The US Army's Coast Division, led by Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside and accompanied by armed vessels from the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, were opposed by an undermanned and badly trained Confederate force of North Carolina soldiers and militia led by Brigadier General Lawrence O'B.

Although the defenders fought behind breastworks that had been set up before the battle, their line had a weak spot in its center that was exploited by the attacking Federal soldiers.

New Bern lies on the left (southwest) bank of the Neuse River, about 37 miles (60 km) above its exit into Pamlico Sound.

In the colonial era, the town was quite important as a seaport, but by the time of the Civil War Morehead City and Beaufort had largely supplanted it.

A short distance further up, at Goldsboro (spelled Goldsborough in the 19th century), the line crossed the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, noted for keeping the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia supplied throughout the war.

The War Department, directed at first by Secretary Leroy P. Walker and later by Judah P. Benjamin,[5] used the state's best-trained and best-equipped troops to take part in the campaigns in Virginia, which were given a higher priority.

When Hatteras Island fell to Union forces in August 1861, only six regiments of infantry were available to defend the entire coast of the state.

[6] By that time, the Confederacy had divided the coastal defense into separate districts for command purposes; the northern part, from near Cape Lookout to the Virginia border, was assigned to Brig.

[10] Hill hoped that he would be given sufficient manpower to fill his lines, but he was transferred to service in Virginia before the hoped-for additional troops arrived.

Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, and a Union gunboat flotilla assembled from the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, under Flag Officer Louis M Goldsborough, on February 7–8, 1862.

That battle was rapidly followed up by the gunboats alone, who wiped out the Confederate Navy's Mosquito Fleet in an assault on Elizabeth City.

Although more than a month passed after Roanoke Island fell before Burnside could mount an attack on the city, the local command received no reinforcements.

The disparity between necessity and reality persuaded Branch to draw his lines in, abandoning some of the strong breastworks erected by his predecessor.

Because the land farther to the right was fairly firm and would allow his position to be flanked, General Branch decided to extend the line beyond the railroad and end it in a swamp.

In haste to complete the extension and faced with an exasperating shortage of labor, he decided to use a small creek as a natural part of the line.

Forts including Lane, Ellis, Allen, Thompson, and Dixie served as defenses to protect the area.

The main force traversed Pamlico Sound, entered the Neuse River, and anchored near the mouth of Slocum's Creek at dusk.

The fleet that traveled up the Neuse River was full of infantry who left their ships and setup south of confederate soldiers at Fort Thompson.

Because of the weather, he decided to land his other artillery closer to the enemy lines, but dense fog soon closed in, and he could not communicate with the fleet.

[23] As the soldiers made their slow progress, the gunboats kept a short distance ahead, shelling places where Rebels might be waiting.

Col. R. P. Campbell, in command of the Confederate right wing, interpreted the naval gunfire as preliminary to another landing that would take the Croatan work in reverse, so he ordered a general pullback to the Fort Thompson line.

They continued until they came in contact with enemy pickets, about a mile and a half (2 km) away from the Fort Thompson line held by the Rebels.

The Yankees did not have complete information concerning their opponents' disposition at this time; so far as they knew, the Confederate line extended only from the river to the brickyard.

[26] The Army also got some dubious support from the gunboats under Commander Stephen C. Rowan, who shelled the Rebel positions although they were hidden by intervening forests.

This gunfire greatly disturbed the North Carolinians, but it was inaccurate enough that Burnside eventually asked Cowan to change direction.

The gap in his line created by the dogleg at the railroad was covered only by his weakest unit, a militia battalion with only two weeks of training, and armed with shotguns and hunting rifles.

Rodman sent a courier to General Parke informing him that he was taking responsibility, then formed his regiment and ordered them to charge.

Because Branch's order to retreat included all of the Confederate river batteries, their guns were spiked and they were abandoned to the fleet.

Immediately following the battle, Burnside turned his attention to his next important objective, getting control of the port at Beaufort, which was defended by Fort Macon.

The New Bern region was an important victory for the union as it created more space for camps, housing, and employment for refugees.