Civil War Battlefield at Bentonville, NC

March 19-21, 2020 will mark the 155th anniversary at the Civil War battlefield at Bentonville, North Carolina.    I have been to several Civil War battlefields, including Gettysburg, PA, Andersonville, GA, and Chickamauga & Chattanooga, TN.  We recently had a chance to visit Bentonville, NC.  Their historic site is rather small by comparison, though the significance of the fight was by no means small.

The North Carolina History Project says “The Battle of Bentonville lasted from March 19-21, 1865, two and a half weeks before Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox and three and half weeks before Johnston surrendered at Bennett Place.  The last major battle of the Carolinas Campaign involved approximately 80,000 men (60,000 Union troops and 20,000 Confederate troops).  When the battle noise abated and the smoke cleared, the number of dead, wounded, and missing numbered 4,143 (1,527 Union casualties and 2,606 Confederate casualties).  The battle showcased the fiercest land fighting in North Carolina, and according to one account, “some of the most furious fighting that happened in that bloody war.””  (Details of the battle can be found on the History Project site.)

General William T. Sherman was attempting to head north once he’d reached the sea at the end of his historic march, to rejoin General Ulysses S. Grant’s army in Virginia.  Confederate General Joseph Johnston’s forces stood between Sherman and Grant.  Johnston struck General Henry Slocum’s branch of Sherman’s army and made several valiant attempts but could not dislodge the Federals, finally retreating across Mill Creek and surrendering at the Bennett farmstead on April 26.

Visitor Center and Museum

The grounds at this Civil War battlefield site were very well maintained, and several displays in their small museum were quite interesting, at least to a Civil War buff like me!

Upon our arrival, we watched a very well-done movie about the events leading up to the battle and a little of the battle itself.  We then walked around their little museum and gift shop.  It contained displays like the one pictured.  This particular display shows the small arms weaponry used at Bentonville.

They also have a very nice display that uses a variety of colored lights to illustrate troop movement and fortifications over the three-day battle.  This made it very easy to understand what happened on this historic Civil War battlefield.  Unfortunately, it didn’t photograph well.  🙁

The gift shop contained the usual Civil War battlefield items – confederate “money,” shot glasses, t-shirts, books, etc.  Some great gifts for the kids or the novice battlefield explorer.

Drive-it-yourself Civil War Battlefield Tour

After reading this great overview of the battle that took place here, we set out to take their drive-it-yourself tour.  There is no charge for this tour except for any usage charges your cell phone company may have.  Signs like this one served as sign-posts for where to go next.  When you reach one of these, you use your cell phone to call the number and request the next narrative.

As we progressed along the 14-mile route, we could listen to a narration on the events that happened in each spot we stopped at.  We discovered that we could save time by listening to the next spot’s narrative as we drove.

   

Sign markers like these dot the tour, directing your attention to various events of significance during the battle.

General Joseph Johnston led the attack on Union forces in and around Bentonville.

General Johnston’s headquarters were in the Hastings House in Smithfield shortly before his troops engaged Sherman’s army at Bentonville.  Johnston remained in Smithfield until April 11.  General Sherman established his headquarters at that time in the Smithfield courthouse, announcing General Lee’s surrender from its steps.

There is a great gallery here of photos from the various tour stops.

The Harper House

The farm home of John and Amy Harper is a major feature of this Civil War battlefield site.  It was built in the late 1850s.  Occupied by Union troops on the first day of fighting, the house was a field hospital for Sherman’s XIV Army Corps.  Over 500 wounded soldiers, including 54 Confederates, were treated there.  The couple and 7 of their children remained at the home throughout the battle.  They helped care for the wounded men.  When Sherman’s army left the Bentonville area, they transported all Federal wounded to nearby Goldsboro.  The wounded Confederate soldiers were left behind.  Many of them convalesced with the Harpers for weeks.

Slave Quarters

The small brown building next to the big white house is one of two that served as the slave quarters.   The perception most of us who live above the Mason-Dixon line have of the South before and during the Civil War is that of large plantations with hundreds of slaves and a heartless overseer running the place while the owners sit on the veranda and sip their Mint Juleps or throw barbeques for all their friends and neighbors.  The Harpers were in the business of naval stores – tar, pitch, and turpentine, all products of the pine trees which grew in abundance on their farm.  So John and his male children no doubt worked this trade themselves since records indicate that they only had 3 slaves.  The slaves the Harpers had probably did most of the cooking and cleaning for the family, along with helping Amy take care of the children.

This “kitchen” was in one of the small outbuildings so as to not make things too warm in the main living quarters.

The First Floor of Harper House

The Harper House museum was like a step back into history.  The 4 rooms on the ground floor have been set up as the field hospital probably looked.  The “kitchen” was also on the ground floor.

  This room was used for surgeries.

This room was used for amputations.  The limbs were simply tossed out the window onto a pile to expedite the procedures.  Ewwww….

  And this is the kitchen, used to feed the wounded and the surgeons, along with some utensils and other furnishings used for preparing meals.   

Our tour guide explained that these are not necessarily the exact items the Harpers had in their house.  But they are period pieces that represent what they most likely would have had.

Second Floor of Harper House

The family lived in the upstairs of the house during the battle.  The museum has furnished those rooms with replicas of the furniture the Harpers probably had in their home.

There were only two bedrooms – one for the parents and one for the children.  Except for infants, the children all slept in the same room.  Imagine how much our children (and probably Social Services) would cry today about not having their own room!

Notice under the bed is the chamber pot.  This was used for nighttime trips to the bathroom.  Ack!!

The bed in this picture shows the strings which would have been tied between the headboard and the footboard to hold up the mattress.  This is where the expression “sleep tight” comes from – wishing a person’s bed strings stay tight so they could get a good night’s sleep.

These are children’s toys in the late 1800’s.  Our children would be bored after only a few minutes with only these for entertainment!

General Impressions

  David, our tour guide, was a very knowledgable docent.  He didn’t seem at all impatient when we asked quite a few questions.  Because we were there during a slow day of the week and slow month, we ended up with our own private tour of the Harper House.  Unlike some places, they will do the tour, even if there are only one or two people.  David said that they actually get tens of thousands of visitors yearly, mostly during the summer months.

Bentonville will be hosting a re-enactment this year, in commemoration of 155 years since the battle was fought.  I highly recommend a re-enactment if you really want to get a feel for what a battle was like.  The noise level and the smoke can be almost overwhelming.  But I guarantee your pre-conceived notions about the glamor and pageantry of a battle will change when you see the show.  You can find information about Bentonville’s re-enactment here.