Newport Barracks
North Carolina
About a third of a mile east of here, Union forces established the command post known as Newport Barracks in March eighteen sixty-two, shortly after capturing the coast from New Bern to Morehead City. The original structure had been built by Confederate troops the previous winter. Federal forces added a hospital, stables, storehouses, and earthwork defenses, turning the site into a major supply depot linked by rail to both the coast and the interior.
The barracks guarded the critical Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad trestle over the Newport River, a vital supply artery. Garrison troops from Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island held this position until the end of the war. Confederate forces overran the post in February eighteen sixty-four and held it briefly before Union troops returned.
