1861 was not a particularly good year for the Union. While winning some smaller battles the larger ones had been unmitigated disasters. 1862 needed to be better and it was. By the time March rolled around the Union was on a winning streak. George Thomas blunted a Confederate advance in Kentucky at Mill Spring. U.S. Grant took Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee and the state capitol in Nashville had been seized. Now it was time for the east.
Control of the Pamlico and Albermarle Sounds in North Carolina were important. These offered shelter for ships and a safe place for blockade runners to operate out of. New Bern on the Pamlico Sound was perhaps the most important target. The Neuse River emptied here and it was wide enough and deep enough for a seaport, though other neaby ports like Morehead and Beaufort were larger. It was also located near a rail line that would link up with the Weldon Railroad which went to Petersburg and would be important later in the war.
For the Confederates the highest priority was to defend Richmond and thus only six regiments were available to guard the entire North Carolina coast. Doing what he could with what he had D.H. Hill was placed in command of the district with New Bern and ordered fortifications to be constructed. Two lines were built south of the town, the Croatoan Line about 6 miles from town and Fort Thompson closer to town. The Neuse was also blocked with barriers and torpedoes (mines).
Hill was transferred to Virginia and replaced with Lawrence Branch and the district was divided reducing the available manpower. The first place to fall, Roanoke Island was not in Branch’s command in February. Leading the assault was Ambrose Burnside’s infantry and Louis Goldsborough’s naval squadron, who quickly wiped out the only Confederate naval resistance in the area dubbed the Mosquito Fleet. The Union now had unfettered movement in the two sounds and wanted complete control. New Bern would have to be taken and Burnside proposed to do just that.
Branch had about 4,000 men at his disposal and an imposing set of fortifications. Fort Thompson would be difficult to take but it had a major weakness on its left where the fortifications came to an end in a brickyard. Branch attempted to rectify it but could not find the labor necessary to complete it so he improvised by incorporating a creek into the line creating a dogleg in the works.
It took Burnside nearly a month to prepare and his men boarded transports on March 11 and accompanied by 14 gunboats. They sailed up the Neuse River and disembarked at Slocum’s Creek south of town two days later. Branch was aware of their arrival and put his men into the defenses. All units were instructed to fall back to Fort Thompson if they were forced out of the Croatoan Line.
Some Confederates tried to contest the landing but were driven back. On Branch’s side a heavy fog moved in which prevented Burnside from landing all of his artillery. When Union troops began to advance the rain started turning roads into quagmires. It was a slow and exhausting advance. Branch though could do little as the gunboats were constantly shelling the Croatoan Line and he misinterpreted this believing that is was cover for another landing farther up and ordered his men to fall back to Fort Thompson.
It would be dusk by the time Burnside approached Fort Thompson and his artillery did not arrive until the early hours of the morning. When dawn broke a heavy fog blanketed the area. Despite this Burnside ordered his men to prepare for assault. Two brigades advanced and Jesse Reno’s brigade seized the brickyard but came under fire from three sides. Reno was unaware that the Confederate line continued well to his right. John Parke’s brigade was sent to support Reno and its lead regiment led by Isaac Rodman charged into the dogleg.
Rodman’s attack broke the Confederate line and Branch’s men began to run. Branch ordered his reserves up but they could not get into position in time. They fell back over the Trent River burning the bridge behind them. To make matters worse the Federal gunboats had managed to get around the barriers in the river and the river batteries proved to be ineffective and the gunners spiked their guns. The gunboats shelled the retreating Confederates which prevented any counterattack. They would not reform until they arrived in Kinston but with the bridges destroyed Burnside could not pursue and had to be content with New Bern.
Burnside took about 470 casualties. Branch lost about 570 men. New Bern would remain in Federal hands for the remainder of the war and the other ports in the area quickly fell as well. A small portion of the battlefield at Fort Thompson has been preserved by the American Battlefield Trust.
