Surrender Anniversary in the Carolinas

Bennett Place State Historic Site
Durham, North Carolina

149 years ago today (April 26, 1865), Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. The surrender was carried out at what is now Benton Place State Historic Site in Durham, North Carolina.

Johnston's surrender was the largest of the War Between the States (or Civil War) and came after his army waged one last brutal fight at the Battle of Bentonville. The Confederate attacks came close to wiping out one wing of Sherman's larger army. The tide of the battle turned when Sherman rushed reinforcements to the field and Johnston called off the attacks and withdrew.

Road by which Johnston approached Bennett Place

By early April 1865, he had moved his army into positions at Hillsborough about 35 miles northwest of the state capital of Raleigh. The Union army took Raleigh and moved into positions there. Johnston and Sherman faced each other from the two cities when news arrived of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of North Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

Johnston now found himself in a critical position. With Sherman's much larger army just 35 miles away in Raleigh, he knew that if he continued to fight he could expect Union General Ulysses S. Grant to push down from the north. His small army would be swallowed up.

Restored farm and monument at Bennett Place.

His situation became even more stressful when President Jefferson Davis, fleeing south after the fall of Richmond, ordered the veteran general to continue the fight. Davis, in fact, told Johnston that if he could not defeat the armies arrayed against him, he should break up his own force and turn his men into guerrillas who would continue the war for years if need be.

Rather than launch a guerrilla war that would flood the South with blood, Johnston decided to meet with General Sherman. He sent a letter through the lines, Sherman responded, and the two generals met near Durham, about half-way between their armies. They decided to find a house where they could sit down and talk, but the first home-owner they approached refused to let Sherman set foot in his house. They moved on to the Bennett Place, home of James and Nancy Bennett, who consented to allow the generals to meet in their home.

Table at which the surrender document was prepared

On the next day, April 18, 1864, Johnston agreed to surrender the Army of Tennessee. Sherman offered him extremely liberal terms. When the proposed surrender terms reached Washington, D.C., however, Union officials said no. The North was then outraged over the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and Sherman's humane terms were refused by his superiors. He accordingly notified Johnston that he would have no choice but to continue the fight in 48 hours.

Johnston knew that he had no hope of defeating Sherman, so on April 26, 1865, he surrendered the Confederate Army of Tennessee and all Confederate forces east of Alabama on the harsh terms demanded by the politicians in Washington.

To learn more about the surrender at Bennett Place, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/bennettplace.

An Eyewitness Account of the Nancy Harts - LaGrange, Georgia

Home of 2nd Lieutenant, Mrs. Peter Heard

The events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War reminded me of one of my favorite stories about the war, the almost legendary tale of the Nancy Harts.

The Nancy Harts, as the story goes, were an all female military company that organized in LaGrange, Georgia, to defend the city against Union raiders. Most of the city's men and boys were away in the Confederate service and the community was only lightly defended, so the women of LaGrange took it upon themselves to provide for their own defense. They gave their company the name of Georgia's legendary female fighter of the American Revolution, Nancy Hart.

They drilled regularly under the direction of a disabled Confederate soldier and became quite proficient in their marksmanship and military order. The legend continues that when Union troops approached the city in 1865 during Wilson's Raid, the Nancy Harts formed ranks and marched out to meet them. A truce was negotiated, however, and bloodshed was averted.

It is a fascinating legend and I recently came across an 1861 account of the actual formation and naming of Georgia's all female Confederate company. The article first appeared in the LaGrange Reporter, but was reprinted by the Atlanta Southern Confederacy a few days later:

The Company Drilled near Belleview House

June 1, 1861,

Southern Confederacy (Atlanta), p. 2.

The “Nancy Harts” of LaGrange.

We are informed that the ladies of LaGrange, to the number of about forty organized themselves, on Saturday last, into a military corps for the purpose of drilling and target practice. They elected Dr. A.C. Ware as their Captain; and, we believe, resolved to meet every Saturday. The following are their officers:

Dr. A.C. Ware, Captain

Mrs. Nannia Morgan, First Lieutenant

“  Peter A. Heard, Second Lieutenant

Miss Aley Smith, Third Lieutenant.

