KINSTON.

14 Dec. Kinston, on the left bank of the Neuse, was defended by batteries between it arid the river, by four light guns, likewise entrenched on their side of the river and placed so as to commmand the bridge, and by a considerable force of infantry thrown across the river and occupying a meeting-house and rifle-pits commanding the open country and the approaches to the bridge from the right bank.
Foster’s line was drawn across the road leading to the bridge.
Gen. Wessels’s brigade, to which the 23rd was temporarily attached, had the advance. Major Chambers had vainly begged for a position in the first line but was refused on account of the emptiness of the regimental cart-ridge boxes and the impossibility of filling them in time. He was sent in on the left of the road and found ample occupation in resisting the movement to the rear of a veteran Peninsular regiment in his front.
On the right of the road three regiments lay in three ‘lines accomplishing nothing, which had been reported to the commanding officer. Foster sent for the 10th Conn.and, when it reported from its place near the left of the column, directed it to file to the right, in the rear of the three regiments, mid then, facing towards the enemy, to attack him, with the afore said three regiments, if practicable, without them, marching over them, if must be.
In this statement and order Gen. Foster hardly did justice to the regiments in the swamp. They had found no little difficulty from the nature of the ground (the rebels,it is said, had thought the swamp impassable) , and had, at considerable loss, forced the enemy’s skirmish line back to the open and to the shelter of the meeting-house.
One of the regiments, the 45th M. V. M., held a position at the edge of the woods and thus opened a nearly unimpeded path for reinforcements.
The gallant 10th pushed on to the open, and, regardless of the enemy’s fire, commenced fi1e~firing in return.
Seeing that the enemy’s fire began to slacken and that he Was retiring towards the bridge, the 10th, leaving ninety killed and wounded to mark their position on the knoll at the edge of the swamp, charged with the bayonet and turned the retreat into a rout. Finding that many were likely to escape and perhaps be troublesome in the works on the other bank, the 10th halted and opened fire on the bridge itself. This turned the rout into surrender. All the rebels, who were still op the right bank of the river, threw down their arms and sought shelter. A battery of the 3rd N. Y., coming up in fine style, helped the 10th in its gallant attack on an enemy whose position, on the left bank, was still strong, with a burning bridge and an unaffordable river in its front. But, they showed little relish for fighting. A white flag soon showed in the four gun battery.
Kingston was ours.
The fighting, except some exchange of artillery, was over. Not so the danger. The flames of the burning bridge, as they reached the muskets thrown away by retreating rebels, exploded them. One such shot killed Col. Gray of the 96th N. Y. The men of the 10th Conn. and of Jenny’s Battery, forming line to the river bank, soon extinguished the flames with the battery buckets.
They thereby rather overshot the mark. It had been Gen. Foster’s plan to drive the enemy to burn their bridge and then, by pretending to rebuild, hold the enemy while a part of our force pushed unresisted towards Goldsboro. We had saved the bridge and must use it. Most of the troops, after securing the prisoners, marched across and bivouacked in and about Kingston that night. The 23rd went across towards dark after receiving the surrender of sixty-three of the 23rd South Carolina.
(The description of the battle of Kinston is based upon a newspaper account by Bret. Brig. Gen. J. L. Otis, the Major of the 10th Conn., and the report of Lt. Col. Leggett, its commander)
Sergt. Carlton of F,’ slightly wounded and Rollo Burrill, Corp. of ‘B,’ who died 14 Jan., ‘63, of wound in thigh, were the only losses to the regiment in this action.
15 Dec., ‘62. We had Kinston, which we did not care for. The enemy, after a slight show of resistance, the afternoon before, had retired to his fortified positions west of the town to await our advance. News had come of Burnside’s bloody repulse at Fredericksburg and the consequent release of large forces to oppose our little column. Lee, it appears, had telegraphed to Goldsboro’ that he could send 30,000 men, if necessary. It remained to be seen whether the objects of the expedition the destruction of the railroad, and, especially, of the bridge at Goldsboro could be accomplished by strategy in spite of the gathering hordes.
A party of cavalry and light artillery had re-crossed the bridge and pushed up the right bank of the Neuse during the night. Early today, while a column made a strong feint of moving directly west, the rest of our forces began to follow the cavalry along the right bank. It took half the day to evacuate the town. A complete destruction of the enemy’s stores, which he himself had fired on his retreat, occupied some time.
The 23rd had the advance to-day with the usual compensations of that position- an easy march at their own pace and the opportunity to forage a virgin country. Many of the men will recall the zest which the long march and ill-laden haversack gave to the loot that night. Some may remember the difficulties which the Assistant Surgeon in charge found could occur between mutton on the hoof and the broiled chop on the plate. Some sheep had been penned in an angle of a rail fence. Their captors offered the Doctor one of them if he would carry it to camp-a feat for which he felt quite capable. That experiment resulted in the Doctor getting a roll on the sacred soil and the sheep bounding away in short-lived freedom. Convinced, but hungry and undaunted, he was still sure that he could carry a carcass, and, in this, with sufficient help, he succeeded. He writes that he is very sure that the Adjutant and others who were much amused at his struggle with the sheep, none the less relished their share of the mutton.