GOLDSBOROUGH BRIDGE BATTLEFIELD LIVING HSITORY

CIVIL WAR LIVING HISTORY March 28th 10am ? 4pm Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield ?Canon and Musket Firing - - 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm ?Camp Life ?Blacksmithing Open and Free to the Public For more information, see www.goldsboroughbridge.com DESCRIPTION OF EVENT AND BATTLEFIELD: The Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield will hold a ?Living History? on March 28th from 10am ? 4pm. A typical small Civil War era winter encampment will be set-up for visitors to see. A Civil War blacksmith with a traveling forge will also be set up all day. Soldiers clad in Civil War uniforms and equipment will be available to explain the battle and the site. Tours will also be available. Artillery and musket firing demonstrations will occur at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm. This event is open and free to the public. Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield is located on 32 acres of the original 1862 battlefield site and is open sunrise to sunset year-round. To visit Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield is to step back in time and take a walk in the footsteps of history...Come see where 15,000 soldiers fought a desperate battle in December 1862...Walk where they walked. See what they saw. Come to Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield and experience a small slice of American History. A 147th Anniversary Reenactment will take place on the original 1862 battlefield December 11-13, 2009. DIRECTIONS: To get to the Battlefield from Goldsboro, take Highway 117 South to Old Mount Olive Highway. Turn left and the battlefield is one quarter mile on your left. For more information about the Battlefield, see www.goldsboroughbridge.com. DESCRIPTION OF BATTLE: The Battle of Goldsborough Bridge was fought December 17, 1862 at the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad Bridge across the Neuse River, three miles south of Goldsborough. Troops and supplies aboard trains from the Deep South and the port at Wilmington had to cross this bridge on their way to Virginia, making this bridge a vital link in the Confederate supply chain. On the morning of December 11, 1862 Union General John G. Foster marched from New Berne with a force of 10,000 infantry, 640 cavalry and 40 guns. The bridge was defended by Confederate General Thomas Clingman, who commanded a small force of less than 2,000 men and a dozen guns. The Confederates fought valiantly but were pushed back west of the railroad and to the north bank of the Neuse River. After a two hour battle a daring assault party of Union volunteers, supported by artillery fire, rushed forward amidst a hail of bullets and set fire to the bridge. Union artillery fire was then brought to bear on the burning bridge, to aid in its destruction and to foil Confederate attempts to douse the flames. In a short while the bridge was destroyed, and then Union troops further damaged the railroad by destroying the tracks for a distance of two to three miles south from the bridge. Today, a Civil War railed fenced parking area contains a Civil War Trails historical marker which details some of the events of Foster?s Raid and the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge. An informational kiosk provides visitors with a battlefield map and further information. Walking trails surround the cultivated field which Confederate troops crossed during their bloody counterattack against the Union rear guard. These trails take visitors to three additional historical markers where specific events of the battle are detailed. Two sets of well preserved earthworks may be viewed, as well as the site of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad Bridge, the objective of the Union army.