Much of the story below is told using maps from the signs on the battlefield walking trails which are excellent. This makes it easier to describe how the battle unfolded. In two subsequent posts we will go on the battlefield walking trails. None of the protected land on the battlefield is between the river and the railroad.

While Burnside was strengthening his hold over Albemarle Sound, General Lawrence O’Bryan Branch, Confederate commander in eastern North Carolina, was preparing his defensive line below the city in preparation for a possible attack by Burnside. He correctly surmised that New Bern would be Burnside’s next target. Branch would command about 4000 troops, nowhere near enough to man the elaborate system of defenses below the city. Colonel Charles Lee of the 37th NC commanded his left wing and Colonel Reuben Campbell of the 7th NC led the right wing. Although seven forts protected New Bern from a naval attack the Beaufort New Bern Road and the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad which would be used for a land-based attack were poorly defended. Branch had been working to correct this weakness.

The first line of defense began at Otter’s Creek, 10 miles south, on the Neuse River. A mile long line of breastworks here whose right flank crossed the road and terminated in a swamp, was called the “Croatan Line.” On the western part of the line was a small fort with a large platform that mounted several guns. Branch had concerns that this line was vulnerable to a Union landing upstream of it. Rifle pits were dug at Fisher’s Landing four miles upriver on a bluff 25 feet above the riverbank. Five miles upriver at Johnson’s Point was an earthwork mounting 4 guns, Fort Dixie. A little further upstream from there was Fort Thompson (see map below). The river-based defenses are shown on the right side of the map below. Little remains of them.

Starting at the bottom right and moving up the map, Fort Dixie was located on private property. What remained of the fort, until recently, is no longer present. Shown below in the next two pictures is a view of what Confederate defenders would have seen as Union ships moved up the river toward Fort Dixie in preparation for their bombardment of the shoreline.

Fort Thompson was located on what is now private property. Very little remains of the fort, only a few grass-covered mounds. Nothing is visible from the road and the picture below comes from a real estate web page.

Nothing remains of Fort Lane on Green Spring Point except for this nearby sign.

Fort Thompson was the main fort located on the river and mounted 13 guns, most of which were 32-pounders and two were 6-inch rifles. Only three could fire on the land side none of which could reach the road or railroad. It anchored a log and earthwork line that extended to the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad. Beyond the railroad was a small swampy creek (Bullen’s Branch) that extended to Brice’s Creek further west. On the hills above, a series of small redans were built that were not interconnected. As a result, there would be a 150-yard gap in Branch’s line near Wood’s Brickyard. The Fort Thompson line would be the Confederates main line of defense.

Ships were sunk and obstacles placed in the Neuse River at Fort Thompson. If the Union Navy managed to get past this point there were two smaller forts upstream, Forts Ellis (8 guns) and Lane (4 guns). These are shown in the map below.

The Federals arrived near the mouth of Slocum’s Creek (near Havelock NC, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and the former Carolina Pines Golf and Country Club) on the evening of Wednesday, March 12, 1862, and commenced landing operations the next morning. The landing is interpreted by a small exhibit at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center on 201 Tourist Center Drive. There is also an overlook there on part of Slocum’s Creek.

The sidewalk leading to the Slocum’s Creek overlook is near this gazebo in the parking lot.

This part of Slocum’s Creek (the Southwest Prong) is about 3-4 miles from the mouth of the creek as the crow flies. The creek is much wider closer to the river.

The landings were unopposed and uneventful with the exception of the grounding of the ship carrying Battery F, 1″ Rhode Island. This battery and the 48th Pennsylvania were delayed in landing and arrived in New Bern after the battle. Burnside and his troops marched overland to the Beaufort and New Bern Road with the remaining artillery, McCook’s Naval Battery, being pulled by the men of the 51st Pennsylvania. Burnside’s force was divided into three brigades. Brigadier General John Foster commanded the 1st brigade (23rd, 24th, 25th and 27th MA, and the 10th CT). General Jesse Reno led the 2nd brigade (21st MA, 51st NY, 9th NJ and 51st PA) while General John Parke commanded the 3rd brigade (4th and 5th RI, and the 8th and 11th CT). The march was difficult as rain turned the roads into ankle deep mud, see map #1 below. Commodore Rowan continued to advance his gunboats upriver, lobbing shells ahead of Burnside’s column. The naval bombardment forced the Confederates to abandon their rifle pits at Fishers Landing. The small force at the Croatan Line had already been withdrawn back to the Fort Thompson line before Burnside’s troops arrived. Later in the afternoon, Federal gunboats shelled Fort Dixie causing its magazine to explode. The fort was abandoned and Captain Benjamin Leecraft and his men withdrew to Fort Thompson. Branch’s force was now consolidated at the Fort Thompson line.

