On December 11, 1862, eleven hundred men under the command of U.S. general John G. Foster marched out of New Bern, North Carolina. Their objective was to create a diversion, and to destroy a vital conduit of supply for the confederate army. Foster’s expedition was an attempt to force Robert E. Lee to send part of his army south, to defend the Wilmington-Weldon Railroad. On the same day that Foster set out for Goldsboro, Lee could spare no men, as his forces were fully engaged in repulsing the first of a number of determined attempts by a federal army to capture Fredericksburg, Virginia. Had he departed a few days earlier, Foster might have accomplished more than just burning bridges and tearing up a stretch of railroad.
Since 1994 I had been working as a visiting artist at East Carolina University. Having completed work on a series of paintings of Virginia battlefields, I went in search of a new project. The university is located in Greenville, which is roughly equidistant from New Bern and Goldsboro. Traces of historic earthworks were still visible in New Bern, and other sites along the Neuse, Tar, and Roanoke rivers. My decision to focus on Foster’s raid was influenced by lively narratives preserved in the regimental histories of the 9th New Jersey, and 44th Massachusetts regiments. New heritage tourism itineraries had just been established in Virginia, which had motivated Neuse Valley historians, reenactors and preservationists to do likewise. Foster’s 1862 route coincided with federal movements related to Sherman’s victory at Bentonville in 1865.

Battlefield of Kinston Bridge. Mixed media on paper. 70 x 90 inches. 1996. Collection Kinston Arts Council. NC

 

Battlefield of Kinston Bridge. Oil on canvas. 70 x 90 inches. 1997 (Lost in transport accident)

 

Battlefield of Kinston Bridge. Oil on canvas. 70 x 90 inches. 1997 (Lost in transport accident)

 

Battlefield of Kinston Bridge.Mixed media on paper. 40 x 40 inches. Collection of Asheville Art Museum

 

Battlefield of Whitehall (Seven Springs). Mixed media on paper. 70 x 90 inches. 1996

 

Battlefield of Goldsboro Bridge. Oil on canvas. 24 x 26 inches. Ex-Private collection (Destroyed in hurricane)

 

Battlefield of Goldsboro Bridge. Mixed media on paper. 70 x 90 inches. 1996. Private collection, Raleigh NC

 

Battlefield of Goldsboro Bridge. Oil on canvas 72 x 96 inches. 1996. Private collection, Wyoming