Massachusetts 17th Volunteer Infantry (Union)

New Bern

Hatteras Island, on the outer shore of North Carolina, fell to Union forces in August, 1861. Roanoke Island, just to the north, was captured on February 8, 1862. Elizabeth City on the mainland followed days later. With the freedom to navigate unmolested through Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's command looked for other strategic targets of opportunity. The city of New Bern was a significant target, as the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad that connected the coast with the in…READ MORE

New Bern (1864)

Confederate troops tried to recaptur New Bern and failed.READ MORE

Wyse Fork

By the end of February 1865, the North Carolina port city of Wilmington, defended by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, had fallen to the army of Union Maj. Gen. John Schofield. The port city became a supply base for Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's army in North Carolina, then beginning to close in on Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army. To consolidate forces against Johnston, Sherman ordered Schofield's Army of the Ohio to advance inland from Wilmington, at the same time assigning Maj. Gen. Jacob Cox to move the U…READ MORE