Captains Wilson and Pond, with their respective commands of the Third New York Cavalry, were sent seven miles in the direction of Wilmington, to destroy an extensive bridge and trestle work. This they accomplished with great labor, after a few minutes' skirmishing and joined our main forces by dusk. In connection with the destruction of these bridges they also destroyed the track and set fire to cross ties in several places. While this was being done, Captain Jacobs, with a company of the Third New York Cavalry, and one piece of Allis' Flying artillery, was sent three and a half miles in the direction of Goldsboro, on the line of the railroad, to destroy the tracks, some culverts and a bridge. Just as Captain Jacobs reached the three and a half mile point the mail train from Goldsboro came rattling down. The engineer on the train, in coming around a sharp turn, observed ahead a heavy dark smoke, immediately whistled down brakes, and reversed his order of proceeding. Notwithstanding this, Captain Jacobs was enabled to bring his pieces of artillery into such a position as to give the retreating train the force of three shells. After doing his business, and well and ably developing the bumps of destruction in North Carolina, he joined us at Mount Olive just about sundown.
By this time we at Mount Olive Station had taken up a large extent of the track, destroyed the switches and did all the damage we could; then, about 8 o'clock, we set out for a change of base, made several strategical movements through woods and swamps and reached the camp of the great army about midnight, having cut across, as explained above, without moving on any main road more than five minutes at a time.
On leaving Mount Olive I paused for a moment to behold the sight presented to our view. I saw the railroad apparently on fire for miles in extent, huge fires of ties and warping rails, and the blank amazement that was but too evident on the faces of our newly released prisoners. The woods were bright and radiant with the reflected light; our hidden road was also illuminated, and all nature seemed changed—as the light reflected on the water in the swamp—if not to one of beauty, at least to a great degree of attractiveness. As we left, the boys gave three cheers for the Major's success, and the same was highly complimented by General Foster, on making his report to that officer.
We had hardly left Mount Olive Station over an hour when the enemy came down as near as he could with a so-called "Merrimac Railroad Car," and shelled the woods for quite a while.
SEVENTH DAY.
On the Field, Dec. 17, 1862.
We resumed our line of march this morning and got on a high hill and in full sight of a large force of the enemy drawn up in line on the railroad, without meeting anything of importance to impede our progress.
Having the advantage of position, being on a hill, over a mile from the railroad, with an entirely open country before us, the river on our right and a dense wood to the left—we opened on the enemy with shell. For a very short space of time the rebels stood their ground; but so accurately did we get the range of their position, rapidly throwing in the shells, that the enemy broke front and line, and commenced a precipitate retreat across the river on the railroad bridge. We kept up our firing with considerable rapidity, and by that means cut off the retreat of two rebel regiments, who fell back into thick woods on the other side of the railroad. Colonel Ledlie then moved a battery to within less than half a mile of the enemy's position. The Ninth New Jersey was sent, to support the battery, across an open field and afterwards beyond it, until the regiment got close to the right of the railroad bridge, and a short distance from the enemy and the river. While these operations were being carried out, the Seventeenth Massachusetts, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Fellows, moved to the left, into the woods, waded through a mill stream, and came out on the railroad line directly in front of the enemy. By this time and while the Seventeenth was slowly advancing, the enemy commenced a rapid fire of shot and shell from a battery concealed in the woods across the river, and to the left of the bridge, looking from our position, as also from their iron-clad railroad car, occupying a position on the other side of the river, close to the entrance to the bridge. At this point they also had sharpshooters, who tried hard, but did not well succeed in picking off our men.