Battle of Kinston, North Carolina

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First Battle of Kinston
North Carolina and the Civil War

Route to Goldsboro
routetogoldsboromap.jpg

On the 4th of December 1862, Wessells' Brigade was ordered to go to New Bern, NC, to reinforce General John G. Foster. Foster was organizing his forces to go to Goldsboro, NC, as a diversion to help General Burnside at Fredericksburg, VA. Wessells' Brigade left Suffolk, marching to the Chowan River near Gatesville, where they boarded ships. They proceeded down the Chowan River into the Albemarle Sound, past Roanoke Island, and then up the Neuse River arriving at New Bern on the 9th. On the 11th, Wessells' Brigade, along with Gen. Foster's 12,000 troops, began their march towards Kinston, NC, en route to Goldsboro.

Map of North Carolina Civil War Battles
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Map of North Carolina Civil War Battlefields

Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston, North Carolina, Map.gif
(Civil War History)

Wessells took the advance and encountered some of the enemy's cavalry, with only light skirmishing taking place. However, a large number of Confederates were encountered on the evening of the 13th. Wessells' Brigade drove them across West Creek and captured two artillery pieces. Lt. Col. Armor was accidentally injured and sent back, with Major Alexander William Taylor assuming command of the 101st. The following morning, the Confederate forces were located along the south side of the Neuse River near the Kinston Bridge heading into town, located on the north side of the river. The pickets of the 101st PA advanced from their position at sunrise and engaged the Confederates.

The Confederates retreated across the bridge into town and began to burn the bridge to prevent access to the town. However, the fire was extinguished and the Union troops pushed forward as the enemy retreated out of town on the north side of the Neuse. Foster's troops, in control of the evacuated town, helped themselves to many supplies including a large lot of Rebel clothing. The following day, they crossed Kinston Bridge, back to the south side of the Neuse, burned the bridge and continued on their way to Goldsboro.

Credit: 101st Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry History by Edward Boots, President and 101st PA Historian for the Civil War Plymouth Pilgrims Descendants Society.

Recommended Reading: The Civil War in the Carolinas (Hardcover). Description: Dan Morrill relates the experience of two quite different states bound together in the defense of the Confederacy, using letters, diaries, memoirs, and reports. He shows how the innovative operations of the Union army and navy along the coast and in the bays and rivers of the Carolinas affected the general course of the war as well as the daily lives of all Carolinians. He demonstrates the "total war" for North Carolina's vital coastal railroads and ports. In the latter part of the war, he describes how Sherman's operation cut out the heart of the last stronghold of the South. Continued below...

The author offers fascinating sketches of major and minor personalities, including the new president and state governors, Generals Lee, Beauregard, Pickett, Sherman, D.H. Hill, and Joseph E. Johnston. Rebels and abolitionists, pacifists and unionists, slaves and freed men and women, all influential, all placed in their context with clear-eyed precision. If he were wielding a needle instead of a pen, his tapestry would offer us a complete picture of a people at war. Midwest Book Review: The Civil War in the Carolinas by civil war expert and historian Dan Morrill (History Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical Society) is a dramatically presented and extensively researched survey and analysis of the impact the American Civil War had upon the states of North Carolina and South Carolina, and the people who called these states their home. A meticulous, scholarly, and thoroughly engaging examination of the details of history and the sweeping change that the war wrought for everyone, The Civil War In The Carolinas is a welcome and informative addition to American Civil War Studies reference collections.

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Recommended Reading: Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast (The Civil War in North Carolina) (456 pages). Description: Ironclads and Columbiads covers some of the most important battles and campaigns in the state. In January 1862, Union forces began in earnest to occupy crucial points on the North Carolina coast. Within six months, Union army and naval forces effectively controlled coastal North Carolina from the Virginia line south to present-day Morehead City. Union setbacks in Virginia, however, led to the withdrawal of many federal soldiers from North Carolina, leaving only enough Union troops to hold a few coastal strongholds—the vital ports and railroad junctions. The South during the Civil War, moreover, hotly contested the North’s ability to maintain its grip on these key coastal strongholds.

 

Recommended Reading: The Civil War in Coastal North Carolina (175 pages) (North Carolina Division of Archives and History). Description: From the drama of blockade-running to graphic descriptions of battles on the state's islands and sounds, this book portrays the explosive events that took place in North Carolina's coastal region during the Civil War. Topics discussed include the strategic importance of coastal North Carolina, Federal occupation of coastal areas, blockade-running, and the impact of war on civilians along the Tar Heel coast.

 

Recommended Reading: Storm over Carolina: The Confederate Navy's Struggle for Eastern North Carolina. Description: The struggle for control of the eastern waters of North Carolina during the War Between the States was a bitter, painful, and sometimes humiliating one for the Confederate navy. No better example exists of the classic adage, "Too little, too late." Burdened by the lack of adequate warships, construction facilities, and even ammunition, the South's naval arm fought bravely and even recklessly to stem the tide of the Federal invasion of North Carolina from the raging Atlantic. Storm Over Carolina is the account of the Southern navy's struggle in North Carolina waters and it is a saga of crushing defeats interspersed with moments of brilliant and even spectacular victories. It is also the story of dogged Southern determination and incredible perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds. Continued below...

For most of the Civil War, the navigable portions of the Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, Chowan, and Pasquotank rivers were occupied by Federal forces. The Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, as well as most of the coastal towns and counties, were also under Union control. With the building of the river ironclads, the Confederate navy at last could strike a telling blow against the invaders, but they were slowly overtaken by events elsewhere. With the war grinding to a close, the last Confederate vessel in North Carolina waters was destroyed. William T. Sherman was approaching from the south, Wilmington was lost, and the Confederacy reeled as if from a mortal blow. For the Confederate navy, and even more so for the besieged citizens of eastern North Carolina, these were stormy days indeed. Storm Over Carolina describes their story, their struggle, their history.

 

Recommended Reading: The Civil War on the Outer Banks: A History of the Late Rebellion Along the Coast of North Carolina from Carteret to Currituck With Comments on Prewar Conditions and an Account of (251 pages). Description: The ports at Beaufort, Wilmington, New Bern and Ocracoke, part of the Outer Banks (a chain of barrier islands that sweeps down the North Carolina coast from the Virginia Capes to Oregon Inlet), were strategically vital for the import of war materiel and the export of cash producing crops. From official records, contemporary newspaper accounts, personal journals of the soldiers, and many unpublished manuscripts and memoirs, this is a full accounting of the Civil War along the North Carolina coast.

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