Bennett Place Offers Programs

Friday, May 11, 2012

On May 12, 1862, Lorenzo Leigh Bennett, oldest son of the Bennett family, went to the town of Hillsborough and enlisted in the 27th North Carolina Infantry, Company G.

As the war entered its second year, he and many other young men joined to serve the Southern effort.

Over the course of the four-year war more than 120,000 men from North Carolina served in the Confederate Army, and more than 32,000 of them died.

In conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, Bennett Place State Historic Site will present "Joining the Southern Cause," an outdoor educational program depicting life of the Southern soldiers and civilians in the second year of the war.

Living history programs will be held Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is part of the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial observance (www.nccivilwar150.com).

"Lorenzo, along with fellow citizens, gradually began to feel a sense of duty and responsibility to supporting the Confederate cause, which so many Southerners reluctantly did at the outset of the war," explains John Guss, site manager. "They realized they needed to defend their homes from the invasion of Federal troops."

Throughout the weekend visitors can see the enlistment of civilians to become soldiers, and the drill and responsibilities that were required of new recruits. They will also hear personal accounts about sacrifices of the Confederate soldiers. Civilian women will demonstrate daily life on the homefront to include cooking over an open hearth, sewing, gardening, and preparing packages to send off to their loved ones at war.

On April 26, 1865, the farm of James and Nancy Bennett became the location of the peace negotiations for the largest surrender of the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston met in the parlor of the Bennett home and reached an agreement which surrendered more than 89, 270 Confederate soldiers.