NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR | New Bern Historical Society

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This Month in New Bern, April 2018

· April 1, 2018

What Happened in New Bern in April

Cullen Andrews Battle was born in Georgia, grew up in Alabama, died in Greensboro, NC, and was buried in Virginia. Yet nearly three decades after his death on April 8, 1905, a temporary Army camp at Glenburnie Park, New Bern, was named in his honor - Camp Battle. What was this man’s connection to New Bern?

Cullen A. Battle was born in Georgia in 1829 and raised in Alabama, graduating from the University of Alabama. He practiced law and politics until Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861. Battle raised a company of volunteers and joined the Third Alabama Regiment, fighting valiantly in many Civil War battles. He was promoted to Brigadier General after his gallantry at Gettysburg. After the war, he returned to Alabama to resume his law practice, and though elected to Congress, he was prevented from taking his seat.

Battle’s son, Henry Wilson Battle, became pastor of the First Baptist Church in New Bern in January 1888. General Battle joined his son in New Bern and for a short period of time, edited the New Bern Sun Journal. He was elected Mayor by New Bern councilmen on 8 May 1890 even though he had not requested the office nor was he told about his nomination. He was a popular Mayor and an eloquent speaker. General Battle later followed his son Henry to Greensboro, NC, where he died.

Thirty-eight years later, Camp Battle, located approximately two miles northwest of the city of New Bern, NC was named in honor of General Cullen Battle. The Eastern Carolina Fair Association had owned and used the property for local fairs until 1919 when the City of New Bern purchased the land from them for $15,000. The property was then used as a city park until 1942 when the US Army leased approximately 70 acres of Glenburnie Park from the City of New Bern for $1 a year.

In 1942 the 1^st Infantry Regiment was sent to Camp Battle to guard the Neuse and Trent River Bridges. Their mission was to patrol installations in the area, including Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune. Lieutenant Colonel Wilson Stephenson, the commanding officer, officially named the encampment Camp Battle. The Camp could house 753 military personnel. Improvements to the Camp were made by the government at a cost of $193,300 and included 85 wood frame buildings such as barracks, supply rooms, latrines, and mess halls.

On June 20^th, 1944, Camp Battle became a German Prisoner of War Camp where more than 600 POW’s were sent and housed. The POW camp was solely under DOD control during the period of their lease and use. In November 1946, the lease was cancelled.

The site of Camp Battle is presently used as Glenburnie Park. There are no remnants of the camp itself; however one of the picnic shelters at the park may have the foundation of one of the Camp Battle buildings. A historical plaque commemorating the camp was placed inside the park with the assistance of an Eagle Scout in 2009.

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This Month in New Bern, March 2018

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· March 1, 2018

On March 14, 1862, Kady McKenzie Brownell became known as the “Heroine of the Battle of New Bern.”

Kady McKenzie was born in a tent on a battlefield in Caffaria, South Africa, the daughter of a French mother who died shortly after giving birth. Her father, Colonel George Southwell, a Scotsman, gave Kady to the McKenzie family to raise. They immigrated with her to Providence, Rhode Island where she worked in a weaving mill. She met and fell in love with Robert Brownell, who she would later marry, but who was married at the time to someone else.

When the Civil War broke out, Robert enlisted in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, Company H. Kady wanted to accompany him but Robert would not agree to it. Kady then appealed to Governor Sprague of Rhode Island who appointed her “honorary” color bearer. Kady McKenzie thus enrolled as Daughter of the Regiment in the 1st Regiment Rhode Island Detached Militia commanded by Colonel Ambrose Burnside. Kady was only nineteen years old, but she accompanied the troops, carried the flag, and was wounded at the first Battle of Bull Run. Enlistments at that time were only for three months, and the regiment was honorably discharged on August 1, 1861. On October 17, 1861, Robert Brownell Jr. enlisted as First Sergeant, Company A, Fifth Regiment, Rhode Island Heavy Artillery and Kady once again accompanied him as Daughter of the Regiment.

The Fifth Rhode Island Regiment was part of Burnside’s expedition to Eastern Carolina, and on March 14, 1862, Kady found herself on the battlefield in New Bern. It had rained and the area was blanketed in fog, making it difficult to distinguish one unit from another. According to Captain Jonathan M. Wheeler, Commander of Company A, “a report came that the rebels had flanked us, and were moving up a ravine in our rear, and on looking back saw a regiment clothed in gray overcoats and slouched hats. The command had been given to face by the rear flank when Kady rushed forward and cried out, ‘Don’t fire; they are our men.’” She frantically waved the flag, and by so doing, helped to prevent many soldiers from being killed by friendly fire.

Robert Brownell was wounded and Kady rushed to his aid. She continued to nurse Robert and other wounded soldiers until Robert’s discharge several weeks later when they both returned North. After his divorce, Robert and Kady were married and resided at the New York State Women’s Relief Corps Home in Oxford, New York. In 1882 Kady Brownell applied for and received a pension in 1884 due to her wound at the First Battle of Bull Run. This was by a Special Act of the United States Congress and she received $8 per month. It was said that Kady was the only woman to ever receive discharge papers from the Union Army.

Kady loved to make public appearances and would dress up in a French Zouave uniform, wearing her medals as well as the sword she carried into battle. She was quite popular and participated in the Grand Army of the Republic and made many public appearances at parades and events. Kady died on January 5, 1915 and is buried in Providence, Rhode Island. Kady’s story – and the accounts of others who fought during the Battle of New Bern – can be found on the interpretive panels at New Bern Battlefield Park, 300 Battlefield Trail, just off Taberna Way.

