FOUR OAKS—Discover how Civil War soldiers lived in camp and what role the enlisted man played in battle during Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site’s annual summer living history program, scheduled for Saturday, May 16.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., period-costumed living historians will show how soldiers in this divisive war made meals, maintained their weapons and uniforms, trained for battle, withstood heat and cold, and much more. This free program, open to the public, will also feature musket demonstrations at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., and artillery firings at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Throughout the day, members of the 18th North Carolina and 53rd Pennsylvania regiments, portraying Confederate and Union troops, will be on site to explain military life during the war. Visitors may stroll through a typical Civil War soldiers’ camp set up by these reenactors, who will answer any questions. These living historians will also give a talk on the uniforms Civil War soldiers wore and the equipment they used.
A particular highlight of any Civil War living history event is an artillery firing. Field weapons played a key role in the Battle of Bentonville — the last major Confederate offensive of the war — and this program will feature a three-inch ordnance rifle. Both big and loud, this weapon was a typical Civil War field piece. According to one witness at the 1865 battle, the artillery fire at Bentonville was so heavy that it “literally barked the trees, cutting off limbs as if by hand.” Although outgunned by Union troops, Confederate artillerymen used fortified positions to halt the Union advance for several hours.
Fought March 19-21, 1865, the Battle of Bentonville was the largest battle ever mounted in North Carolina and the Confederacy’s only significant attempt to defeat the large Union army of Gen. William T. Sherman during its springtime march through the Carolinas. It took place east of the family home of John and Amy Harper. Afterwards Sherman’s army left the Bentonville area, taking all of its wounded men.
Left behind were many bloodied and broken Confederate soldiers treated in the Harpers’ own house, which served as a field hospital during the battle. Many of these men later died and were buried on the family farm. Sometime in the 1890s, their remains were moved and reburied elsewhere at the battlefield site. Over the years, the exact location of this grave site was lost.
Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site’s mission is to preserve and interpret the history of the state’s largest Civil War battle. All activities are subject to change without notice.
To find the battlefield, go three miles north of Newton Grove on Highway 701 and then three miles east on SR 1008. There are marked exits from both I-95 and I-40. For more information, call (910) 594-0789 or go to the Web page at http://www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi/bentonvi.htm.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, Bentonville Battlefield is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Join the Cultural Resources 2009 theme observance of “Treasure N.C. Culture.” For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.