This Month in New Bern - October
By Claudia Houston, New Bern Historical Society 2019
Two Carteret County men who came to New Bern in the 1800’s established lucrative businesses and eventually became partners, leading to a historic event of the Civil War in eastern North Carolina. Who were these men and what was significant about the month of October 1862?
Thomas Sparrow Howard began his marine business in New Bern and by 1860 he employed 25 workmen in his shipyard. Elijah W. Ellis came to New Bern in the early 19th century and established a turpentine manufacturing business. These two successful men eventually entered into a shipyard partnership. On October 17, 1862 a contract between Howard & Ellis Shipbuilders of New Bern and the Naval Department of the Confederacy was signed. The Confederate Navy commissioned the building of an iron gunboat, the CSS Neuse, to help prevent the Union from further occupying eastern Carolina via its rivers and shores. Although the United States Navy had clear superiority due to their vast number of ships, the Confederate Navy hoped to reduce that advantage by building ironclads since they had already been proven in battle.
Howard and Ellis chose a piece of ground along the north side of the Neuse as a construction site across from the small village of Whitehall, now known as Seven Springs. The timber was supplied locally and the keel was laid by November 1862. Work continued throughout several months, and by February 1863, Howard & Ellis Shipbuilders were given their third and fourth payments from the Naval Department. During April of 1864, the CSS Neuse was completed and patrolled the Neuse River, but in its attempt to navigate to New Bern to retake the town, it became stuck on a sand bar half a mile below Kinston. When the CSS Neuse was finally freed a month later, there was no hope to retake the town from Federal forces. Toward the end of the war, the CSS Neuse was involved in the Battle of Wyse’s Forks just outside of Kinston. The men were instructed to destroy the gunboat to avoid capture and the crew scuttled it on March 11, 1865 and it sank to the bottom of the river. The ship was recovered from the Neuse River by a few local men assisted by the community between 1961-63. The State of North Carolina acquired control of the CSS Neuse in 1964 and what is now known as the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center officially opened in 1966.
So what about Ellis and Howard? After the Civil War ended, Elijah W. Ellis requested reimbursement for his losses during the war, but he was denied by the Federal Government. Ellis continued his naval stores businesses, died a wealthy man and was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Thomas S. Howard remained involved in cotton ginning, grist and saw milling as well as ship building and accumulating property. He was married several times and, ironically, his last marriage was to Elijah Ellis’ daughter, Ann. He served the city for many years as a councilman, then Mayor. Howard died suddenly in December 1890 at the age of 69, and was also buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery.
economic legacy in eastern Carolina that lasts to this day. Who was this man and what did he do to benefit this area?
Barden was described in his day as an ultra-conservative. He distrusted bureaucracy in Washington, as well as inflation and corruption and did not want governmental intrusion in the everyday life of his constituents. While not all of his positions were universally popular, he was deeply admired for his devotion to the people and well-being of eastern North Carolina. His most enduring legacy was the acquisition during his tenure as congressman of three major military bases during the 1940’s: Cherry Point Marine Air Station in Havelock, Camp Lejeune Marine Base in Jacksonville, and Seymour Johnson Air Force base in Goldsboro. The eastern Carolina area had suffered huge economic losses in such areas as tobacco, textile and manufacturing. The acquisition of those military bases provided employment for thousands of eastern north Carolinians and a huge economic boon for the area. Thus, New Bernian Hap Barden’s legacy endures to this day.
In the 1930’s, comedian and witty political commentator Will Rogers was quite popular. But during August of 1933, Rogers wrote a newspaper column about New Bern that created a furor. What happened and why?
Did you know that in April of 1791, George Washington, first President of the United States, visited and slept in New Bern?
The Battle of New Bern took place on March 14, 1862. Of the many stories of the brave Union and Confederate soldiers who fought that day, one of the most interesting is that of 21-year-old student Frazar Stearns. Stearns was a member of the Amherst College Class of 1863, where his father, William Stearns, was the college president. William wanted his son to become a minister, but Frazar wanted to be a scientist and was especially interested in chemistry. Frazar’s professor of chemistry, 35-year-old William Smith Clark, became an officer in the 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and encouraged many of his students to join. William Stearns initially denied approval for his son to enlist, but finally relented on the condition that Frazar join the 21st Massachusetts and remain close to Professor Clark. Lt. Col. Clark was in command of the regiment and 1st Lt. Stearns became his Adjutant.
What New Bern property was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1997 and took an Act of Congress to create? If you answered the New Bern National Cemetery at 1711 National Avenue, established on February 1, 1867, you are correct. Why was it established, who is buried there and where were soldiers buried prior to its creation?
On January 1, 1867, a great celebration took place in New Bern. A tournament or “Ring” was held in which twenty-two knights, representing New Bern, Wilson and Kinston competed on a race track set up on the snow-covered banks of the Neuse River. Stands were erected for judges, the orator and the musicians, and wagons were provided on the outside of the track for spectators. At 11 am approximately 3,000 spectators, guests and participants left the Gaston House Hotel accompanied by the New Bern Comet Band and proceeded to the grounds just beyond the city. The Knights were led to the arena by the Chief Marshal, Colonel John D. Whitford, who wore a yellow silk sash with a red rosette on the shoulder. His aides wore red sashes with white rosettes. The Knights, splendidly arrayed with fancy uniforms and bearing such names as Knight of Newbern, Knight of the Rolling Neuse, and Knight of Craven, were led to the speaker of the day, Ex-Governor Zebulon Vance.