DURHAM—Relive the April 26, 1865 Confederate surrender at Bennett Place in Durham – the largest of the Civil War – on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, at Bennett Place State Historic Site. The program, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, will include a colorful reenactment of the how the Union and Confederate generals negotiated the surrender terms, a candlelight tour of the former Bennett family farm, the southern soldiers’ surrender to northern troops, a solemn wreath-laying ceremony, Union and Confederate soldier encampments and more. The program is free and open to the public.
The reenactment of the surrender will be presented Saturday, April 26, during which visitors can actually see the generals negotiating terms, a move that ended four years of bloody fighting and reunited this nation. That evening, a candlelight tour of the former farm entitled “On the Eve of Surrender” will take place from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 27, visitors may watch as “soldiers” formally surrender and receive their parole papers, as was done in Greensboro in 1865. Following this presentation, a memorial service and wreath laying ceremony at Bennett Place’s Unity Monument will be held, with representatives from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of Union Veterans, Sons of Confederate Veterans and Sons of Union Veterans chapters participating.
Other activities will include an appearance by local author, historian, and News & Observer columnist Jim Wise, who will discuss and autograph his latest book, “On Sherman’s Trail: The Civil War’s North Carolina Climax”. Union and Confederate encampments and soldier talks will also be ongoing throughout the weekend.
Visitors should make sure they stop by Bennett Place’s visitor center while at the site. Here one can stroll through the museum gallery, which showcases artifacts and exhibits interpreting the life of the Bennett family and the 1865 troop surrender. The theater presentation “Dawn of Peace,” will be shown throughout the day, and the museum gift shop offers a variety of Civil War and Bennett Place related souvenirs and collectibles. This event has been funded by the Bennett Place Support Fund, Inc. and the Division of N.C. Historic Sites. Donations are accepted and welcomed. Payment for gift shop items go to the preservation of the historic site.
Once the home of typical yeoman farmers, the James Bennitt (or Bennett) family, Bennett Place became the site of the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. On April 26, 1865, General Joseph E. Johnston and General William T. Sherman met at the Bennett family farmhouse to negotiate a peaceful solution to America’s most tragic war. The surrender of Johnston’s army ended the fighting in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, allowing nearly 90,000 battered and weary soldiers to return home.
Two more surrenders soon followed. These surrenders, together with General Robert E. Lee’s submission to Gen. Ulysses A. Grant at Appomattox, effectively disbanded the Confederate forces. The Bennett Place surrender helped spare North Carolina the kind of destruction experienced by neighboring southern states.
The mission of Bennett Place State Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the history of the largest surrender of the Civil War and the lives of 19th century yeoman farmers such as the Bennetts.
Bennett Place is located in West Durham, and can be reached by taking 15-501 North, the Durham Freeway (147), or I-85; follow the brown historic site signs. For further information on this program or the site, please call 919-383-4345, email bennett@ncmail.net or go to www.nchistoricsites.org/bennett/bennett.htm.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, Bennett Place State Historic Site is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture. Join the Cultural Resources 2008 theme observance of “Telling Our Stories”. For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.