The Union two-pronged attack didn't work out as planned. Fredericksburg was a disaster for Burnside. Foster's men, though, did not know what had transpired in Virginia (hard to believe with the telegraph).
They had already encountered enemy at Kinston and Whitehall (where they endangered the Confederate ironclad Neuse which was under construction.
Confederate commanders hastily scraped together a much smaller force to keep the Union troops from destroying the bridge: 8th, 51st, 52nd and 61st North Carolina infantry regiments.
December 17, 1862 dawned an unusually warm winter day in the South. One hundred and fifty years later, it was about the same for the re-enactment. Randy Sauls said the New England soldiers much have felt this day to be completely different from what they were used to back home.
From about 10-11 AM, there was a huge artillery bombardment at the bridge. Sauls continued, "You would see shells going through the air and they have a fuse as they're burning so you would see a little streak of light."
Getting Hot Out There. --Old Secesh
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