Goldsboro was a major rail line for the Confederacy. The goal of Foster's Raid was to capture the rail line in tandem with Burnside's attack on General Lee at Fredericksburg in 1862. The Atlantic and North Carolina railroad intersected at Goldsboro with the Wilmington and Weldon railroad (the lifeline of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia). Foster attacked Goldsboro in December 1862, burned the railroad bridge, but did not actually take the town. Upon burning the bridge, Foster and his troops left for New Bern. The railroad line was halted, but only briefly. Enough of the bridge was left intact to repair.

Courtesy of the Civil War Trails marker program of North Carolina and Clint Johnson's Touring the Carolina's Civil War sites

(January 2008) Enlarge  Civil War Trails interpretive marker at the Wayne County Museum

(January 2008) Downtown Goldsboro, Wayne County Courthouse in the distance

(January 2008) Enlarge  Detail  Willodale Cemetery: Monument to Confederate soldiers' who protected Wayne County during the Battle of Goldsboro

(January 2008) Enlarge  Close-up

(January 2008) Enlarge  Another view of the Confederate Monument

(January 2008) Enlarge  Detail Jared K. White, Texas Cavalry