Civil War

Events Commemorate Civil War Anniversary

Although the guns fell silent a century and a half ago, interest in the Civil War continues to be high, attracting a broader and more diverse audience than ever before. It is estimated that an average of one book on the conflict has been published for every day that has elapsed since Lee surrendered to Grant.

North Carolina was at the forefront of this war of “brother against brother.”

• More Confederate troops came from North Carolina than from any other Southern state – between 130,000 and 135,000. North Carolinians also served in the Army and Navy.
• About 25 percent of all Confederate deaths in the war were North Carolinians.
• The state suffered about 35,000 military deaths. As many as 1,000 North Carolinians died serving in the four white Union army regiments raised in the state, and also in the four Union U.S. Colored Troops regiments.
• The state’s history showcases stories of heroism and tragedy from many perspectives. Cherokee warriors fought for the Confederacy in western North Carolina. U.S. Colored Troops fought for freedom in battles in eastern North Carolina.

150 Events
The NC Department of Cultural Resources plans more than 150 events commemorating the Civil War: re-enactments, hands-on history programs, symposia, music and exhibits. Genealogy enthusiasts, bluegrass music fans and readers alike will find North Carolina’s unique experience a refreshing change from the ordinary, and history lovers can explore hundreds of connections with the authentic places of history, open and ready for visitors. A blog and Facebook page deepen the experience.

Travelers can discover about 250 State Historical Highway Markers on Civil War topics from the siege of New Bern to the prisoner exchange site in Salisbury. There are an additional 200 Civil War Trail markers in place. Civil War monuments can be found in most of North Carolina’s 100 counties, including one in Hertford dedicated to the U.S. Colored Troops.

North Carolina is home to major sites and institutions that address the history and impact of the period, ranging from Fort Macon and Fort Fisher, which guarded the state’s coastline to the inner banks town of New Bern, to Bentonville Battlefield near Raleigh, site of North Carolina’s largest battle, to plantations like Stagville in Durham and Somerset Place in Creswell, to Bennett Place, the Durham farm where Union Gen. William T. Sherman accepted the largest surrender of Confederate troops apart from Appomattox.

The Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory traveling exhibit embraces the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources theme for the commemoration, and offers a glimpse of the hardships of war, jubilation of freedom, and conditions of those left at home. The men and women, people of color, home front and frontline, all had a role and a stake in that defining moment of America’s fate. Documents of care and pain, images from the past, and a step into the next chapter of America’s greatness are here to offer lessons to us all. The exhibit will be on view at approximately 50 libraries around the state.

On the Home Front
North Carolina’s Civil War story also includes the home front. Women and families had to make do with less while sons and fathers were away on those battlefields. State Historic Sites provide a glimpse of everyday living, such as the Vance Birthplace farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Historic Edenton waterfront on the Albemarle Sound. The N.C. Museum of History introduces The Story of North Carolina April 14, 2011, for the opening phase of a chronological exhibit tracing life from its earliest settlement to the 1830s. The final phase of the 20,000-square-foot exhibit, opening with a grand celebration on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4 and 5, tells the rest of the state’s story.

The Outer Banks History Center in Manteo tells the story of the Bodie Island Lighthouse, burned by Confederates who did not want it to fall into the hands of the Union.

African-American heritage can be traced in stories of the brave U.S. Colored Troops, freedom fighters on the Underground Railroad and abolitionists like Harriet Jacobs, who hid for many years in and around Edenton before making her escape north to freedom in the days before the War began. Jacobs gained fame during the war because of the publication of her narrative, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself.”

Events for Kids and Families
State Historic Sites are kid and family friendly, are open every day Tuesday-Saturday, and are free – with exceptions at Tryon Palace in New Bern, the Battleship NC in Wilmington, and Roanoke Island Festival Park. This summer and fall will see a wide range of activities:

• Fort Fisher in Kure Beach has daily tours led by costumed interpreters.
• 2nd Saturdays – June 11, July 9, and Aug. 13, 2011 – All 37 state museums and Historic Sites will present a mix of artists, musicians and re-enactors. A Living History encampment of the 26th NC Regiment will be held at Vance Birthplace June 11, and will explore the activities of western North Carolina residents as they attempt to raise a volunteer company of infantry.
• Special Artillery demonstrations will take place at Fort Fisher on June 18 and at Bentonville Battlefield on Aug. 27.

added: March 1, 2011

updated: February 22, 2012