FOUR OAKS – A typical Christmas for John and Amy Harper and their nine kids would have involved handmade crafts and home cooked goodies. The intrusion of the Civil War turned their home into a military hospital, but the fighting was still far away during Christmas. The Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site will host Christmas Open House on Saturday, Dec, 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., to show Christmas on the home front during war time.
“Sip cider and snack on cookies with costumed civilian interpreters and Confederate soldiers home on holiday furlough,” says Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site Assistant Manager Derrick Brown. “This is just one of the free programs offered at the 27 state historic sites.”
Visitors will hear period music, string a popcorn and cranberry garland, and enjoy the natural decorations. They can make paper Christmas ornaments to take home or use to decorate the site’s locally grown tree.
Small arms drills will be presented, along with musket demonstrations, uniform talks, mail call and discussion of everyday life for the soldiers. The festively decorated kitchen will be open all day. The 1855 Harper House will be set up as a Union field hospital and will have hourly tours.
The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, involved 80,000 troops and was the last Confederate offensive against Union Gen. William T. Sherman. The Bentonville Battlefield interprets the battle and the hospital, where many Confederates were left in the aftermath. It is three miles north of Newton Grove on S.R. 1008. For information, visit www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi/bentonvi.htm or call (910) 594-0789.
Bentonville Battlefield, within the Division of State Historic Sites, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.