From the
Trenches
THE OFFICIAL
NEWSLETTER
OF
BENTONVILLE
BATTLEFIELD
STATE HISTORIC
SITEC SITE
Volume II, Issue 1
January 2011
Megan Maxwell, Editor
Inside this Issue
Co. D 27th NC
Continues a
Christmas
Tradition
2
Manager’s
Message
2
Artifact
Spotlight:
Bonitz Sword
3
Upcoming
Events
4
News from North Carolina’s Premier Civil War Battlefield Site
To Arms! To Arms! The Union is Dissolved!
Bentonville’s 146th Anniversary Event
Bentonville Battlefield will kick off special
programming for NC’s Civil War Sesquicentennial celebration with the 146th Anniversary of
the Battle of Bentonville Living History Program on March 19 & 20, 2011 from 9:00 am
until 4:00 pm. The theme of the program is
“The Union is Dissolved: Mustering Soldiers Off to
War.” Living history scenarios will begin at
9:00 am and 1:00 pm on both days. Concessions will be offered for sale by the Bentonville
Volunteer Fire Department.
During the first half of this living history
scenario, visitors will witness raw recruits as
they answer the call for volunteers to join the
Confederate army in late May of 1861. Enlistment will take place at John Harper’s home just
outside of the village of Bentonville. Military
re-enactors will portray enlisting officers, recruits, and the army surgeons charged with
certifying the health of the new soldiers. The
surgeon would have performed a physical examination of each recruit and asked a series of
questions about their medical history. These
strange questions included “Have you ever had
the fits?”, “Are you in the habit of drinking? Or
have you ever had the ‘horrors’?”, and “Are you
subject to the piles?” The surgeon will explain
exactly what these questions referred to if you
dare to ask!
The Harper family will also be represented
since the enlistment station will be established
at their home. Various civilians will be present
portraying family, friends, and neighbors showing support and bidding teary farewells to the
brave volunteers. The ladies of Bentonville will
present flags to the troops.
The second half of the living history scenario
will follow the recruits as they report to their
camp of instruction. There they would have
been issued uniforms, equipment, and weapons.
They would also learn how to be soldiers
through daily drills. Recruits will arrive at the
camp, change into military uniforms, and commence drilling. Re-enactors will portray raw
CSA recruitment poster dated May 8,
1861. Image courtesy of the National Archives.
recruits with no formal military training, so visitors should be entertained by mistakes and mishaps!
Visitors are encouraged to participate
throughout the day by filling out an enlistment
form and participating in the drills.
Re-enactors interested in participating in this
event should contact Megan Maxwell at
[email protected] for a scenario summary and registration form. There is no fee to
register for this event.
Page 2
From the Trenches
Co. D 27th NC Continues Christmas Tradition at Bentonville
On December 4, 2010 Bentonville hosted its
annual Civil War Christmas Open House. The staff
would like to thank Co. D 27th NC Troops for their
dedication and participation in this annual event.
Over 300 visitors attended as temperatures stayed
steady in the 30s and the snow clouds loomed overhead. Co. D offered light refreshments of cookies
and hot cider in the kitchen building which they had
decorated in a holiday theme using natural greens,
fruits, and berries. Period music entertained those in
the crowded kitchen, as kids enjoyed creating strands
of cranberries and popcorn for the tree. Snow flurries began to fall late in the afternoon adding to the
festive scene. The program has become an annual
tradition for many Johnston County residents and we
look forward to celebrating again next year!
“Christmas
at
Bentonville,
complete with
falling snow
flurries!”
Top Left: Musicians
with Co. D 27th NC
entertain in the
kitchen
Bottom Left:
Decorating the tree
Bottom Right:
Visitors stringing
cranberries and popcorn
Photos by D. Taylor
MANAGER’S MESSAGE: HARPER HOUSE REPAIRS COMPLETE
Bentonville Battlefield State Historic
Site was created in 1957 with the purchase
of the Harper House and fifty acres of land
from the R. D. Dunn Family. The home
itself was constructed circa 1855 by John
Harper and his wife Amy, and within ten
years of its construction became a Union
XIV Corps Hospital for three days in 1865.
During these three days approximately
600 soldiers both Union and Confederate
were treated there. As the battle ended
and the armies went their separate ways,
54 Confederate soldiers remained at the
house and were cared for by the Harper
family. Over a period of a couple of
months, 22 soldiers died from their
wounds and were buried on the farm. The
remainder returned to their homes.
