City officials surrendered the town of New Bern to Union General Ambrose Burnside on March 14, 1862, following the Battle of New Bern south of the city. As they evacuated Confederates set fire to warehouses containing supplies and ammunition. The Union Army remained in New Bern until the end of the war, making New Bern the largest city in North Carolina under continuous Union occupation. The Federal Army used many of the town’s buildings for quartering troops, offices, hospitals (Foster General Hospital), and jails. Some of these are shown below.
The Harvey Mansion was built in 1798 was used as temporary barracks for soldiers assigned to guard duty during the Civil War.
The rector of the church prior to the capture of New Bern was Reverend Alfred Watson who served as a Confederate chaplain during the Civil War.
The Isaac Taylor House was headquarters for the 45th Massachusetts Regiment during the Union occupation.
The Coor Gaston House served as one of the annexes of the Foster General Hospital.
The Dr. Edward Smallwood House- 501 Craven Street- The house was used as a hospital for Union troops during the Civil War and was initially known as the Stanly General Hospital.
The Slover-Bradham House was built about 1848, and is a three-story, Renaissance style brick dwelling with a low hipped roof. During the Civil War under the direction of General Ambrose Burnside it served as headquarters of the Eighteenth Army Corps and the Department of North Carolina.
The Slover Dependency- this was the kitchen and slave quarters for the Slover-Bradham House next door which served as one of Burnside’s Headquarters in town. Mary Cord was a cook here. She was the character “Aunt Rachel” in Mark Twain’s short story “A True Story Word for Word as I Heard It”. The sign below is in front of the house.
The Eli Smallwood House at 524 East Front Street served as quarters for Company G of the 23rd MA.
The Jones-Jarvis House at 528 East Front Street served as the residence of General John Foster and later as the headquarters of the 18th Army Corps.
215 Pollock Street- Benjamin Ellis House now Harmony House Inn quartered the 45th MA
224 Craven Street- The Stephens Brick Block Building was recently identified as the site of a Confederate and Union Civil War Hospital. It also served as City Hall after the war.
The Edward R. Stanly House at 502 Pollack Street served as the headquarters of the 17th MA Regiment.
303 Hancock Street- a Confederate Hospital during the war
516 Hancock Street- the Masonic Lodge was a Union hospital
First Presbyterian Church- 400 New Street
The Stanly Bishop House was owned by John Carruthers Stanly. He owned three plantations and was one of the largest slave holders in North Carolina. He was the son of John Wright Stanly and an enslaved woman of African descent. Ironically, one of the largest slave holders in the South was born a slave.
The New Bern Academy was commandeered after the Battle of New Bern for use as a hospital. It served as a Confederate Hospital before the Union occupation.
Cutting Allen House- quartered the 44th MA- 518 New Street
The Attmore-Oliver House (511 Broad Street) is the headquarters of the New Bern Historical Society. Medical supplies and related artifacts were discovered in an archaeological investigation in the basement in 1962 suggesting that the house was used as a Union Hospital.
The John Wright Stanly House was the first New Bern headquarters of Major General Ambrose Burnside. Later, the house was used as a convent for the Sisters of Mercy, who served as nurses in nearby Union hospitals.
It served as headquarters for the Stanly Hospital which later became the Foster General Hospital. Edward Stanly, the Unionist military governor of North Carolina, and Confederate General Lewis Armistead, who was mortally wounded at Gettysburg were born here. Stanly, was appointed military governor of North Carolina by President Abraham Lincoln in May 1862, in the hope that he might lead the state back into the Union. He was unsuccessful and resigned in March 1863. Armistead was wounded at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, during “Pickett’s Charge” and died two days later.
During the Civil War the Jones House at 231 Eden Street was used as a jail for Confederate sympathizers.
The George Dixon House- 611 Pollock Street- served as a hospital for the 9th VT during the Union occupation.
The North Carolina History Center at Tryon Palace had a small number of exhibits relevant to the Civil War.
Cedar Grove Cemetery- 808 George Street
Greenwood Cemetery- 810 Cypress Street- Several US Colored Troops are buried here.
The New Bern National Cemetery- 1711 National Avenue
After the Union occupied New Bern they created a defensive line across the Trent River in James City. With the exception of Fort Gaston very little of these forts remain.
Fort Spinola was located here now on private property.
Fort Amory was located off Madam Moores Lane there are no remains left.
Fort Gaston is located on private property. The house there sits on top of the fort. Pictures below were taken with a zoom lens. The earthwork wall can be easily seen.
The marker below is located about 7 miles outside New Bern. It interprets a battle in 1864 which will be covered in a future post involving a Confederate attempt to retake New Bern.
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