They met to make peace. Two old enemies met in the humble parlor at the farm house of James and Nancy Bennett. The result of that meeting was the largest surrender of troops during the Civil War on April 26, 1865. This was not the only surrender during the Civil War, and Bennett Place will examine it and other surrenders in the program, "Terms of Surrender,” Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Author David Silkenat will discuss his book, “Raising the White Flag: How surrender defined the American Civil War,” and historian Earl Ijames will lecture on the role of US Colored Troops and will display artifacts carried or used by US Colored Troops during the Civil War. Ongoing living history demonstrations by US Colored Troops and civilian reenactors will be presented also.
Admission to the event is $3 per adult, $2 for ages 5 to 16 years, and under age 5 is free.
For additional information, please call (919) 383-4345, email bennett@ncdcr.gov, or visit website www.bennettplacehistoricsite.com and click on the events link.
The mission of Bennett Place State Historic Site is to interpret the site of the largest surrender of the American Civil War on the Bennett farm in April 1865. Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnson and Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman negotiated the surrender of the armies of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, totaling more than 89,000 exhausted troops, and effectively ending the Civil War.
Bennett Place is located at 4409 Bennett Memorial Rd., Durham. It is within the Division of State Historic Sites of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.