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North Carolina Civil War Map
It changed the course of the nation and redefined who we are as Americans. Although people for generations
to come may debate its causes, few can deny the conflict's legacy or lasting impact.
| North Carolina Civil War Map |
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| North Carolina Civil War Battles and Battlefields Map |
| North Carolina Civil War Map |
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| North Carolina Coast and the Civil War Map |
From Atlantic coastal sites at Forts Fisher and Macon to Union cavalry operations
in the western mountains, North Carolina offers a collection of Civil War sites as varied as its landscapes. Blockade running
in Wilmington. Ironclads at Kinston and Plymouth. Sherman vs. Johnston battles in 1865. A surrender more than two weeks after
Appomattox. “Lee's Lifeline” on a crucial railroad.
North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 20, 1861, the last southern state to do so. Relatively early
in the war, Union forces occupied areas along the North Carolina coast and sought to limit the flow of supplies to Confederate
forces by means of a naval blockade of the state's ports. The most significant land battle fought in North Carolina was at
Bentonville in Johnston County, on March 19-21, 1865, when Confederates, under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, made
a vain attempt to thwart the advance of Union troops commanded by Gen. William T. Sherman. On April 18, nine days after Gen.
Robert E. Lee surrendered the main Confederate army at Appomattox, Virginia, Johnston surrendered his forces to Sherman near
Durham, N.C.
North Carolina provided at least 125,000 soldiers to the Confederacy, and
the Tar Heel State recruited more soldiers than any Southern state. Over 620,000 died in the Civil War and 40,000 were North
Carolinians.
The Old North State provided 69 infantry regiments and 4 infantry battalions;
9 cavalry regiments and 9 cavalry battalions; 2 heavy artillery battalions, 4 artillery regiments, 3 light artillery battalions,
and 4 light artillery batteries. Several North Carolina infantry regiments mustered 1,500 soldiers, while few regiments mustered
as many as 1,800. North Carolina's sole legion, Thomas' Legion, mustered over 2,500 soldiers. The average Civil War regiment
mustered 1,100 soldiers.
Recommended Reading: Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In
The Civil War, 1861-1865. Description: The author, Prof. D. H. Hill, Jr.,
was the son of Lieutenant General Daniel Harvey Hill (North Carolina
produced only two lieutenant generals and it was the second highest rank in the army) and his mother was the sister to General
“Stonewall” Jackson’s wife. In Confederate Military History Of North
Carolina, Hill discusses North Carolina’s massive task of preparing and mobilizing for the conflict; the
many regiments and battalions recruited from the "Old North State; as well as the state's numerous contributions during
the war. Continued below...
During
Hill's Tar
Heel State study, the reader begins with
interesting and thought-provoking statistical data regarding the 125,000 "Old
North State" soldiers that fought
during the course of the war and the 40,000 that perished. Hill advances with the Tar Heels to the first battle at Bethel, through numerous bloody campaigns and battles--including North Carolina’s
contributions at the "High Watermark" at Gettysburg--and concludes with Lee's surrender at
Appomattox.
Recommended Reading: The Civil War in North Carolina. Description: Numerous battles and skirmishes were fought in North Carolina during the Civil War, and the campaigns and battles
themselves were crucial in the grand strategy of the conflict and involved some of the most famous generals of the war. John
Barrett presents the complete story of military engagements across the state, including the classical pitched battle of Bentonville--involving
Generals Johnston and Sherman--the siege of Fort Fisher, the amphibious campaigns on the coast, and cavalry sweeps such as General
Stoneman's Raid. A welcome addition for the buff interested in studying each battle (and battlefield) in North Carolina.
Also available in hardcover: The Civil War in North Carolina .
Recommended Reading: The Civil War in the Carolinas
(Hardcover). Description: Dan Morrill relates the experience
of two quite different states bound together in the defense of the Confederacy, using letters, diaries, memoirs, and reports.
He shows how the innovative operations of the Union army and navy along the coast and
in the bays and rivers of the Carolinas affected the general course of the war as well as
the daily lives of all Carolinians. He demonstrates the "total war" for North
Carolina's vital coastal railroads and ports. In the latter part of the war, he describes
how Sherman's operation cut out the heart of the last stronghold
of the South. Continued below...
The author
offers fascinating sketches of major and minor personalities, including the new president and state governors, Generals Lee,
Beauregard, Pickett, Sherman, D.H. Hill, and Joseph E. Johnston. Rebels and abolitionists, pacifists and unionists, slaves
and freed men and women, all influential, all placed in their context with clear-eyed precision. If he were wielding a needle
instead of a pen, his tapestry would offer us a complete picture of a people at war. Midwest Book Review: The Civil War in the Carolinas by civil war expert and historian Dan
Morrill (History Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical
Society) is a dramatically presented and extensively researched survey and analysis of the impact the American Civil War had
upon the states of North Carolina and South Carolina, and the people who called these states their home. A meticulous, scholarly,
and thoroughly engaging examination of the details of history and the sweeping change that the war wrought for everyone, The
Civil War In The Carolinas is a welcome and informative addition to American Civil War Studies reference collections.
