Confederate Cemetery Dedicated at Bentonville Battlefield

BY MEGAN MAXWELL

Inside this Issue

BENTONVILLE BATTLEFIELD STATE HISTORIC SITE

July 2011

Volume I, Issue III

From the Trenches

News from North Carolina’s Premier Civil War Battlefield Site

Megan Maxwell, Editor

The picture on the left is from the 1895 Goldsboro Rifles monument dedication and reveals the location of 20 individual graves, rather than a single mass grave. The picture on the right shows the new headstones installed June 8, 2011.

On June 11, 2011 the Harper House/Bentonville Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confed-eracy and Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site hosted a dedication ceremony to honor and mark the graves of twenty Confederate soldiers who died of wounds received during the Battle of Benton-ville, March 19-21, 1865. About 200 people gathered under the shade of the longleaf pines to witness the ceremony which opened with re-enactors from the 18th NC/9th NJ and 1st NC/11th NC marching to the cemetery at reverse arms in honor of the fallen. Mike Hill of the NC Archives and History Re-search Branch shared the story of Confederate Lieutenant William Preston Mangum, and Bentonville’s Assistant Site Manager Derrick Brown gave a brief overview of the cemetery project. The keynote speech was given by Assistant State Archaeologist John Mintz detailing the ground penetrating radar study and other archaeological methods used to verify the existence of the grave sites. The dedication was delivered by Debra Westbrook and Emily Thornton of the Bentonville/Harper House UDC and members placed a white carnation at each of the new headstones. The ceremony ended with a musket and artillery salute followed by a playing of “Taps” by musician Andy Cole. The Harper family cared for approximately 50 Confederate soldiers who were left behind by Sherman’s army at their home, which served as a field hospital for Sherman’s XIV Corp. According to a list John Harper prepared for the Goldsboro Rifles monument, 23 men died in the Harper’s care, 21 of which were buried on the Harper farm. Twenty of those men were reinterred between the Goldsboro Rifles monument and the Harper Family Cemetery when the monument was installed in 1895. Over the years the original headstones, which were most likely made of wood, deteriorated or disappeared. By the time the state acquired the property in 1957, there was no trace of the markers. The new head-stones, donated by the UDC, were placed on these unmarked graves.

146th Anniversary Event Recap

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2nd Saturdays Schedule

3

Artifact Spotlight: CS Read Artillery

Shell

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Textile Conservator to Speak at Bentonville

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On Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, 2011, nearly 75 re-enactors from across the state participated in Bentonville Battlefield’s 146th Anniversary Program. In observance of the ongoing Civil War sesquicentennial, site staff decided to recreate a spring 1861 enlistment of local citizens into Colonel Edward Snead’s Johnston Volunteers. The theme of the program was “The Un-ion is Dissolved: Mustering Soldiers Off to War.” Re-enactors and members of the public were wel-comed to the Harper House by site volunteer Charles Ballard who portrayed John Harper. After Harper’s rousing speech, re-enactors and spectators were en-couraged to get in line for medical checks by one of the three surgeons to see how fit they were for combat. Our visitors enjoyed listening to the surgeons ask such questions as “have you ever had the fits,” or “have you ever had the horrors?” Following the medical checks, re-enactors and the spectators interested in volunteering were enlisted. Civilian re-enactors mingled with the crowd, and tried to persuade reluctant children and even adult spectators to enlist. The enlistments and medical checks were done in “first person” by the re-enactors, which made the scenarios even more enjoyable for the public. Following the enlistment portion of the program, the re-enactors and spectators were marched to a camp of instruction. The re-enactors were the first to drill. Portraying green recruits who did not know their left from their right, they stumbled into each other much to the frustration of their sergeant, but much to the joy of the public, who had huge laughs at the spectacle. Soon, the public was told to imagine six months had passed, and watched the re-enactors perform perfectly in drill, which was followed by a musket demonstration. Finally, the members of the public who enlisted were able to drill as well using toy muskets. It was amazing how well they did considering it was mostly children, and it was their first time ever drill-ing. Look for information on upcoming 150th events in each newsletter!

