Visiting the Goldsboro Bridge Battlefield - Fifty-First North Carolina Infantry

I visited the Goldsboro Bridge Battlefield last week. It was interesting to walk on the same ground that my great-grandfather fought on 161 years ago.

The park is owned and maintained by a non-profit, the Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield Association (www.goldsboroughbridge.org). The battlefield is free, is open 24/7, is unattended, and it has no facilities (gas stations and fast food are less than five minutes away). The entire self-guided walking tour is about 1.5 miles and can easily be completed in less than an hour.

I took the pictures below. My apologies for the quality of the images. I had a bad glare on my phone screen and couldn’t see what I was photographing. The photographer is also not without blame. For those that don’t already know, you can right click on a photo and select “Open image in new tab” to see a larger image.

Second stop. The railroad track is barely visible through the breaks in the trees. The embankment s about 8-feet high, but a 10-foot-deep ravine runs directly in front of it.

Seventh stop. These entrenchments were probably manned by the 51st North Carolina while Union troops were advancing down the tracks toward the bridge.

Information board at the parking lot (top).

Information board at the parking lot (bottom).

When the Union troops withdrew, the 51st and 52nd Regiments attempted to attack the Federal rearguard. The men crossed this field from the left (near the white sign at the edge of the woods) to the right and climbed the railroad embankment near the white sign barely visible near the right corner of the field. The Confederates came under fire from Union artillery as they crossed the field.

You can read a full account of the battle by clicking HERE.

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