Battle of Goldsborough Bridge
December 17, 1862
Nearly 15,000 men clashed on these fields December 17, 1862. At stake was the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad bridge which spanned the Neuse River here. Confederate troops, outnumbered five to one, fought bravely to defend the bridge, a vital link in the Confederate chain of supply between the deep South, the port at Wilmington and Northern Virginia. Union troops, on a raid from occupied New Berne and in support of the simultaneous Union offensive at Fredericksburg, Virginia, attacked from the east side of the Railroad. After a fight lasting three hours Union forces succeeded in pushing the Confederates back and then destroyed the bridge by flames and artillery fire.
Late that afternoon, additional Confederate troops arrived to support a counterattack that was in progress against the Union rear guard as it prepared to leave the field. Two North Carolina regiments plus a battalion struck nearby a mile to the south, while two more regiments crossed this field and attacked the Union force across the railroad tracks. The North Carolinians that crossed here were turned back after sustaining heavy losses caused by massed Union artillery and infantry fire.
As the sun set the firing ceased, the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge was over at a cost of nearly 250 casualties. Units present or engaged that day were from North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. A list of those units present at the battle is inscribed hereon.
Marker is on Old Mt. Olive Highway south of U.S. 117, on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