Around 7:30 AM, Burnside’s advance scouts on the Beaufort New Bern Road were fired upon by the cannon of Lieutenant Woodbury Wheeler of Latham’s Battery. The men of Foster’s 1st Brigade quickened their pace and began to deploy along each side of the road to the right of the railroad. The cannon of McCook’s naval battery, returned fire. Both armies were now engaged along a line from the Neuse River to the railroad. Reno’s 2nd Brigade began their advance moving to the left of the railroad trying to outflank the Confederates. His lead regiment, the 21st MA, found what they thought was the right flank of the Confederates at Wood’s Brickyard. There the Confederates were emptying a supply train and mounting two 24-pound cannon. Reno ordered the 21st MA to advance skirmishers and deploy in battle line. He prepared to attack the brickyard, see map #2 below. He had found the gap in the Confederate line and unfortunately for the Rebels the right flank of their line at the railroad was defended by a local militia battalion commanded by Colonel H.J.B. Clark. The militia had entered service only 2 weeks before and were armed with shotguns.

On the Union right Foster was stalemated. His probing attack on Fort Thompson by the 25th MA had failed when the fort responded with cannon fire down his line. At the same time, the navy was moving up the Neuse River firing blindly in the fog in search of Confederates. His line was now caught in a deadly crossfire of Confederate and Federal “friendly” fire. At the railroad, Reno’s brigade moved forward rapidly. The 21st MA sent a company of skirmishers forward to the railroad embankment and with one volley scattered the Confederates unloading the train. Lieutenant Colonel Clark with four companies of the 21st MA pressed forward. There they seized the two 24-pound cannon that the militia were attempting to position and forced the Confederate supply train’s retreat. At General Branch’s headquarters, the battle seemed to be going well. His troops were holding their own against a large army about three times his size arrayed before his main line. Then, 200 yards in front of him, Branch witnessed his army collapse as the Federals overran the brickyard. The militia melted away in panic and to make matters worse Branch had already sent his reserve, the 33rd North Carolina, to strengthen Colonel Vance’s position to the right of the railroad. The four companies of the 21st MA turned right and began to roll up Branch’s main line, see map #3 below.

Reno readjusted his lines to face a new foe that he could now see through the fog across Bullen Branch. Anchoring his line on the remaining right wing of the 21st Massachusetts, Reno deployed his brigade extending his line to his left. As his new battle line extended, each regiment found more Confederates. Private Orlando Caruana was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions here.

Back toward the brickyard, with the sounds of a larger fight growing behind him, Lieutenant Colonel Clark realized that he and his 200 men were on their own. Clark’s initial attack had been successful, but the Confederate line was stretched out before him for over a mile. If he remained where he was, unsupported, he risked annihilation. Determined to keep the advantage, Clark ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge (described in the Charge Bayonets! marker below). The disorganized Confederate line collapsed as Clark’s men advanced down the line of breastworks, see map #4 below.

On the opposite banks of Bullen Branch the Confederates under the command of Colonel Vance, 26th NC, manned a series of earthworks. His left wing, commanded by Major Carmichael, opened long range fire on the Federals as they emerged from the fog (Redan #3: Early Morning).

Carmichael, reinforced by Colonel Avery’s 33rd NC, kept the initial Federal advance there in check, shown in the two markers below.

Across the railroad the Confederates fared much worse. With the collapse of the militia, the 35th NC and Brem’s Battery were the next to flee, causing the gap to widen even more. Colonel Campbell then ordered the 7th NC out of the breastworks to the right to face this attack. The 7th NC redeployed to a small ravine behind the lines and with bayonets fixed they emerged to drive the Federals back, shown in map #4. As his men secured the Confederate center, Branch realized he had too few men to defend this half-mile section of the line against another attack.