“ Andelle Bull, First Sergeant.

“ Augusta Hill, Second Sergeant.

“ M.E. Colquitt, Third Sergeant.

“ Pack Beall, First Corporal

“ Lelia Pullen, Second Corporal

“ Sallie Bull, Third Corporal.

“ Ella Key, Treasurer.

The corps not having a name, and it being their determination to prepare to defend their homes, if necessary, as did Nancy Hart of olden time, we have taken the liberty of calling them the “Nancy Harts” until they shall adopt one. We have no doubt they will prove as true as did Nancy Hart if the emergency ever presents itself; and, therefore, we do not think a more appropriate name could be suggested. The “Nancy harts” of LaGrange! That’s it, ladies. – LaGrange Reporter.

To learn more about the Nancy Harts, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nancyharts.

Confederate History Month is a matter of personal honor.

April is traditionally observed as Confederate History Month across the South. This year, as has become the trend over the last few years, the generally quiet observance has sparked controversy.

In Virginia, for example, Governor Bob McDonnell ignited a firestorm of debate when he signed a proclamation declaring that Virginia would once again observe Confederate History Month. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour chimed in that the controversy was much ado about nothing, but it continues to rage just the same.

To many of us born and raised in the South, this is a tragedy. There is much that should be remembered about our Confederate ancestors and the struggles they faced during the most turbulent time in American history. Many were not firebrand secessionsits and the vast majority neither owned slaves nor aspired ever to do so. The causes of the War Between the States have been debated since the first shot was fired at Fort Sumter in 1861 and the discussion will not end with anything said here or anywhere else this year.

It seems to me, though, that we should all be able to find room in our hearts to remember the sacrifices made by tens of thousands of Southern soldiers and their families between 1861 and 1865. So many people today seem to have forgotten, if they ever knew, that regardless of the cause of the war, the vast majority of Confederate soldiers fought for reasons far removed from today's debates of political correctness.

Dozens of my own ancestors fought for the Confederacy (and a few for the Union). Only a few of them owned slaves. Most served because they felt it was the right thing to do. Their state was under attack and their families and homes were in danger. Loyalty in the Deep South in those days was much more focused on local communities and home states rather than a government far away in either Richmond or Washington, D.C.  It was a time when kin mattered more that almost anything in the world except God.

My great-great grandfather Joseph B. Cox, for example, was a farmer. He supported ten children and a few other miscellaneous relatives through the labors of his own hands. He owned no slaves and there is no indication that he took much more than passing interest in the war at all before 1864. That was when he, like tens of thousands of other Southern men, was conscripted (drafted) into the army. Ordered to report to a conscription camp at Marianna, Florida, he received rudimentary training, a uniform and a musket. In May of 1864 he was mustered into the service as a private in Captain Wilson W. Poe's Battalion (Company C) of the First Florida Infantry Reserves. He went on to fight at the Battle of Marianna and was standing guard duty in 1865 when the war came to an end.

His son, William Henry Cox, was a 15-year-old student at the old academy or school in Greenwood, Florida, when he became a Confederate soldier. Governor John Milton of Florida issued an executive order during the summer of 1864 requiring all male citizens of Florida over the age of 15 to enroll themselves into militia or "home guard" companies for the purpose of defending the state against expected Union invasion. The boys of the academy were formed into a mounted unit by their teacher and captain, Henry J. Robinson. Bearing the name of the Greenwood Club Cavalry, they added training in cavalry tactics to their other studies and fought against overwhelming forces at the Battle of Marianna on September 27, 1864. When the war ended, they went home. William Henry Cox went on to marry the daughter of another Confederate veteran. He farmed, dug wells, floated  rafts of timber down the Apalachicola River to the shipyards on the Gulf of Mexico and raised a family of 10 children in a double-pen "dogtrot" style house. He hosted a well-attended Fourth of July celebration each year until he died. The tradition continues today with the annual Cox Family Reunion on the first Saturday after the Fourth of July.  Confederate and U.S. flags fly over his grave.

