GENERAL SCHOFIELD’S MARCH TO GOLDSBORO’.
BATTLES OF KINSTON, N. C.
March 7–10, 1865.
While General Sherman was marching from Fayetteville toward Goldsboro’, General Schofield was approaching the same point, from the direction of Newbern and Wilmington. The rebels, under Hoke, attempted to dispute his passage, however, and made a stand near Kinston. Skirmishing began between the armies on the 7th of March, which resulted in the rebels being driven, by Colonel Classen’s command, to their intrenchments at Jackson’s Mills, four miles east of Kinston. General Cox was in command of the National forces, under supervision of General Schofield, whose headquarters were at Newbern; but General Schofield was in the field in person, during most of the time of these Kinston battles.
On the morning of the 8th, the enemy made a sudden charge upon the left wing of the Union line, and captured the Fifteenth Connecticut and the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts. The men, however, fought with great bravery, and only yielded to overpowering numbers, when their ammunition was exhausted. Lieutenant-Colonel Bartholomew and Major Osborne, commanding the regiments above mentioned, were captured by the rebels.
To partially compensate for these losses, Colonel Savage, of the Twelfth New York cavalry, afterwards made a detour toward the rear of the enemy with a portion of his command, capturing between fifty and one hundred rebels. The same afternoon, also, an attack was made upon the Union right, occupied by the First division, commanded by General Innes N. Palmer; but it was repulsed without difficulty and without serious loss of life.
The National line on the 8th was in front of Jackson’s creek, at one point on which (Jackson’s Mills,) the rebels had their strongest position. Colonel Malloy with the First brigade, Second division, successfully opposed the enemy in the afternoon. No communication existed at this time between the First and Second divisions.
Between three and four o’clock, General Ruger came up and filled the interstice between the First and Second divisions. This gave a new life to the entire line, and Colonel Malloy made a charge upon the rebel rifle pits, partially regaining the ground he had formerly occupied. At this, night came on and the action ceased.
Thursday morning, the 9th, Malloy fully regained his original position and continued to hold it. The enemy charged upon him three times in the forenoon, and were each time easily repulsed, with some loss of life and a small loss of prisoners to them. The afternoon was mostly occupied with light skirmishing along the whole line. About two hundred rebel prisoners were taken during the day.
All through the evening of the 9th, and the night and morning of the 9th and 10th, the enemy were persistent in their attacks. They had evidently learned that Couch was coming up overland to join Cox. This, of course, necessitated a furious and speedy onset upon Cox, in order to annihilate him before Couch should arrive. But the wave was sent bounding back, time after time, and finally, on the morning of the 10th, as they attempted another flank movement, the Unionists took a large number of prisoners, which discouraged the enemy from further assaults.
On the morning of the 11th, General Couch’s troops came up and formed a junction with those of General Cox. The rebel troops then retired across the Neuse river.
On the 15th the Mayor of Kinston, with a delegation, came out and formally surrendered the city. The National troops immediately took possession of the place, and fortified themselves within and around it. The rebels had destroyed their ram Neuse, and as much material of war as they could, prior to their hasty retreat: but valuable captures of guns and ammunition were made by the National forces. The losses, on the Union side, in these engagements has been stated at about two thousand. The rebel loss was heavier. Two thousand rebel prisoners were captured. From Kinston, the rebels having fallen back, and concentrated to oppose Sherman at Bentonsville, General Schofield pushed on to Goldsboro’, which he entered on the 21st. Here the junction was effected between his troops and those of Sherman—as already stated—and from this point the advance was made, which ended the campaign in the Carolinas.