At Goldsboro, NC, the multi-pronged attack fared better than the debacle at Fredericksburg. On December 17th, Union troops advancing from New Bern burned the railroad bridge south of the city.
But, 300 miles to the North, the South had already scored a great victory at Fredericksburg, four days earlier when repeated Union attacks against fortified Confederate positions were thrown back with huge losses.
Bull, who gave the talk, is a former Goldsboro High School teacher and is very involved with Civil War history and is a re-enactor, having appeared in the movie "Gods and Generals." According to him, Union General Burnside's defeat was the result of "a good plan gone bad.
The Union Army was to exploit a weakness in Confederate General lee's defensive line, but failed to follow it up. The result was 17,000 casualties on both sides with Federal troops having twice as many due to the failed charges against entrenched Confederates on a hill named Marye's Heights.
More to Come. --Old Secesh
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