Scuffleton Bridge

Scuffleton Bridge. Failed to Burn. , (Preface) On July 18, 1863, Union Gen. Edward E. Potter led infantry and cavalry from New Bern to destroy the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad bridge at Rocky Mount. Potter sent the infantry toward Kinston and part of the cavalry to Rocky Mount, occupying Greenville and Tarboro with the rest. The raiders damaged or destroyed bridges, trains, and mills before returning to New Bern on July 23, but the Confederates restored rail service by Aug. 1, About sunset on July 21, 1863, gunfire erupted in the woods in front of you. The targets, Union Gen. Edward Potter's cavalrymen, were running a gauntlet en route back to New Bern after raiding Tarboro and Rocky Mount. They had eluded a trap set by Confederate cavalry at nearby Falkland two days earlier, then had ridden all night with a brief halt near Grimsley Church to rest and feed their horses., Throughout the day on July, scattered Confederate units, including two companies of the 7th Confederate Cavalry and three companies of the 62nd Georgia Cavalry, skirmished with various elements of Potter's command across the countryside. Col. William C. Claiborne, leading the pursuit, concentrated most of his force at Edwards Bridge over Big Contentnea Creek just south of here and sent a small number to guard the bridge here at Scuffleton on Little Contentnea. Capt. Daniel E. Edwards, commanding the Tar Heels guarding this bridge, tore up some of the flooring planks instead of burning it., Edwards's Confederates fired a volley, then scattered, as Potter approached. Potter's men captured twelve Confederates, repaired the bridge with fence rails, and crossed., The next morning, as the last Union picket crossed the bridge, Confederate Sgt. Josiah Dixon, an area resident, and two of his comrades fired into the rear of the column. Believing that Claiborne's pursuing men had finally caught up with them, the Federals fled, abandoning horses and baggage. Despite this close call, Potter's men continued toward the safety of New Bern., (captions) , Pvt. Stephen Pollard, 7th Confederate Cavalry Courtesy Library of Congress , Potter's Raid from New Bern to Rocky Mount and Tarboro , "Skirmish at Scuffleton Bridge," by Jackie M. McLawhorn, 2006 Courtesy Green County Museum