Battle of New Bern
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The Battle of New Bern (also known as the Battle of New Berne) was fought on March 14, 1862, near the city of New Bern, North Carolina, as part of Burnside's North Carolina Expedition of the American Civil War.
[edit] Battle
After the successful capture of Fort Macon and Beaufort, Major General Ambrose Burnside turned to New Bern. Taking 12,000 men for the task, his expedition consisted of brigades commanded by Brigadier Generals John G. Foster, Jesse L. Reno, and John G. Parke. His troops met 13 heavily armed gunboats at Hatteras commanded by Commodore Stephen C. Rowan of the Union Navy. They then travelled up the Neuse River and anchored off the mouth of Slocum’s Creek.
On the morning of March 13 the Federal forces, including artillery, landed nearly sixteen miles below New Bern. On the receiving news of this, Confederate Brigedier General Lawrence O’Brien Branch moved his 4,500 man force to Fort Thompson, a few miles down the river from New Bern. His force consisted of the 7th, 26th, 27th, 33rd, 35th and 37th North Carolinia Infantry, along with a battalion of militia, the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry, and an independent infantry company. His force was also augmented by two batteries of artillery under the command of Captains Latham and Brem (Brem’s unit was missing two pieces at the time).
Branch placed his men in an extended line from Fort Thompson to the left, with the artillery in the right wing, along with the 7th and 35th North Carolina, commanded by Colonel Reuben Campbell. His left wing consisted of troops from the 37th and 27th North Carolina. These he placed under the command of C.C. Lee. On his far right he placed the 26th North Carolina and the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry. The two pieces from Brem’s battery were placed with these regiments. The militia was placed on the far right of Campbell next to a railroad. The 33rd North Carolina served as his only reserve for the thinly spread battle line.
On the night of March 12th Branch sent the 33rd to hold an old breastworks against the enemy. On the next morning he sent the 26th North Carolina under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry K. Burgwyn to support this regiment. Just as the 26th arrived, Sinclair’s troops were retreating to the main breastworks at New Bern. Shortly afterward the 26th retired in the face of a Federal attack.
On March 14th Colonel Vance, commander of the 26th, placed companies B, E and K on the far right of his line under the command of Burgwyn after being warned of a Union threat. Major Carmichael was placed in charge of the portion of the regiment on the far right of the line; this consisted of Companies D, A and G. Maj. Carmichael’s forces were placed next to the railroad, about 50-100 yards to the rear of the militia units. Vance kept control of the center of his line.
At 7:30 a.m. on March 14, firing began on the Confederate left as Foster advanced. Shortly afterward firing spread to the right as Reno attacked to the right. As the fight grew the Federal forces advanced through the march to the 26th front, drawing fire from Carmichael. These men were forced back in quick succession. Even so, the Federals under Parke pushed up into a flanking position on the Confederate militia. These men, who had only been in service for about two weeks, retreated in panic after a few Union rounds. For a moment the Confederate line was split in the center.
Branch quickly sent in the only reserve, the 33rd North Carolina, to support Vance and hold the militia’s position. However the Federals advanced rapidly and pushed the Confederate position. This eventually caused the entire Confederate left to fall back. In the mass panic that followed the 26th North Carolina was left on the other side of an impassable stream. In the confusion the bridges going over the stream were burned. This left the 26th trapped with Burnsides forces quickly advancing. After rounding up three boats that could hold six men each, the men began to cross. To prevent panic, Burgwyn and a Captain Graham counted off men so as to not let them overload the boats. This they continued for over an hour and just had finished when Union forces were spotted in the rear.
New Bern fell and was occupied. Branch lost 68 killed, 116 wounded, and 400 captured or missing compared to Burnside's 90 killed, 385 wounded, and a single man captured. By December 1862, a Federal army of well over 20,000 troops—more than the sum total of Confederate forces in the entire state of North Carolina—now inhabited the town once called "The Athens of the South".
- All information regarding names and positions has been drawn from the November 1997 issue of Company Front the Magazine of the 26th North Carolina Reactivated, Incorporated.
[edit] References
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