NEW YORK, March 19. – The following are the details of the
battle of Newberne:
Com. Case was in command of the fleet of Gunboats, and had
sunken vessels, torpedoes and other rebel obstructions to overcome and pass,
but surmounted them all, with but light damage to two of his fifteen
vessels. Two brigs, three barks and
nineteen schooners were sunk by the rebels, above two rebel batteries. The latter were silenced, the sunken vessels
passed and our flag hoisted over the enemies batteries as our forces went along. This was Saturday afternoon and night.
On Sunday morning a heavy fog set in, but lifted soon, and
our boats passed up safely, silenced Ft. Thompson with its twenty guns heavy
Columbiads, then Fort Ellis, with nine guns was captured after pretty brisk
fighting, but the rebels fled in a panic, and our flag waved over another fort.
Only one fort was left to be engaged and Newberne would be
at the mercy of our troops. This was Ft.
Lane, but the rebels having had enough of our boats, offered little, if any
resistance, and fled. The rebels then
fired a large number of scows, filled with rosin and turpentine, intending to
float them down and burn our gunboats, but they got stuck and burnt away
furiously. – The gunboats then shelled the depot and track, but our troops had
then crossed, and a white flag was hoisted.
Our Navy did not lose a man.
Operations on the land were briefly as follows.
Our troops landed 12 miles below Newberne, and began to prepare
for an advance. Most of the troops being
so anxious to land that nearly every regiment jumped into the water and waded
ashore, and the whole disembarkation was performed in less than two hours.
After marching two miles they found the deserted rebel camp
with fires burning and a hot rebel breakfast untasted. The division bivouacked for the night, and
early in the morning skirmishing began.
Foster’s brigade, composed of the Massachusetts 23d, 24th,
25th and 26th with the 10th Connecticut in reserve, were in line and engaged a
twenty gun battery of the rebels on their left flank, who showered grape,
canister and shell upon them, also firing musketry from their infantry. The 2d brigade comprising the 21st Mass.,
51st New York, 51st Penn’a, and 9th N. Jersey, engaged them on the right and
General Parks 3rd brigade took position in front.
The 1st brigade bore the brunt of the battle and the 24th
Massachusetts had Maj. Stephenson and Lieut. Horton wounded, and the 23d Mass.,
lost Lieut. Col. Merritt, by a cannon ball carrying away one side of his
body. The 10th Conn., were ordered to
support the 27th Mass., which had suffered severely. The 3d brigade, together with the 2nd,
executed a flank movement, and a hand to hand fight ensued of a most desperate
character, when our troops drove the rebels out at the point of the bayonet,
chasing them out of sight.
The rebels took possession of a Railroad train and fled from
Newberne, burning the bridges, the Warrington House and several private
dwellings. A number of whisky and
turpentine distilleries had commenced burning but were stopped.
A number of unionists were found in the city.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye,
Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 22, 1862, p. 3
