Foster's Raid
ncl Thomas G. Stevenson. The Third
Brigade, the 27th Massachusetts, was
under the command of Colonel Horace
C. Lee.
Through Eastern
North Carolina
And the lioaliui» incident of a stolon lo|>
hook in Williainston.
»i/ i:liz\bi:tii iwiuksox
In the early days of the Civil War.
eastern North Carolina was one of the
first sections in the South to feel its ef¬
fects. Her coastal fortifications were
quickly overrun, and penetration of the
coastal plains came through Federal
gunboat activity in her sounds and in¬
land waters. This could ultimately have
a devastating effect on the Confederate
armies in Virginia since many of their
foodstuffs and supplies were coming
from the rich coastal farmland of North
Carolina. By the spring of 1862. the
eastern towns of Washington. Ply¬
mouth. and New Bern were under the
control of Federal forces.
To get a better picture of the situa¬
tion. draw a line southward from Vir¬
ginia through Plymouth. Washington,
and New Bern. The area east of this
line was controlled by Union forces.
Draw another line southward from
Hamilton, though Greenville. Kinston.
Goldsboro, and Wilmington. The area
west of this line was held by the Con¬
federate forces. It was the area in be¬
tween these two that suffered greatly,
even though few. if any. major battles
took place there. There were many
troops passing through the area usually
going from Plymouth or New Bern to
Tarboro and back again. This crossing
back and forth across the land caused
much devastation and left many of its
people destitute.
3 Regiments Threatened
In November. 1862. Major General
John G. Foster. USA. received orders
at his headquarters in New Bern to
come to Martin County and capture
three Confederate regiments that were
located in the area. These regiments in
question were the 26th North Carolina
Infantry under the command of Colo¬
nel Harry K. Burgwyn. Jr., the 59th
North Carolina under the command of
Colonel Dennis D. Ferebce. and the
17th North Carolina Infantry under the
command of Lt. Col. John C. Lamb.
Since the 26th NC and the 59th NC
were in the vicinity of Plymouth, when
they heard of the Federal advance they
had to quickly gather their forces and
pull back, west of the area held by the
Union troops. In order to give them
time to do this. Burgwyn and his 26th
NC posted themselves five miles from
Williamston to wait for Foster's group
and delay them long enough for the
other troops to reach a safe position.
Foster started advancing from New
Bern with three brigades. The First Bri¬
gade with the artillery, cavalry, and
wagon train he put in command of
Colonel T.J.C. Amory. The Second Bri¬
gade. comprised of the 24th Mas¬
sachusetts. the 44th Massachusetts, the
10th Connecticut, and the 5th Rhode Is¬
land. was under the command of Colo-
A Delaying Action
In General Foster's official report he
stated: "On Sunday, the 2nd. all the
forces, amounting to 5.000 men includ¬
ing 21 pieces of artillery left Washing¬
ton under my command for William¬
ston. On the evening of the same day we
encountered the enemy, posted in a
strong position at a small creek, called
Little Creek. I immediately ordered
Colonel Stevenson commanding the
2nd Brigade, who was then in the ad¬
vance. to make all haste in driving them
from the opposite side of the creek, and
push on at once. The engagement lasted
for one hour, when the enemy, being
driven from their rille pits by the effec¬
tive fire of Belger's Rhode Island Bat¬
tery. retired to Rawls' Mill, one mile
farther on. where they made another
stand in a recently constructed field
work. Belger’s Battery and two batter¬
ies of the 3rd New York Artillery were
immediately ordered into position, and
after a spirited engagement of half an
hour, succeeded in driving the enemy
from their works and across a bridge,
which they burned. That night, while
the pioneers rebuilt the burned bridge,
the forces bivouacked on the field and
proceeded the next morning to William¬
ston where we arrived about noon."
It is not surprising that Burgwyn w-as
overwhelmed by Foster's troops since
he only had five hundred men to fight
Foster's five thousand! It was not a to-
The home ot Elder Cushing Biggs Hassell. This house was struck by a cannonball which was lodged in
the newel post ol the stairway inside the house. The Yankees tried to burn this house, but were turned
away by Mis. Hassell.
в
the state. August 1986