Bentonville Kicks off Civil War Sesquicentennial with 146th Anniversary Event

BY DERRICK BROWN

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Clockwise from top: 1) Visitors listen to a rousing speech by Mr. Harper urging them to sign up. 2) A young recruit ponders what he may be signing up for. 3) New recruits learn the drill. 4) Volunteer Gary Riggs gives medical clearance.

have a new daughter, Catherine Grace Maxwell born March 16, 2011. Also Assis-tant Manager Derrick Brown and his wife Erin have a new daughter Haleigh Camille Brown born June 21, 2011. All girls, could it be the water at Bentonville? The summer staff has been increased thanks to funding by the Bentonville Battle-field Historical Association, Inc. The BBHA voted to fund the Buck Dunn Memorial Internship named for Mr. Buck Dunn, a long time board member who actually lived in the Harper House for a period of time. Marshall Jones, a rising senior at East Carolina University majoring in history with a teaching degree, received the first internship. Marshall is from Bentonville and in the past was a part time employee at the site. The BBHA also funded another position for the summer to enable the site

Bentonville Battlefield has been a very active site since our last newsletter. Much has happened with the site, employees and their families. March 19 and 20, 2011 the site pre-sented a very successful kick off program for our Sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War. The program titled “The Union is Dissolved: Mustering Soldiers of to War” was very successful in interpret-ing how companies were formed at the beginning of the war. It was well attended by the visiting public and re-enactors. Visi-tors of all ages were allowed to enlist and experience the transformation from civil-ian to soldier. Two members of the Bentonville staff had new additions to their family over the past months. Megan Maxwell, Program Coordinator and her husband Douglas

Celebrate 2nd Saturdays at Bentonville this

Summer!

MANAGER’S MESSAGE BY DONNY TAYLOR

Page 3 From the Trenches

to open on Sunday from June through September. This position was filled by Victoria “Vickie” Marcheski of Goldsboro a senior at Mount Olive College and ma-joring in history. Bentonville is very lucky to have these two employees to share their knowledge with visitors at the site. Finally on June 11, 2011 we had the dedication of the twenty Confederate tombstones marking the resting place of soldiers that died in the Harper House after the battle. Many thanks to the Ben-tonville/Harper House Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy for funding this worthy project.

July 9, 2011 “Civilian Life During the Civil War” “Carolina Citizens” 11:00 am and 2:00 pm Members of the civilian living history group, the Carolina Citizens, will present a discus-sion on Civil War fashion. Learn about what the Harpers and other local families would have been wearing in 1865 and view repro-duction garments and accessories, as well as a few authentic pieces from the time period.

Author Deanna Klingel 10:00 am-2:00 pm Mrs. Klingel will be signing and promoting her newest book, Avery’s Battlefield. This youth historical fiction book follows the story of a boy, a dog, and their search for peace during the Civil War. For more on Mrs. Klingel visit her website www.booksbydeanna.com.

Author McKendree Long, III 10:00 am-2:00 pm Mr. Long will be signing and promoting his book No Good Like It Is, the fictional account of two soldiers who fought with Terry’s Texas Rangers, a unit that fought at Bentonville. For more information visit Mr. Long’s website www.mckendreelong.com.

Thompson Orchards 10:00 am– 4;00 pm Local growers Thompson Orchards will be set up in the Visitor Center parking area sell-ing all kinds of fresh fruits and veggies, including PEACHES!

August 13, 2011 “2nd Saturdays Forum”

“Quilts from the Early 1800s to the Civil War” 11:00 am Guest Speaker Lynn Lancaster Gorges of the Historic Textiles Studio in New Bern, NC. Lynn has studied at the Smithsonian Institute, The Campbell Center of Preservation, Schoolhouse Studio of Lawrence, KS, Cooperstown Textile School, NCSU College of Textiles, and Colonial Williamsburg. Her specialty is in the area of conservation of military uniforms, flags, vintage clothing, and quilts. She is also trained in the area of quilt restoration.

“North Carolina’s Civil War Death Study” 1:00 pm Guest speaker Josh Howard, research historian with the Office of Archives and History, will present his findings regarding NC’s Civil War dead. He is the co-editor of the North Carolina Civil War Atlas, a DCR initiative of North Carolina’s Sesquicentennial commemoration of the war. His duties for the project currently include analyzing the number of North Carolinians who served and died in the Civil War.

