Cherry Point Marines learn history lesson

Marines recently learned lessons about warfare in an outdoor setting at the New Bern Civil War Battlefield.

Mike DuMont, head of battlefield guides, told a group of 15 officers and young Marines from the Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron at Cherry Point that war history is not all just dates and battle statistics.

“This is hallowed ground,” he said Friday. “This is where Americans fought each other. It is the great American tragedy, but this country survived. There was bloodshed of young men on both sides, who fought for what they believed in, and suffered because of it.”

The March 1862 battle was a matter of the Confederate troops unsuccessfully attempting to hold off a siege by Union forces intent on capturing the railroad.

The rail system, which still exists today and goes through Cherry Point, was a vital supply link from Morehead City through New Bern, on to Goldsboro and eventually Virginia in the Civil War.

The Union landed off the Neuse River at Slocum Creek in Havelock, near to where the attending Marines are now stationed at Cherry Point.

The Union invasion and victory led to the occupation of New Bern for the remainder of the war.

The Cherry Point Marines requested the Friday visit as an educational lesson.

Warfare of a Civil War fought a century and a half ago provides insight to today’s military, which battles terrorists on battlegrounds across the ocean.

“There are some things about warfare that never change,” observed Marine Capt. Mike Pretus. “The war-fighting functions that we study in modern combat; there are many lessons you can learn from the Civil War. They remain the same — operations, logistics, and intelligence. These are all war-fighting functions that are still relevant today, and we can learn a lot from the past.”

The restoration of the New Bern battlefield is an ongoing project that began about nine years ago under the guidance of the New Bern Historical Society.

The 27-acre tract is located to the left entering the Taberna subdivision off U.S. 70 between Havelock and New Bern.

Work on the restoration, including the building of a visitor center and monuments to date, has come through the efforts of volunteers, donations and grants.

Tours are available by appointment. Call the historical society at 638-8558.