These men from my own family are good examples of the average men and boys who went to war in defense of the South. They cared little about slavery, states rights or any of the other great issues of the day. They wanted only to do their duty so they could return home to their farms. They fought when their home county was attacked, not only because it was the right thing to do, but because their neighbors and relatives also turned out to fight. The went to war knowing that their families at home would suffer because the men would not be there to tend the fields or care for the animals and buildings. Many families of Southern soldiers went hungry during the four long years that the war lasted.

To me, these have always been the people that Confederate History Month memorializes. The war to them was not about race, it was about home and family. They deserve to be remembered, just as do the men and boys in blue who turned out to fight for the cause in which they believed. They all risked their lives for reasons dear to them. They fought for family and home, for their states and for their country. They came from all races and all walks of life. And more than 600,000 of them died. Whether they wore gray or whether they wore blue, they should never be forgotten . Yet we as a nation seem determined to wipe their memories from the pages of history.

Perhaps Americans of all points of view should take a few minutes to remember that it is wrong to judge people of another generation by the standards and political correctness of our own. Perhaps we should remember that things are never as cut and dry as we might wish them to be. Perhaps we should realize the value of honoring all of our ancestors and celebrating their lives. Surely we can put aside political divisiveness  to look back and realize that those who became before us were human beings who made their choices and did their best to do their duty to home, family, state, country and God as they saw it.

In honor of Confederate History Month, I will devote my postings for the rest of this month to historic sites dating from the War Between the States. Until my next post, you can earn more about many of these places by visiting the main site directory at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/.

Grave of General William J. Hardee - Selma, Alabama

Known affectionately as "Old Reliable," Lieutenant General William J. Hardee was a brave and intelligent military officer who served in both the U.S. and Confederate armies.

Born in Camden County, Georgia, in 1815, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838. Commissioned as a lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons, Hardee served in Florida during the Second Seminole War until he became seriously ill.

Unlike many who were incapacitated by sickness during that terrible war, he recovered and went on to serve under both Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott during the Mexican War. He won two field promotions for bravery, suffered a battlefield wound and was taken prisoner and exhanged during that conflict.

After the war, Hardee published his famed Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics, which became one of the most consulted military books for commanders both North and South during the Civil War.

Resigning his commission in January of 1861 following the secession of his home state of Georgia, Hardee eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Confederate army. He commanded troops at Shiloh, Perryville and Chattanooga, as well as during the Atlanta Campaign. Left with few men, he bravely tried to stop Sherman's March to the Sea and then achieved the remarkable evacuation of his small army from Savannah under the very eyes of Sherman's much larger command.

After the war, Hardee settled on his wife's plantation in Alabama. After living there briefly, the couple moved into Selma where he engaged in various business pursuits and was president of a railroad. He died while on vacation in West Virginia in 1873, but was returned to his home in Selma for burial. His peaceful grave can now be seen at the city's Old Live Oak Cemetery.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/hardeegrave.

C.S.S. Chattahoochee - The Last Wooden Confederate Gunboat

On a walk through the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia, the sheer size of the exhibit containing the wreck of the ironclad C.S.S. Jackson is so astounding that it is easy to walk past the next without recognizing its dramatic significance.

Sitting next to the wreck of the Jackson is a section of the stern of the C.S.S. Chattahoochee, the last surviving Confederate wooden warship. The rest of the ship still rests covered with mud on the bottom of the Chattahoochee River, for which it was named, but the stern section was raised at the same time as the hull of the Jackson and is now on exhibit in the museum.

The C.S.S. Chattahoochee was commissioned on January 1, 1863, at the Confederate Navy Yard in Early County, Georgia. She was then a ship of high hopes. Richmond had sent Lieutenant Catesby ap R. Jones, fresh from his historic service as commander of the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimac) in its battle with the ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, to take complete the new vessel. Jones brought with him a number of other officers and men who had served in the Battle of the Ironclads at Hampton Roads, a clear indication of the importance the Confederacy placed in the C.S.S. Chattahoochee project.

