Battle of Goldsborough Bridge | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
Battle of Goldsborough | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | 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 Goldsborough, North Carolina, during the American Civil War. [1]
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.
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.
Foster arrived at his camp on December 20. Total casualties for the campaign (All three engagements at Kinston, White Hall, and Goldsborough) 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)
The area around the battlefield is currently a public park. The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 32 acres of the original battlefield as of early 2025. [2]
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 Lieutenant General 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 General 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.
The Battle of Kinston was fought on December 14, 1862, in Lenoir County, North Carolina, near the town of Kinston, as part of the Goldsborough Expedition 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 Goldsborough, North Carolina, during the American Civil War.
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The siege of Corinth was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry Halleck engaged in a month-long siege of the city, whose Confederate occupants were commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard. The siege resulted in the capture of the town by Federal forces.
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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 reconstruction era 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.
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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.
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