“The 58th NC Troops” 3:00 pm Civil War historian and author Michael C. Hardy will discuss his book The Fifty-Eighth North Caro-lina Troops, Tar Heels in the Army of Tennessee. Mr. Hardy will be available to sign books throughout the program. For more about Mr. Hardy visit his website www.michaelchardy.com.

prevalent Confederate field artillery piece at Bentonville and throughout the entirety of the Civil War was the smoothbore 12 Lb Napoleon, the discovery of this artillery round proved that the Confederates were using rifles at Bentonville as well. The Read was named after prewar ordnance officer Dr. John B. Read, who was closely associated with Robert P. Parrott, inventor of the Parrott Rifle. The Read shell was in many ways similar to the Fed-eral Parrott, but the iron was generally thinner than that of a Parrott shell, and the Read better accepted substitute parts such as copper for the normally brass sabot. The Read appeared in a variety of calibers, but this particular Read was designed for a 3” rifle. This shell was donated to the site by an employee of Johnston County Schools in 2008. It lodged in a tree trunk during the battle, but failed to explode. After being salvaged from the battlefield, the piece of tree trunk and shell was on display in the old Selma High School for many years. Luckily, someone thought to grab the shell just before the first wrecking ball was set to hit the abandoned old school building. Site Manager Donny Taylor discovered upon donation, that the shell which sat in a school for over 50 years was still live! To make matters worse, Donny had to pick cigarette butts out of the fuse. An explosive ord-nance disposal team from Camp Lejeune disarmed the shell, and it has been on display at Bentonville since spring 2009.

The Bentonville/Harper House Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy is still accepting donations towards the cost of the twenty new headstones installed to mark the graves of unknown Confederate soldiers who died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Bentonville. The previously unmarked cemetery is located between the Golds-boro Rifles Monument and the Harper Family Cemetery. Because the soldiers buried there are unknown, we were unable to receive markers from the Federal government, but the UDC graciously put forth the money to make this project a reality. Donations may be sent to: Bentonville/Harper House UDC Treasurer Rhonda Langston 3590 Alex Benton Rd. Newton Grove, NC 28366 Please make checks payable to the Bentonville/Harper House UDC and note the donation is for the Confederate Cemetery Project.

Artifact Spotlight: Confederate Read Artillery Shell BY DERRICK BROWN

UDC Collecting Donations for the Cemetery Project

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This Confederate Read artillery shell lodged in wood is on display in the exhibit area of the

Visitor Center.

One of the more unusual items in Bentonville Battle-field’s Visitor Center is a 3” Confederate Read artillery shell lodged in the trunk of a tree. Although there was not a tremendous amount of Confederate artillery at Ben-tonville, their gunners did play a huge roll in the early phases of the battle on March 19, 1865. While the most

Twenty of these new tombstones were dedicated June 11, 2011

Textile Conservator Lynn Gorges to Speak at Bentonville Aug 13 BY MEGAN MAXWELL

Local Marshall Jones Awarded Buck Dunn Internship BY MARSHALL JONES

I was honored to be named the inaugural recipient of the Buck Dunn Memorial Internship here at Bentonville. First, allow me to intro-duce myself. My name is Marshall Jones and I was raised in the Bentonville community. I am a rising senior and North Carolina Teaching Fellow at East Carolina University majoring in Secondary History Education. In high school, I worked as a part-time tour guide at the battle-field. As a child I have always been fascinated with history and, more specifically, the Civil War. How amazing that literally just ‘down the road’ the largest battle that was ever fought in North Carolina occurred in my neighborhood? As an intern this summer, I am fulfilling my regular duties as a tour guide, assisting in site

interpretation, serving the visiting public, and completing a project for the site. Currently, I am scanning hundreds of pictures, articles, and other clippings that date from the 1850s through the present day. I am privileged to examine these photos and I am pleased to pre-serve them digitally so that they might be used for research and by the curious future genera-tions to come. I really enjoy working at the site because I care so much about its place in our state and nation’s history and because of its close proximity to my home. I am proud to serve as an intern in honor of Mr. Buck, because he was so passionate about Bentonville Battle-field and I could not imagine a more fitting way to remember him.