Armed with a powerful 32-pounder rifle, a 9-inch gun and four 32-pounder smoothbores, the Chattahoochee had three retractable masts and two independently operating steam-powered propulsion systems that allowed her to be maneuvered around sharp river bends. The vessel was the most powerful Civil War warship ever to operate on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint River system.

Unfortunately, she was also the victim of the worst Civil War naval accident to take place on Florida's inland waters. On May 27, 1863, the Chattahoochee was raising steam at Blountstown, Florida, as an early season hurricane swept in from the Gulf of Mexico. One of her gauges was malfunctioning and water was poured into a boiler that was already red hot. It vaporized instantly and exploded through one of the pipes leading into and out of the boiler. Sixteen men were scalded to death where they stood and others were severely injured. Panic followed and the ship was intentionally sunk to the bottom of the river out of fear that the gunpowder in her magazines might explode.

The C.S.S. Chattahoochee was raised a few months later and towed up to Columbus, Georgia, where she was refitted. When Union troops attacked the city in April of 1865, she was set ablaze by her own crew to prevent her capture. The wreck remained in the river for 100 years until it was discovered during a search for the C.S.S. Jackson. The stern was raised at that time and constitutes one of the two original warships now on exhibit at the National Civil War Naval Museum.

If you would like to learn more about the career and horrible explosion aboard the Chattahoochee, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/csschattahoochee. You can learn more about the museum at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/navymuseum.

Confederate Battery on Jekyll Island, Georgia

A major and beautiful resort area on Georgia's Atlantic Coast, Jekyll Island is steeped in the history of America.

Guale Indians once occupied the island, followed in turn by the Spanish, English, Americans and Confederates. Now noted for its spectacular beaches, stunning marsh views and magnificent historic district, Jekyll Island was once a strategic point for the Confederate military as it tried to defend Brunswick harbor from Union attack.

Southern troops built earthwork batteries faced in part with iron taken from railroad lines and placed heavy cannon on the island. The batteries were occupied into 1862 when General Robert E. Lee, then assigned to oversee the defense of Georgia, decided that his limited forces and artillery were too dispersed. He recommended the evacuation of the batteries on Jekyll Island and the guns were moved to Savannah.

The remains of the Confederate batteries are one of the most overlooked historic sites on Jekyll Island. Although the earthworks themselves are located adjacent to the runways of the island's airport and are not open to the public, they can be viewed from a small picnic area on River View next to the airport.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jekyllbatteries.

The Nancy Harts - Georgia's Female Confederate Soldiers

When the city of LaGrange, Georgia, was left defenseless as regular Confederate troops were ordered from the area to the front lines, the Southern ladies of the town decided to do something about it. They formed the Nancy Harts.

Named for a Georgia heroine of the American Revolution, the all female militia company was formed in 1862 and included around 40 women. Nancy Morgan was elected as their captain and the company also included a slate of lieutenants and other officers.

Although the women of the Nancy Harts later laughed about their earliest drills, over time the company began to develop military precision. They marched and learned infantry tactics and also participating in target practice directed by a wounded Confederate soldier. After practicing twice each week for 3 years, the all female company was efficient and determined by the time LaGrange was threatened with attack in 1865.

Following the Battle of West Point in April of 1865, a Union column of thousands of men made its way up the road to LaGrange. The movement was part of General James H. Wilson's raid through Alabama and Georgia and was commanded by Colonel Oscar H. LaGrange, who oddly enough bore the same name as the city he was approaching.

As the Federals approached LaGrange, the women of the Nancy Harts mustered on the lawn of Lieutenant Mary Heard's home (seen above). Forming ranks, they marched out to meet LaGrange's oncoming Union soldiers under the command of their captain, Nancy Morgan.

When the two forces met, Morgan wheeled the Nancy Harts into a line of battle but quick intercession on the part of a captured Confederate officer prevented bloodshed.

To learn more of the fascinating story of the Nancy Harts, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nancyharts.