"Our Heritage" by Claude MOORE
Mt. Olive Tribune
March 5, 1993

When we hear the name of White Hall we usually think of William Whitfield II (1715-1795) who received a land grant here on the Neuse River and built a home which he called "White Hall." The name was later changed to Jericho and much later to Seven Springs. It was at White Hall that 1,500 Confederates under General H.G. Evans fought an army of 15,000 under General John G. Foster on December 15, 1862.

The Union Army had captured New Bern in March 1862 and by December of the same year General Lee was having military success in northern Virginia.

General Foster decided to make an expedition to Kinston and Goldsboro in order that General Lee would have to send reinforcements to this area. The Confederates were defeated at Kinston. Even with his small force, General Evans fought the enemy below Kinston and held up the advance for several days.

The main objective of the Union Army was to capture Goldsboro and to burn the Railroad Bridge across the Neuse. The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was the main line of supply for the Confederates in Virginia.

General Foster had 80 pieces of artillery and the Confederates had two. General Evans received some reinforcements from General Robertson and Colonel Leventhorpe. The Union Army moved toward White Hall and Goldsboro after it occupied Kinston.

White Hall was a small village with a few stores and houses. A gunboat was in the process of being built on the river. The Confederates burned the wooden bridge across the river and threw up breast works on the north side of the river. The Union troops built breast works (trenches) on the south side of the river in the village of White Hall.

The Union Army placed its artillery on the high bluff above the village. The Union Army had 30 pieces of artillery in position and the Confederates two. The Union artillery fired continuously for four hours without intermission. This action was on December 16.

A contingent of troops under Major Jeptha Garroud had already been sent on to Mount Olive where they burned the depot, tore up several miles of the railroad and burned the railroad bridge across Goshen (Faison).

General Foster had pontoon bridges but there was no attempt to cross the Neuse. On the day after the battle 126 Union soldiers were found dead on the battlefield and the wounded had been carried on with the army which was moving toward Dudley and the railroad bridge. The Confederates lost 10 killed and 42 wounded.

The Confederates moved on to Goldsboro and with some reinforcements met the Union Army at the Battle of the Neuse Bridge. The Union troops burned the bridge, but were unable to make it to the county road covered bridge a short distance upstream.

The Union Army had used up its ammunition, but the Confederate did not know it. The Union Army returned to New Bern and the Yankees did not return until General Sherman arrived in Goldsboro on March 23, 1865, after the Battle of Bentonville. General Sherman's army camped in and around Goldsboro until he broke camp on April 10, 1865. His cavalry under General Judson Kilpatrick camped at Mount Olive.