Foster’s December 1862 Raid to Goldsborough (Goldsboro)

On July 6, 1862, General Ambrose Burnside left New Bern for Newport News, Virginia, with 2 of his three brigades (Reno and Parke) as part of the restructuring of the Union Army resulting from McClellan’s defeat in the Seven Days battles. General John Foster was left behind with his brigade and now commanded the Department of North Carolina. Given the drastically reduced force in his department Foster focused on strengthening the defenses around the city. He oversaw the construction of a line of defensive works from the Trent to the Neuse River which contained Forts Totten, Rowan, and Dutton.

His limited numbers forced him into a largely defensive posture especially given the outlying outposts he had to defend. The Confederates would soon seize the opportunity in September to attack one of those outposts in an attempt to regain some of the territory lost during the Burnside expedition. On September 6 Major Stephen Pool launched an attack on Washington, North Carolina, with a combined force of about 600-1000 infantry, six companies of cavalry and one battery of artillery (8th, 17th, and 55th Carolina regiments and the 10th Artillery). In the early morning fog they surprised the outer line of Union pickets on the west side of town and charged through the streets and overwhelmed the small force at the sleeping garrison (2 companies of the 24th MA and 2 companies of the First NC Union Volunteers in a school house at the corner of Second and Bridge Streets). As the fog lifted two Federal gunboats, the Louisiana and the Picket, opened on the Confederates. As they fired, the magazine of the Picket accidentally exploded sending the ship to the bottom of the river killing 19 crewmen and Captain Sylvester Nicholl. The commander of the garrison, Colonel Edward Potter, was on his way to Plymouth at the time with an artillery battery (Battery H 3rd NY Artillery) and 4 companies of cavalry (Co. D, G, I, and L 3rd NY Cavalry), a total of 263 men. Hearing the firing they hurried back to town. Colonel Potter stationed a 12-pounder in the street at the intersection of Main and Bridge, while the 3rd NY Cavalry charged and cleared the streets. Two sets of gunners were shot away from the gun and it had to be withdrawn. The Federals then relied on the guns of the Louisiana, which fired 67 shells and 14 stand of grape at the Confederates. After a heated two and a half hour battle Major Pool and his men were driven from the city and beyond Tranter’s Creek (about 8 miles outside of town). The Federals suffered 7 men killed, 81 wounded, and 4 captured according to Colonel Potter’s report (not counting the men on the Picket). The Confederates lost 31 killed, 30 wounded, and 24 captured. The explosion of the Picket is interpreted by the Civil War Trails sign below in the city of Washington.

The balance of power would change in late October when Foster was sent thousands of new nine-month recruits, mostly from the state of Massachusetts, giving him a total force of over 10,000 men. He would launch a raid from November 1-12 to try and capture 3 regiments of Confederates foraging between Washington and Williamston, about 23 miles to the north. Foster assembled 5000 men at Washington and headed north on the 2nd. They would fight skirmishes with the Rebels at Little Creek and Rawle’s mill. The next day they arrived at Williamston and went on to Rainbow Banks three miles below Hamilton on the 4th. Remaining at Hamilton until the 6th they headed toward Tarborough camping within 10 miles of that city. Now out of provisions the Federals were forced to return through Hamilton and Williamston reaching Plymouth on the 10th when they embarked on transports to return to New Bern the next day. Their casualties were 6 men killed and eight wounded. Foster stated in his report that “an immediate attack was to have been made on the place (Plymouth), but upon hearing of my advance from Washington and seeing the danger of their capture they beat a precipitate and hasty retreat.” This was a weak attempt to put a positive spin on a failed raid. It’s only positive from my perspective was that it served as a dress rehearsal for Foster’s second raid in December to Goldsborough. It would give his army, that was now divided into three brigades, combat experience for his green men and new brigade commanders (Colonels Amory, Stevenson and Lee).