Page 5 From the Trenches

Textile Conservator Lynn Gorges, photo courtesy of www.textilepreservation.com

Above Left: A detail of the monkey wrench pattern on a quilt in the slave quarters. Above right: This beautiful quilt is in the front upstairs bedroom of the Harper House. We hope to find out more about it from Mrs. Gorges.

As part of our 2nd Saturdays series, Lynn Gorges of New Bern will be pre-senting a talk on 19th century quilts. Lynn is a textile conservator and restora-tion specialist, and owner of the Historic Textiles Studio in New Bern. She has studied at the Smithsonian Institute, The Campbell Center of Preservation, Schoolhouse Studio of Lawrence, KS, Cooperstown Textiles School, NC State University’s College of Textiles, and Colonial Williamsburg. Her conserva-tion specialty is the area of military uni-forms, flags, vintage clothing, and quilts. She can also evaluate and appraise tex-tiles from the early 1800s to the present. Her presentation will include the dis-

cussion of quilting patterns and fabrics that were most prevalent in the US in the mid-19th century. Mrs. Gorges will also include details about the quilts that we have on display in the Harper House and Slave Quarters. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about quilts that you may have at home that have been passed down through generations, or that you may have collected. Mrs. Gorges will be happy to evaluate historic quilts and tex-tiles that visitors bring in following her presentation. The presentation will be at 11:00 am on August 13 in the Visitor Center.

5466 Harper House Rd Four Oaks, NC 27524

Phone: 910-594-0789 Fax: 910-594-0070

E-mail: Bentonville@ncdcr.gov

Site Hours

April-September Mon-Sat 9 am-5 pm Sunday 1 pm-5 pm

October– March Tues-Sat 9 am–5 pm Closed Sundays and Mondays

Call for Holiday Schedule Admission is FREE

The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, was the last full-scale action of the Civil War in which a Confederate army was able to mount a tactical offensive. This major battle, the largest ever fought in North Carolina, was the only significant attempt to defeat the large Union army of Gen. William T. Sherman during its march through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.

Today, visitors can take a self-guided driving tour of the preserved battlefield and view four wayside exhibit areas, follow a short walking trail to view original trenches from the battle, and visit the Harper family cemetery and monument area. The Visitor Center contains exhibits and a brief orientation film. Guided tours of the c. 1855 Harper House, a Union field hospital, are available on the hour beginning at 10:00 a.m. with the last tour at 4:00 p.m.

tions will also be held. 10:00-4:00

October 1, 2011

“Johnny has Gone for a Soldier: The Southern Home-front During the First Years of the Civil War” Annual Fall Civilian Living His-tory Program. Southern women and children demonstrate 19th century farm life and how their daily lives changed when all the men went off to war. Costumed civilian re-enactors will also dis-cuss shortages and substitutions for everyday items. 10:00-4:00

December 3, 2011 “A Civil War Christmas” An-nual holiday open house event. Costumed interpreters decorate the kitchen in festive themes us-ing natural greens, berries, and fruits. Visitors can enjoy cookies and cider while listening to pe-riod music. 10:00-4:00

2nd Saturday July 9, 2011 “Civil War Fashion”

with the Carolina Citizens 11:00 am and 2:00 pm

Book Signings by Deanna Klingel and McKendree Long 10:00-2:00

2nd Saturday August 13, 2011 “2nd Saturdays Forum” with guest speakers Lynn Gorges (11:00 am) ,

Josh Howard (1:00 pm), and Michael C. Hardy (3:00 pm)

Music by the Waterbound Dulcimers

August 27, 2011

“A Day in the Life of a Civil War Soldier” The sounds of artillery and musket fire will once again ring out at Bentonville Battlefield during our second Summer Seasonal Liv-ing History Event. Re-enactors from the 27th NC will be on hand to discuss the typical soldier’s life. Artillery and musket demonstra-

Special Events 2011

Scene of the last major Confederate offensive of the Civil War

Site Staff Donny Taylor, Site Manager

Derrick Brown, Assistant Site Manager Megan Maxwell, Programs Coordinator Jeff Fritzinger, Interpreter

Johnny Carter, Maintenance Mechanic

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STATE HISTORIC SITE

Website www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonville

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