, immediately on the east, was the site of Wood’s brick yard; the brick yard was defended by the 33^rd North Carolina. Here the Union troops faced less obstacles and broke through, flanking the 26^th North Carolina on the west and the 35^th North Carolina on the east, turning the whole line. The railcar fled back into town. The Confederate lines here along the railroad were staggered with the line on the east side of the railroad out front of the lines on the west side creating a gap in the defense.

In this marker map you can see the size of the gap in the Confederate line right in the middle of the 33rd's position, a built in weak spot.

Union troop moved down the west side of the rail bed flanking the exposed end of the Confederate line. The 33rd N.C. whose position strattled the railroad found itself cut in half and broke.

Jerry showing on of the 33rd's rifle pits on the west side of the railroad.

New Bern after the Battle