Goldsborough Bridge

On December 17, 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed in Wayne County, North Carolina, in what became known as the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge. The fight formed part of a broader Union push toward Goldsborough, North Carolina, undertaken in the course of the American Civil War.

Background

By December 1862, control over the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Bridge had become a shared objective for both the Union Army and Confederate forces, given its strategic value. Union Maj. Gen. John G. Foster led an expedition that arrived near Everettsville on December 17, with the goal of destroying the bridge and thereby cutting off the crucial supply route running from the port of Wilmington.

Battle

Moving northward, Foster's soldiers set about tearing up the rail line as they aimed for the Goldsborough Bridge. Clingman's brigade of Confederates managed to slow their progress, though it could not stop the span from being destroyed. The Confederate defenders on hand were too few to hold back Foster's men, who overran them and set the bridge ablaze. With the objective secured, Foster turned his column around and headed back toward New Bern, where his base lay. Confederate troops struck at them once more during the return march, but the attack was beaten back, and Foster's losses proved far lighter than those suffered by the attackers.

Aftermath

Foster and his men made it back to camp on December 20. When the losses from all three fights, those at Kinston, White Hall, and Goldsborough, were tallied together, the Federal side had suffered 577 casualties in total, made up of 90 dead, 478 injured, and 9 either missing or taken prisoner. Confederate losses stood higher, with a combined figure of 738 that included 71 killed, 268 wounded, and 400 counted as missing or captured.