The excitement and challenges experienced by the common Confederate soldier will take center stage Saturday, Aug. 22, at Bentonville Battlefield in Four Oaks during the state historic site’s colorful summer living history program. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m., living historians dressed as Confederate soldiers will show how the men who fought in America’s bloodiest war fixed meals, kept their weapons and uniforms in shape, trained for combat, dealt with extreme heat and cold while living outdoors, and much more. This free, public program will feature live musket firings at 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., along with dramatic artillery firings at 11:30 a.m., and 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
Re-enactors from the 27th North Carolina Company D will be available to explain military life during the war. Visitors may also stroll through a typical Civil War soldiers’ camp where the re-enactors will be pleased to answer questions. They also will give a talk on Civil War soldiers’ uniforms and equipment.
A particular highlight of any Civil War living history event is an artillery firing. Field artillery 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. Big and loud, this weapon was a typical Civil War field piece. According to one witness, the artillery fire at the battle of Bentonville was so heavy that it “literally barked the trees, cutting off limbs as if by hand.” Though outgunned by Union troops, Confederate artillerymen used fortified positions to halt the Union attack on Bentonville for several hours. Come see the last artillery firings at Bentonville before a huge and authentic battle reenactment scheduled for March 2010.
Fought March 19-21, 1865, the Battle of Bentonville was the largest Civil War battle that took place in North Carolina and the only significant attempt to defeat the large Union forces of Gen. William T. Sherman.
The site is located 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 check out web page http://www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi/bentonvi.htm.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site 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. For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.