Topics Related to Civil War

Historic Stagville State Historic Site, the site of one of the largest plantations in North Carolina, has been accepted to join the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a worldwide network of historic sites that connect the past to present struggles for human rights. A Site of Conscience is a place of memory – a museum, historic site, memorial or memory initiative– that confronts both the history of what happened there and its contemporary legacies. 

The shoreline at a state historic site on the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County soon will be stabilized.



The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has been awarded a grant by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to protect a portion of the shoreline deemed historically significant at the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site. The NFWF approved the $2,002,500 grant request that will fund the installation of an artificial reef system along 1,000 feet of the shore to protect the site.

Not blossoms but bullets came to the farms and plantations of North Carolina’s coastal plain during the Battle of Bentonville March 19-21, 1865. The fighting raged just yards from the home of John and Amy Harper, and Union forces made their house a hospital. The home and plantation of their neighbor Willis Cole were destroyed in this largest battle ever fought in North Carolina.

Spring is almost here and for generations that has meant preparing the fields and planting crops. Aycock Birthplace State Historic Site will showcase some of the workings of a late 1870s farm on Wednesday, March 4. The site will demonstrate some of the skills taught in an 1800s classroom on Wednesday, March 11. The free family-friendly “Traveling Through Time” programs will run 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is $2 for each. 

Get out around town to see some local Kinston landscapes with new insights during the CSS Neuse fifth anniversary celebration Saturday, March 7, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A tour of the museum, two battlefield tours and a living history demonstration will make for a day of fun and facts. The cost is $20, and lunch will be on your own at Kings Restsurant. Preregistration is required and limited to 30 people. 



Do you love learning about your local area,” asks intern Samantha Reddick. “We will have reenactors demonstrate what was happening in Kinston during the Civil War.” 

FREMONT, N.C. — Music and dance will resonate at Aycock Birthplace State Historic Site during a free program celebrating Black History Month Saturday, Feb. 22, 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Artist April C. Turner will lead an interactive performance celebrating African American culture. The free program will include site tours and a presentation on groundbreaking African American legislator George White. 

Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site will commemorate the 155th anniversary of the fall of Fort Anderson Feb. 15 and 16.



The site is offering a free living-history event during the daytime, and a special program Saturday night requiring tickets purchased in advance.

Advance tickets for the country’s largest Civil War re-enactment of 2020, the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Bentonville slated for March 21-22, are limited but still available. Other weekend family activities are free. 

The origins and impact of slavery in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and the benefits of slave labor to Reed Gold Mine will be examined during Black History Month. Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site will offer “Black Gold – African American Gold Miners in North Carolina” tours Saturdays in February at 1 p.m. and examine the area’s social and economic environment during John Reed’s lifetime. Join us Feb. 8, 15, or 29. 

Rarely seen Civil War-era artifacts will be on view when the “Treasures from the Vault” exhibit opens Feb. 5 at the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center. The temporary exhibit will display unseen items from the museum’s collection and also present eastern North Carolina’s Civil War history more broadly.