Recommended Reading: The Flags
of Civil War North Carolina. Description: Compiled and written by educator and Civil War expert Glenn Dedmondt,
The Flags Of Civil War North Carolina is a very straightforward reference presenting photographs,
color illustrations, descriptions and history of the titular flags that flew over North Carolina
when it seceded from the Union. Each page or two-page spread features the different flags
of the various North Carolina regiments. A meticulously
detailed resource offering very specific information for history and civil war buffs, The Flags Of Civil War North Carolina
is a welcome contribution to the growing library of Civil War Studies and could well serve as a template for similar volumes
for the other Confederate as well as Union states. Great photos and illustrations! Continued below...
Flags stir powerful
emotions, and few objects evoke such a sense of duty and love for the homeland. In April 1861, the first flag of a new republic
flew over North Carolina. The state had just seceded from the union, and its citizens would soon have
to fight for their homes, their families, and their way of life. Each flag is
meticulously detailed
and scaled to perfection. The Flags of Civil War North Carolina
is the history of this short-lived republic (which later joined the Confederacy), told through the banners that flew over
its government, cavalry, and navy. From the hand-painted flag of the Guilford Greys
to the flag of the Buncombe Riflemen--made from the dresses of the ladies
of Asheville--this collection is an exceptional tribute to
the valiant men who bore these banners and to their ill-fated crusade for independence. About the Author: Glenn Dedmondt, a lifelong resident of
the Carolinas and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, shares his passion for the past as a teacher of South Carolina history. Dedmondt has also been published in Confederate Veteran magazine.
Recommended Viewing: The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns. Review: The
Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns is the most successful public-television miniseries in American history. The 11-hour Civil War didn't just captivate a nation,
reteaching to us our history in narrative terms; it actually also invented a new film language taken from its creator. When
people describe documentaries using the "Ken Burns approach," its style is understood: voice-over narrators reading letters
and documents dramatically and stating the writer's name at their conclusion, fresh live footage of places juxtaposed with
still images (photographs, paintings, maps, prints), anecdotal interviews, and romantic musical scores taken from the era
he depicts. Continued below...
The Civil War uses all of these devices to evoke atmosphere and resurrect an event that many knew
only from stale history books. While Burns is a historian, a researcher, and a documentarian, he's above all a gifted storyteller,
and it's his narrative powers that give this chronicle its beauty, overwhelming emotion, and devastating horror. Using the
words of old letters, eloquently read by a variety of celebrities, the stories of historians like Shelby Foote and rare, stained
photos, Burns allows us not only to relearn and finally understand our history, but also to feel and experience it. "Hailed
as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling." "[S]hould be a requirement for every
student."
Recommended Reading: Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast
(The Civil War in North Carolina) (456 pages). Description: Ironclads and Columbiads covers some of the most
important battles and campaigns in the state. In January 1862, Union forces began in earnest to occupy crucial points on the
North Carolina coast. Within six months, Union army and
naval forces effectively controlled coastal North Carolina from the Virginia
line south to present-day Morehead City.
Continued below...
Union setbacks in Virginia, however, led to the withdrawal of many federal soldiers from North Carolina,
leaving only enough Union troops to hold a few coastal strongholds—the vital ports and railroad junctions. The South during the Civil War, moreover, hotly contested the North’s ability to maintain its grip on these key
coastal strongholds.
Recommended Reading: Bushwhackers, The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains (338 pages). Description: Trotter's book (which could have been titled "Murder, Mayhem, and Mountain Madness") is
an epic backdrop for the most horrific murdering, plundering and pillaging of the mountain communities of western North Carolina
during the state’s darkest hour—the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as Southern Appalachia, the North Carolina and East Tennessee mountains witnessed divided loyalties
in its bushwhackers and guerrilla units. These so-called “bushwhackers” even used the conflict to settle old feuds
and scores, which, in some cases, continued well after the war ended. Continued below...
Some bushwhackers
were highly organized ‘fighting guerrilla units’ while others were a motley group of deserters and outliers,
and, since most of them were residents of the region, they were familiar with the terrain and made for a “very formidable
foe.” In this work, Trotter does a great job on covering the many facets of the bushwhackers, including their: battles,
skirmishes, raids, activities, motives, the outcome, and even the aftermath. This book is also a great source for tracing
ancestors during the Civil War; a must have for the family researcher of Southern Appalachia.
Recommended Reading: Encyclopedia of North Carolina (Hardcover:
1328 pages) (The University of North Carolina Press), Description: The first single-volume reference to the events, institutions, and cultural forces that have defined the state,
the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is a landmark publication that will serve those who love and live in North Carolina for generations to come. Editor William S. Powell, whom the Raleigh News
& Observer described as a "living repository of information on all things North Carolinian," spent fifteen years developing
this volume. With contributions by more than 550 volunteer writers—including scholars, librarians, journalists, and
many others—it is a true "people's encyclopedia" of North Carolina.
Continued below...
The volume
includes more than 2,000 entries, presented alphabetically, consisting of longer essays on major subjects, briefer entries,
and short summaries and definitions. Most entries include suggestions for further reading. Centered on history and the humanities,
topics covered include agriculture; arts and architecture; business and industry; the Civil War; culture and customs; education;
geography; geology, mining, and archaeology; government, politics, and law; media; medicine, science, and technology; military
history; natural environment; organizations, clubs, and foundations; people, languages, and immigration; places and historic
preservation; precolonial and colonial history; recreation and tourism; religion; and transportation. An informative and engaging
compendium, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is abundantly illustrated with 400 photographs and maps. It is both a celebration
and a gift—from the citizens of North Carolina, to the citizens of North Carolina.
"Truly an exhaustive and exciting view of every aspect of the Old
North State!”
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