It didn’t take long for the Confederates to retaliate. On December 10th, they would attack a small Union occupying force at Plymouth. Hoping to drive out the Federals commanded by Captain Barnabus Ewer, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel John Lamb attacked with four companies of the 17th NC, a squadron of cavalrymen, and Moore’s Battery (4 guns). After capturing most of the Union pickets at 4:30 AM, Lamb quickly dispersed the Federals with a quick cavalry charge. They scattered and took refuge in the customs house. Lamb next turned his cannons on USS Southfield, the sole gunboat supporting the garrison, they disabled it on the fifth or sixth shot, which struck its steam drum, and it drifted downstream. Captain Ewer abandoned his men and rushed aboard the Southfield to escape. When asked where his men were by Lieutenant-Commander Flusser of the navy, he replied that “he did not know, but hoped most of them were in the swamp.” Flusser stated in his report “The whole affair was disgraceful, and the more so, as it has been since ascertained that the attacking party, those who entered the town, did not exceed 200 men.” Unlike Ewer, some of his men kept fighting, and the Confederates eventually withdrew because they lacked sufficient numbers to hold the town taking with them either 3 or 4 cannon captured in the city. Union casualties were reported as 2 men wounded, 17 taken prisoner and one missing. One man on the Southfield was struck in the leg by a shell and required an amputation. As the Confederates left, they fired the town in multiple places burning more than half of it to the ground. The battle is interpreted by the Civil War Trails sign below in the city of Plymouth.

On December 11, 1862, Union General John Foster would lead his second raid in two months this time from New Bern to Goldsborough (Goldsboro) to destroy the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Bridge over the Neuse River in support of General Ambrose Burnside’s attack on Fredericksburg, Virginia. The thought was that by threatening a vital Confederate supply line Foster’s men could pull part of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia away from Fredericksburg. It should also be pointed out, however, that the simultaneous attack of Burnside on Lee would make it unlikely that Foster would have to contend with reinforcements from Virginia. Foster commanded about 10,000 infantry (4 brigades, 21 regiments), 640 cavalry of the 3rd NY and 40 cannons of varying sizes, 150 wagons and a pioneer corps (commanded by Henry Wilson) made up of about 300 formers slaves who were tasked with rebuilding roads and bridges. The expedition left New Bern on the morning of December 11th with the goals of destroying the bridge and CSS Neuse at White Hall, before moving on to Goldsborough and burning the wooden Wilmington and Weldon Railroad bridge over the Neuse River. The Federals met stiff resistance at Kinston on the 14th, White Hall on the evening of the 15th and morning of the 16th, and Goldsboro on the 17th where they successfully burned the bridge. The fighting in these three cities and the movement of Union forces across central North Carolina devastated the surrounding countryside but managed to inflict only short-lived damage to the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. The bridge over the Neuse River was rapidly repaired by the Confederates and the rail line returned to operation before the beginning of the New Year.

**The raid route is marked on a wartime map by the hashed red line**

This series will be divided into 12 parts.

The First Battle of Kinston- Overview

The First Battle of Kinston- Driving Tour

First Battle of Kinston Driving Tour Stop #10- The Kinston Battlefield Park

The Kinston and Lenoir County Visitor Center

First Battle of Kinston Driving Tour Stop #12– The Kinston Battlefield Park December 1862 and the W.H. King Memorial. This site is located where the Union breakthrough took place that decided the battle.

Kinston- Other Civil War Sites

The CSS Neuse Museum- The First Floor

CSS Neuse Museum- The Second Floor

Foster’s Camp near White Hall ?- password protected

The Battle of White Hall

The Battle of Goldsborough Bridge- Overview

The Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield

Goldsboro- Other Civil War Sites

Sources

The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 18, Chapter 30, pages 52-122.

The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 18, Chapter 30, pages 4-10.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Volume 8, pages 6-8.

The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 18, Chapter 30, pages 45-49.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Volume 8, pages 275-282.

The Civil War in a North Carolina by John Barrett. Chapter 6- Raids in Eastern North Carolina

Only one book has even been written exclusively about the raid and was published in 1890. It is called- Kinston, Whitehall and Goldsboro (North Carolina) expedition, December, 1862. by Howe, W.W. New York publisher. It is a dairy of a newspaper correspondent who accompanied Union troops on the raid and is never named. I didn’t find it very helpful (link to full text of the book).

General John Foster’s report from the Official Records appears below (pages 54-59). His reports are followed by the corresponding Confederate reports from their principal commanders on the field at Kinston- Brigadier General Nathan “Shanks” Evans (he also covers the other two battles as overall field commander), White Hall- Brigadier General Beverly H. Robertson, and Goldsboro- Brigadier General Thomas L. Clingman. There are many other individual reports of the raid in the Official Records.