New Bern(e), NC.

Based on the span of years this photograph may have been taken, these two young Black boys were either born enslaved, or born during the Civil War, or not long after the Civil War ended.

During those years, photographers often did not record the names of Black people being photographed, and sadly these young boy's names were not recorded that can be found to date.

So far we have found no other information about these two based on what is known, that provides information about what plantation they were enslaved at or freed from, who were their parents, who the slaver was, their date of birth, what happen to them as they grew older, did they grow older, etc...

Being that the date of the photograph is a wide range of years, 1860-1870, if they were enslaved we hope they survived the Civil War and were freed.

Yet, knowing that being freed brought with it a long list of new challenges for example; the years of the reconstruction era, jim crow, sharecropping, the Black Laws, etc... we do hope they survived, and we do wonder what became of them.

Here is the LOC information about this photograph.

Left image: Title: [Two African American boys facing front] / J. D. Heywood's Photographic Art Rooms, New Berne, N.C.

Creator(s): Heywood, J. D. (John D.), photographer

Date Created/Published: [between 1860 and 1870]

Medium: 1 photographic print on carte de visite mount : albumen ; 10 x 6 cm.

Right image: The back of the photograph

LOC Notes:
-Title devised by Library staff.

-Gladstone's inventory number and notes: CDV98; the children.

-"Negative preserved. Additional copies can be had at any time" printed on back of the mount.

-Purchase; William A. Gladstone; 1995; (DLC/PP-1995:113.162)

-General information about the Gladstone collection is available at, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.gld
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Hatteras Island, on the outer shore of North Carolina, fell to Union forces in August, 1861.

Roanoke Island, just to the north, was captured on February 8, 1862.

Elizabeth City on the mainland followed days later. With the freedom to navigate unmolested through Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’s command looked for other strategic targets of opportunity.

The city of New Bern was a significant target, as the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad that connected the coast with the interior passed through there.

On March 11, 1862, Burnside’s force embarked from Roanoke Island to rendezvous with Union gunboats at Hatteras Inlet for a joint expedition against New Bern.

On March 13th, the fleet sailed up the Neuse River and disembarked infantry south of the Confederate defenses, about 4,000 men behind breastworks at Fort Thompson.

The defenders, a mix of North Carolina infantry, cavalry and artillery, were commanded by Brig. Gen. Lawrence Branch.

On March 14th, the brigades of Brig. Gens. John G. Foster, Jesse Reno, and John G. Parke attacked along the railroad and after four hours of fighting, drove the Confederates out of their fortifications.

The Federals captured several nearby gun positions and occupied a base that they would hold to the end of the war, in spite of several Confederate attempts to recapture it.
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There were two battles of note in New Bern, One in 1862 and one in 1864.

The Battle of New Bern (also known as the Battle of New Berne) was fought on 14 March 1862, near the city of New Bern, North Carolina, as part of the Burnside Expedition of the American Civil War.

The US Army's Coast Division, led by Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside and accompanied by armed vessels from the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, were opposed by an undermanned and badly trained Confederate force of North Carolina soldiers and militia led by Brigadier General Lawrence O'B. Branch.

Although the defenders fought behind breastworks that had been set up before the battle, their line had a weak spot in its center that was exploited by the attacking Federal soldiers. When the center of the line was penetrated, many of the militia broke, forcing a general retreat of the entire Confederate force. General Branch was unable to regain control of his troops until they had retreated to Kinston, more than 30 miles (about 50 km) away. New Bern came under Federal control, and remained so for the rest of the war.
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The Battle of New Bern was fought during the American Civil War from February 1–3, 1864. The battle resulted in a failure to Confederate forces trying to recapture the coastal town of New Bern which had been lost to the Union Army in 1862.

Sources to learn more about New Bern and the Civil War.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Bern_(1862)

Link: https://newbernhistorical.org/discover/battle-of-new-bern/

Additional Resources:
John G. Barrett, The Civil War in North Carolina (1963).

John S. Carbone, The Civil War in Coastal North Carolina (2001).

William Marvel, Burnside (1991).

National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/nc003.htm

NC Markers: https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=C-11%20-%20BATTLE%20OF%20NEW%20BERN