On March 14, 1862, Kady McKenzie Brownell became known as the “Heroine of the Battle of New Bern.”

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This Month in New Bern, February 2018

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· February 1, 2018

On February 8, 1864 the 35^th Regiment of the United States Colored Infantry was organized. This Regiment was formed from the 1^st North Carolina Colored Volunteers established in New Bern in 1863.

At the beginning of the Civil War, African Americans were not permitted to serve in the armed forces of the United States. Congress passed both the Confiscation Act and the Militia Act in 1862 which allowed for the freeing of slaves if their owners were fighting against the Union, and allowed President Lincoln to use freed slaves in the armed services. In January 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation, claiming that all slaves residing within the rebellious states would be considered free, helped to spur recruitment of African American Regiments. On May 22, 1863 the US War Department issued General Order Number 143 which established the Bureau of Colored Troops.

William Henry Singleton, a former slave, along with Abraham Galloway, recruited over 1,000 African American escaped slaves in New Bern for the First North Carolina Colored Volunteers. (Singleton later became a sergeant in the 35^th USCT). They became part of the North Carolina African American brigade organized and commanded by Brigadier General, Edward A. Wild.

During July 1863, the 1^st Regiment NC Volunteers paraded on Academy Green in New Bern and presented their flag to Colonel Wild. The flag was designed by Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and the cost was $150 which was raised by the Colored Ladies’ Aid Association of North Carolina in New Bern, under Mary Starkey. The flag was presented to General Wild who then presented it to Colonel James C. Beecher, half-brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who commanded the regiment. The success or failure of the 1^st NCCV would help to decide if it were feasible or not to raise more African American troops. While the 1^st NCCV did not win a major battle for the Union Army, it served with distinction and proved that African Americans could provide a fighting force to assist the Union Army.

After the formation of the 35^th USCT in February of 1864, enlistment and training began in New Bern, and the troops headed further south. While in Georgia and South Carolina, they performed garrison duty and acted as laborers, but finally saw combat in Florida at the Battle of Olustee. Though this battle ended with a Union loss and high casualties for both sides, the men of the 35^thUSCT fought gallantly and again demonstrated that African Americans were worthy participants in the armed services.

In the last two years of the war, 175 regiments containing 178,000 African American men saw service. In North Carolina, four regiments of over 5,000 soldiers were raised, including the 35th, 36th, and 37th USCT, as well as the 14th US Colored Heavy Artillery. The 35th USCT fought well and earned high praise on the battlefield. During the invasion in NC near Carolina Beach during the winter of 1864-1865, at least nine USCT regiments took place as part of the Union naval and army forces that captured Fort Fisher and forced the surrender of Wilmington.

A marker in honor of the 1^st NCCV and subsequently the 35^th USCT was dedicated and placed on Academy Green at Hancock and New Street.

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This Month in New Bern, January 2018

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· January 2, 2018

A small article appeared in the 13 Jan 1897 Daily Journal (New Bern, Wed. p.2) stating “Notice is hereby given that application will be made to the next General Assembly of the State of North Carolina to change and amend the Charter of the city of New Berne.” At the next meeting in 1897, the name of our city was officially changed to its current spelling, New Bern. But what had been its official name prior and why did it change?

New Bern was founded in 1710 by Baron Christoph von Graffenried of Bern, Switzerland. The Baron named it New Bern in honor of the city of his birth. In 1723, the General Assembly enacted that the place be “Incorporated into a Township, by the Name of Newbern… with all Privileges which ever have belonged to the said town, or shall hereafter be expressed, forever. (Laws of North Carolina, 1723-pg 204 Section XIII).

Although the official name was Newbern, it was not spelled that way on various maps, newspapers, and official documents, which led to much confusion over the years. On June 6, 1891, Henry Gannett, a famous geographer and mapmaker wrote to the City Clerk, William Oliver, and asked him about the true spelling of the name.

“Dear Sir, I find great uncertainty in spelling the name of your city. It is spelled Newbern, Newberne, New Bern, New Berne and Newburn. I take the liberty of appealing to you to inform us as fully as possible what the usage is in the official documents of the city. In case you have documents at hand, I should be glad to know under what name the city is chartered”.

Oliver’s’ response was that “…up until 1862 the official name was spelled Newbern and it had been chartered as such.” Oliver sent Gannett a copy of the “Acts of the General Assembly published in 1793” as proof. Oliver referenced the fact that the town had been captured by Union forces and had been in the hands of Union troops for three years. “The post office, and every office both town and county, the banks, the newspaper, were all in the hands of those who recently settled here. The stamps at the post office at this time were changed from Newbern to New Berne as well as the newspaper and county offices. This change was made by comparative strangers without a scintilla of law or authority.” (State Chronicle, July 23, 1891, p.4) Gannett subsequently settled upon Newbern as the official spelling.

In 1897 local businessman, James Augustus Bryan helped to initiate legislation to officially change the spelling again. The town continued to be referred to as Newberne which Bryan and others blamed upon Union soldiers for adding an “e” at the end. This led to the January 1893 notice in the paper that there was to be an application to change or amend the charter of the city of New Berne. This resulted in the General Assembly of NC action in February 1897 to establish that the “corporation heretofore existing as the city of Newbern shall hereafter be known and designated as the city of New Bern, and all laws in conflict with the above are hereby repealed.” Now you know when our city officially became New Bern.

Sneden, Robert Knox. [Plan of the Battle of Newberne ! North Carolina: fought March 14th 1862]. [to 1865, 1862] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/gvhs01.vhs00079/. (Accessed December 12, 2017.)

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New Bern Historical Society

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