Maj. Gen. H. W. Slocum, commanding Sherman's Left Wing, had headquarters in this field, March 19-21, 1865.
Topics Related to Civil War
The remains of 360 Confederates who fell in the Battle of Bentonville lie here. They were moved to this plot from other parts of the battlefield in 1893. The monument was erected at that time.
Field Hospital of the XX Corps during the Battle of Bentonville was located here. Four hundred Union soldiers, wounded in the Battle of Averasboro (16 miles west) on March 16, were brought here for treatment.
Constructed by First Michigan Engineers and others, March 19, 1865. Occupied by Federals throughout the battle. Works begin 75 yards behind this marker.
Maj. Gen. A. S. Williams, commanding the XX Corps, established his headquarters here on March 19. In the woods to the north, the XX Corps erected breastworks which remain.
Following the battle, 45 Confederate wounded were hospitalized in the Harper House. Nineteen of these men died here. Surgeons moved the others to regular Confederate hospitals.
The Harper House was used as a hospital by the XIV Corps, March 19-21, 1865. About 500 Union wounded were treated here.
Gen. Wm. T. Sherman camped in this area with his Left Wing on the night of March 18, 1865. The following morning, the Left Wing continued along this road meeting Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates in the Battle of Bentonville, 2 miles east. Meanwhile, Sherman joined his Right Wing, marching toward Goldsboro on another road, and thus missed the first day of the battle.
Location: NC 82 south of Erwin at Chicora CemeteryCounty: HarnettOriginal Date Cast: 1961(Large rectangular marker; full text follows)You are standing at the center of the second phase of fighting in the Battle of Averasboro, March 15, 16, 1865.
Location: I-95 (southbound) at rest area near SelmaCounty: JohnstonOriginal Date Cast: 1962(Large rectangular marker; full text follows)At Bentonville, General William T. Sherman’s Union army, advancing from Fayetteville toward Goldsboro, met and battled the Confederate army of General Joseph E. Johnston. General Robert E. Lee had directed the Confederates to make a stand in North Carolina to prevent Sherman from joining General U. S. Grant in front of Lee’s army at Petersburg, Virginia.