Lieutenant Colonel Clark and the remnants of the 21st MA fell back over the breastworks and raced for the safety of the railroad. When they reached the railroad cut they encountered the head of Parke’s 3rd Brigade, Burnside’s reserve, where a conversation occurred that would have profound effects on the outcome of the battle. There, Clark encountered Colonel Isaac Rodman of the 4th RI, Parke’s lead regiment, and described the weakness of the Confederate center. He advised Rodman to take his regiment and attack. Rodman, seeing the opportunity to crush the Confederate center, ordered the 4th RI forward (The Attack of the 4th RI marker). The 8th CT and 5th RI followed and Rodman’s men shattered the Confederate center.

Kady Brownell followed her husband into battle and cared for him when he was wounded during the battle. She also cared for wounded soldiers on both sides described in the marker below.

The 7th NC, reinforced with five companies sent from the 37th NC, were no match for the entire Union 3rd Brigade, shown in map #5 below. There was nothing further Branch could do and he ordered a general retreat as the main Confederate line began to quickly give way. Seeing the colors of the 3rd Brigade in the breastworks, Foster’s 1st Brigade that had been held at bay for over three hours launched a renewed attack. Soon the regiments of Foster’s and Parke’s brigades controlled the mile long segment of line from the railroad to the river and the United States flag was raised over Fort Thompson. As the brigades began to reform behind the breastworks, sounds of continued intense fighting could be heard from beyond the railroad. Burnside ordered Foster and Parke to advance to the sounds of the guns to aid Reno on the Union left.

The couriers Branch sent with orders to retreat never reached Colonels Avery or Vance. The 26th and 33rd NC had continued to hold off the repeated attacks of the Federal army for over three hours.

Initial indications of trouble on the other side of the railroad began around 11:30 AM as Major Lewis and his four companies of the 33rd NC at Redan 1 began to take fire from their rear. Facing enemy attacks on three sides, Lewis and his men ran down the railroad in order to clear the Federals now assembling to attack. With Major Carmichael of the 26th NC dead, Colonel Avery of the 33rd NC ordered the men in Redan 3 to retreat. They fought the Federals along the railroad as they retreated. When they emerged from the forest into a small clearing, they found a federal battery supported by a regiment blocking their retreat. They were surrounded. Avery and approximately 150 men surrendered, interpreted in the marker below.

Reno then launched an all-out attack on the Union left along Bullen Branch, see map #6 below.

As his men plunged into the icy swamp, the Confederates of Colonel Vance’s 26th North Carolina fired one final volley and fled into the forest.

As Branch’s army retreated, they were joined by the garrisons of the river forts, shown in map #7. The Confederates spiked their cannon and abandoned their batteries. Branch’s troops burned their camps and ordered the bridges over the Trent River to be torched once Colonels Avery and Vance crossed. However, when Avery and Vance did not appear, the bridges were set afire. Branch and his defeated army abandoned New Bern and retreated to Kinston. As Commander Rowan saw the United States flag rise above Fort Thompson, he gave the order to advance up the river and engage the other river batteries. As Rowan’s gunboats engaged each battery, they received little return fire. Rowan sent men ashore to take possession of each battery and continued to New Bern. As Rowan approached the wharves, the city was in flames and the citizens in panic. He landed sailors and marines to restore order and fight the fires set by the retreating Confederates. Around 2:00 PM Burnside and his troops appeared along the banks of the Trent River at the burning railroad bridge with no way to cross into the city. Rowan began ferrying Foster’s brigade over the Trent River to secure New Bern. Meanwhile, Colonel Vance, seeing the bridges in flames and his escape route cut off, led his men toward Brice’s Creek hoping to ford the smaller tributary. Finding the stream too deep for his men, Vance crossed the stream and procured four small boats from local residents. On the opposite bank, Lieutenant Colonel Burgwyn organized the remnants of the 26th and 33rd NC and got them all across just as the advance guard of the Federal army came into view.

Next- New Bern Battlefield Park- Part 1

Sources

The Civil War in North Carolina by John Barrett

New Bern and the Civil War James Edward White III

The Battle of New Bern and Related Sites in Craven County, N.C. 1861-1865 by Richard A. Sauers and William D. Gorges

Laurels for Burnside The Invasion of North Carolina January-July 1862 by Richard A. Sauers