Union General John G. Foster’s prime objective here was the wooden covered Wilmington & Weldon railroad bridge across the Neuse River. After the 51st and 52nd North Carolina regiments were pushed back by the Union advance coming through the fields on the other side of the tracks and from atop the railroad embankment, Union volunteers rushed forward to burn the bridge. Five enlisted men from the 17th Massachusetts and 9th New Jersey, led by Lieutenant George Graham of the 23rd New York Artillery and Lieutenant Barnabas Mann of the 17th Massachusetts, made their way to the bridge. Mann was severely wounded in the assault, but the others continued forward under intense Confederate fire, gathered dried leaves and light wood, placed them with fuses upon a beam, and set them ablaze. Once the fire was set, Foster brought all of his artillery to bear on the bridge to help destroy it and to keep the Confederates from extinguishing the flames. In a short time, the bridge was destroyed, and Union troops then stacked their muskets and began tearing up the railroad tracks to further damage the Confederate supply line.