New Bern Map
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census. . It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers. The city is 112 miles (180km) east of Raleigh and 87 miles (140 km) northeast of Wilmington. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government and then briefly as the state capital. It is the county seat of Craven County and the principal city of the New Bern Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Originally a Swiss immigrant settlement, the city is named after the capital of Switzerland, Bern and has a similar flag. The Swiss connection (just as the Dutch in New Amsterdam, and German immigrants in Pennsylvania Dutch) with England was established by Marian exiles and marriages of the Royal House of Stuart, important people in the history of the Calvinism.
The site of a battle during the American Civil War, it was occupied by Union troops from 1862 to the end of the war. They created the Trent River contraband camp to house the many former slaves who migrated to the Union lines for protection and freedom. They worked for pay for the Union and later many of the men were among the nearly 4,000 from North Carolina who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops.
Nearby cities include Bridgeton, Grantsboro, Pollocksville, Alliance, Vanceboro.