Battle of Goldsboro Bridge

Last updated
Battle of Goldsborough Bridge
Part of the American Civil War
Battle of Goldsborough byMerrillGWheelock 43rdRegimentMassachusetts.png
Battle of Goldsborough
DateDecember 17, 1862 (1862-12-17)
Location
Result Union victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg United States (Union) Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
John G. Foster Thomas L. Clingman
Units involved
Department of North Carolina, 1st Division
* 46th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
Clingman's Brigade
Casualties and losses
577 738

The Battle of Goldsborough Bridge took place on December 17, 1862, in Wayne County, North Carolina, as part of the Union expedition to Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the American Civil War. [1]

Contents

Background

In December 1862, both the Union Army and Confederate forces desired to secure the strategically significant Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Bridge. On December 17, an expedition under Union Maj. Gen. John G. Foster reached the railroad near Everettsville, aiming to destroy this bridge in order to put an end to the vital supply chain from the port of Wilmington.

Battle

Map of Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program. Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield North Carolina.jpg
Map of Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

Foster's men began destroying the tracks north toward the Goldsborough Bridge. Clingman's Confederate brigade delayed the advance, but was unable to prevent the destruction of the bridge. Foster's troops overpowered the small number of defending Confederate soldiers and successfully burned down the bridge. His mission accomplished, Foster departed to return to their base at New Bern. [1] On their way back, Foster's men were again attacked by Confederate forces, but they repulsed the assault, taking far fewer casualties than the enemy.

Aftermath

Foster arrived at his camp on December 20. Total casualties for the campaign (All three engagements at Kinston, White Hall, and Goldsboro) were: Federal 577 (90 killed, 478 wounded and 9 missing/captured) Confederate casualties were reported at 738 (71 killed, 268 wounded and 400 missing/captured)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Petersburg</span> Battle in the American Civil War

The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is encircled with fortifications blocking all routes of ingress and egress, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldsboro, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787, and Goldsboro was incorporated in 1847. It is the county seat of Wayne County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kinston</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Kinston was fought on December 14, 1862, in Lenoir County, North Carolina, near the town of Kinston, as part of the Goldsboro Expedition of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of New Bern (1862)</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of New Bern was fought on March 14, 1862, near the city of New Bern, North Carolina, as part of the Burnside Expedition of the American Civil War. The US Army's Coast Division, led by Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside and accompanied by armed vessels from the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, were opposed by an undermanned and badly trained Confederate force of North Carolina soldiers and militia led by Brigadier General Lawrence O'B. Branch. Although the defenders fought behind breastworks that had been set up before the battle, their line had a weak spot in its center that was exploited by the attacking Federal soldiers. When the center of the line was penetrated, many of the militia broke, forcing a general retreat of the entire Confederate force. General Branch was unable to regain control of his troops until they had retreated to Kinston, more than 30 miles away. New Bern came under Federal control, and remained so for the rest of the war.

The Battle of White Hall, also called the Battle of White Hall Ferry, took place on December 16, 1862, in Wayne County, North Carolina, as part of the Union expedition to Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Washington</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Washington took place from March 30 to April 19, 1863, in Beaufort County, North Carolina, as part of Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Tidewater operations during the American Civil War. This battle is sometimes referred to as the siege of Little Washington.

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolinas campaign</span> Military campaign, American Civil War

The Carolinas campaign, also known as the campaign of the Carolinas, was the final campaign conducted by the Union Army against the Confederate Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. On January 1, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman advanced north from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia. The campaign culminated in the defeat of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army at the Battle of Bentonville, and its unconditional surrender to Union forces on April 26, 1865. Coming just two weeks after the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, it signaled that the war was effectively over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John G. Foster</span> American general

John Gray Foster was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North and South Carolina during the war. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition, he wrote a treatise on the subject in 1869. He continued with the Army after the war, using his expertise as assistant to the Chief Engineer in Washington, DC and at a post on Lake Erie.

The 9th New Jersey Infantry Regiment was an American Civil War infantry regiment from New Jersey that served from October 1861 through July 1865 in the Union Army. The regiment got its nickname, Jersey Muskrats, during the Battle of Roanoke Island when they successfully "sloshed through shoe sucking mud into waist deep water in "division" formation", giving the regiment a two-company front flanking the enemy. The regiment was the last to leave the state in 1861 but the first to see battle.

Charles Adam Heckman was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He fought in many of the early battles in North Carolina and later served in the Army of the James during the siege of Petersburg.

Burnside's North Carolina Expedition was a series of engagements fought along the North Carolina Coast between February and June 1862. The expedition was part of Winfield Scott's overall Anaconda Plan, which aimed at closing blockade-running ports inside the Outer Banks. The amphibious operation was carried out primarily by New England and North Carolina troops under Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and assisted by the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Captain Louis M. Goldsborough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> American Civil War Union Army regiment

The 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized in Worcester, Massachusetts and mustered into service on August 23, 1861.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bentonville</span> 1865 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Bentonville was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.

The 10th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was one of Connecticut's most successful civil war regiments, compiling an exemplary record of service in the Union Army. The 10th Regiment saw action in the coastal campaign during the early years of the war, which culminated with the siege of Charleston. The 10th went on to fight the trench battles of Richmond, earning praise from Union generals and Ulysses S. Grant. The 10th was active at the war’s very end, when they blocked Robert E. Lee’s attempt to escape from Virginia. And, the 10th was present at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered to Grant. All told, the 10th regiment fought in twenty three battles and at least as many skirmishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Massachusetts Militia Regiment</span> Military unit

The 3rd Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Regiment was a peacetime regiment of infantry that was activated for federal service in the Union Army for two separate tours during the American Civil War. The regiment consisted of companies from Plymouth and Bristol Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Massachusetts Militia Regiment</span> Military unit

The 5th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia was a peacetime infantry regiment that was activated for federal service in the Union army for three separate tours during the American Civil War. In the years immediately preceding the war and during its first term of service, the regiment consisted primarily of companies from Essex County as well as Boston and Charlestown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">43rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 43rd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was first formed in September 1862 in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months. The nucleus of the regiment was the Second Battalion Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, a unit dating to 1798 known as the Boston Light Infantry and nicknamed the "Tigers." The 43rd Massachusetts therefore became known as the "Tiger Regiment."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">44th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 44th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Its nucleus was the 4th Battalion Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, known as the "New England Guards." An old state militia unit dating back to the Revolution, the 4th Battalion was called upon to serve garrison duty at Fort Independence shortly after the beginning of the Civil War. After President Abraham Lincoln's August 1862 call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months the 4th Battalion was given permission to recruit to a full regiment and to muster into federal service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">46th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 46th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Its members volunteered in answer to President Abraham Lincoln's August 1862 call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months. The regiment gathered in Hampden Park, Springfield, Massachusetts and consisted almost entirely of men from Hampden County. The primary recruiter was Rev. George Bowler who soon became Colonel in command of the regiment.

References

  1. 1 2 "Battle Summary". National Park Service. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
35°20′23″N78°01′44″W / 35.3396°N 78.0288°W / 35.3396; -78.0288