WF01 - Battle of Wyse Fork Driving Tour Series Traditional Cache
WF01 - Battle of Wyse Fork Driving Tour Series
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This Series follows the Kinston Battlefields Driving Tour of the Battle of Wyse Fork, which occurred March 8th thru 10th of 1865, & sometimes called the 2nd Battle of Kinston.
This is the 1st stop of 12 on the tour. A color brochure with driving directions and descriptive information is available at the Visitor's Center (coords: 35° 14.630' -77° 35.040'); a recommended starting point for the tour. Come see and tread the actual grounds where this momentous event took place!
Prologue:
At the end of February 1865 the port city of Wilmington, NC had finally fallen to Union troops under the command of Union Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield. Schofield was then to move his forces inland from the coast and join with Maj. Gen. Wm. T. Sherman’s forces at Goldsboro, where three Union armies would move against a Confederate army being gathered under the Confederate States Army of Gen. Joseph E Johnston.
Schofield, with the units from Alfred Terry's Expeditionary Corps, moved north from Wilmington, while Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox took his XXIII Corps division and sailed up the coast, landing at New Bern, NC. At New Bern, the Union forces were increased to three divisions totaling ~12,000 troops, and formed into a Provisional Corps with Cox in command. Moving towards Goldsboro, the Union forces repaired the railroad so as to function as a supply route for Sherman's army.
Confederate Gen. Robt. E. Lee, realizing Sherman’s intent was to eventually take Richmond, sent nearly every remaining Confederate unit at his disposal and placed them under the command of Gen. Johnston, with orders to stop Sherman.
Johnston was too far away to move against Schofield's divided forces, but General Braxton Bragg's forces, falling back from Wilmington, were within striking distance. Bragg with his ~8,500 troops moved against Cox near Kinston. This became the 2nd largest battle fought on North Carolina soil, succeeded only by the Battle of Bentonville which occurred a few days later, and represented the last mass capture of Union troops by the Confederacy.
Stop #WF01 – Battle of Wyse Fork
Confederate Headquarters
[See storyboard at the site]
The Howard House, located just east of here until it was destroyed in the 1960’s, was the headquarters of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. At this location on March 7, 1865, plans for the attacks by Gen. Hoke and Gen. Hill’s Divisions on Gen. Jacob Cox’s Union Provisional Corps, marching from New Bern, were made.
The plan was for Hill’s Division to feint forward across Southwest Creek while Hoke’s Division moved around Jackson’s Millpond to attack the Union left flank. Hoke’s move around the Millpond would position him at the junction of British Rd and Cobb Rd, where he would strike with surprise and strength, leading to the capture of the 15th Connecticut and the 27th Massachusetts regiments on March 8th. 900 Union officers and troops would be captured along with three pieces of Union Artillery. This was the most significant success of the Confederate forces during the battle – and was the last mass capture of Union troops by the Confederacy in the Civil War.
Don't forget the Mystery Clue -- Proceed to Stop #WF02...
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Important Series Notes: As you proceed thru the series, you will be collecting a Mystery Clue at each stop (noted on or inside each logbook's front cover) to solve the final, Mystery Cache for Stop #WF12. There is one exception - Stop #WF06 contains no clue due to its location & limited parking.
A 'Solver Form' is provided on Stop #WF12's listiing page.
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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