This Month

A Formidable Fighting Family Robert J. “Strawberry” Conderman was the first person in Craven County to be killed in WWII.  He was born August 13, 1918, and upon graduating from New Bern High School, entered the University of North Carolina, receiving a bachelor’s degree in commerce and becoming an aviation cadet at Pensacola.  Upon completion […]

On July 1, 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 26th NC infantry encountered the famed 24th Michigan, known as the “Iron Brigade.” The battle was long and bloody, but the 26th NC defeated their opponent on that day. While their courage will be forever remembered, the unit suffered unparalleled loss. Prior

A man credited with revolutionizing naval warfare was born in this month in New Bern.  Gabriel James Rains was born in June 1803, the eldest son of Ester Ambrose and Gabriel Manigault Rains, a cabinet maker. He and his younger brother, George Washington Rains, both attended New Bern Academy and West Point, and were said

In 1893, a local Pharmacist invented a drink named Pepsi Cola and started a company which by 1915 had $1 million in assets. However, on May 31, 1923, his company officially declared bankruptcy. Who was he and what happened? Pepsi-Cola Plant in New Bern at the corner of Hancock and Johnson Street which became Pepsi

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. 

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

On February 8, 1864 the 35th Regiment of the United States Colored Infantry was organized. This Regiment was formed from the 1st 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

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

December 1, 1922 started out in anticipatory fashion as over 400 people from New Bern left for Raleigh to attend the Eastern Carolina Football Championship between New Bern and Sanford. By the end of the day, New Bern would suffer from the worst fire in North Carolina history, leaving 3,200 — one fourth of the

On November 26, 1787, in New Bern, a judicial milestone was set in the landmark case of Bayard vs. Singleton. The case is significant not just for the judicial precedent set in this case, but also for the number of attorneys and judges who played major roles in the history and development of our new