The house was finally sold out of the
Harper family in 1903, but was occupied
most of the time until purchased by the
state in 1957. Many repairs were completed on the house, including replacing
the home’s original plaster. Over the past
fifty years, the home has welcomed visitors
from around the world and hosted much
more traffic than the house was designed
to handle. This added traffic, the age of the
house, the addition of alarm systems, some
water damage around windows, and normal settling of the structure has caused the
plaster to crack.
On October 5, 2010, Best Plastering
began the needed repairs on the home’s
interior plaster work. They did a thorough
investigation to find the cause of the cracking plaster. In most cases, the damage to
the ceiling plaster was caused by the lathing beginning to twist, cracking the plaster.
This proved to be the same problem in
BY DONNY TAYLOR
large sections of the 1960s era plaster and
it had to be removed to get a good adhesive contact for the new plaster. The contractor took the extra effort to make sure
the look of the repairs blended with the
existing work.
We have often wondered how much of
the plaster was original to the 1855 construction and with this project we found
some answers. Although evidence of original plaster was found at places in the walls,
none was found in the ceilings. This was a
bit of a surprise because we thought only a
skim coat was put on in the 1960s era
plaster repair.
The old home stills gives up answers
from time to time. I wonder what will be
next!
The house reopened for tours on January 6,
2011.
Volume II, Issue 1
Page 3
Artifact Spotlight: The Bonitz Sword
A unique artifact on display in Bentonville Battlefield’s Visitor Center is a Model 1840 U.S. Army
Non-commissioned Officers Sword stamped 1863
with an engraving on the hilt that reads:
“Walter H. Bonitz
On the Battlefield
Bentonville N.C.
March 20, 1865.”
The sword was purchased by the Bentonville Battlefield Historical Association, and has been on display
at least since the remodeling of the Visitors Center
in the late 1990s. The tag at the bottom of the exhibit says that the
“identity of Bonitz is unknown.”
Because of the inscription on the
sword, site staff naturally assumed
that Bonitz was a Civil War soldier
that fought at Bentonville. Unfortunately, thorough research through
troop rosters and online databases
has not turned up any trace of Bonitz.
For some time it seemed that Bonitz’s identity would never be known.
Eventually, site staff decided to
check post Civil War sources for
Bonitz. According to census records,
a Walter Bonitz was born in nearby
Goldsboro in 1874. Although he was
born much too late to fight in the
Civil War, this Bonitz had the exact
same name and was born in close
proximity to the Bentonville area.
This fact, combined with Bonitz not
being a very common surname in 19th
Century North Carolina, was enough
to raise our curiosity. Subsequent
census schedules told us that Goldsboro’s Walter Bonitz was a soldier in
the U.S. Army stationed in Puerto
Rico during the Spanish-American
This Model 1840 U.S.
Army Noncommissioned Officer’s Sword is on display in the Visitors
Center, but its story
remains a mystery.
Photos by D. Taylor
UDC Raising Funds
The Harper House-Bentonville
Chapter of the United Daughters of
the Confederacy is raising funds to
cover the cost of placing “Unknown”
Confederate headstones on 20 unmarked graves between the 1895
Goldsboro Rifles Monument and the
Harper Cemetery. If you would like
to make a donation, please visit their
display table during our 146th Anniversary Event on March 19-20. Or
contact UDC President Emily Thornton.
BY DERRICK BROWN, ASST. SITE MANAGER
The Harper
House is open
for tours!
A side view of
the Harper
House during
one of our December 2010
snowfalls.
Photo by D.
Taylor.
War era.
When the sword was examined by
an expert on Civil War edged weapons, this specialist informed us that the
inscription etched on the hilt is probably not old enough to be from the
Civil War. This was the last piece of
circumstantial evidence we needed to
feel comfortable about who our Walter Bonitz was. The combination of
the postwar engraving, Bonitz being a
soldier who served thirty to forty
years after the Civil War, and finally
Bonitz being from Goldsboro which is
less than twenty miles from Bentonville, point to the fact that the sword
was his, but not until long after the
Civil War. Evidently, the sword was
carried in the Battle of Bentonville and
Bonitz later found or purchased it, or
he may have just been proud to be
from the area of North Carolina’s
largest Civil War battle. We now
know who Bonitz was, but the sword
itself will forever remain a mystery.
Scene of the Last Major Confederate Offensive of the Civil War
The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, was the last full-scale action of
the Civil War in which a Confederate army was able to mount a tactical offensive. This
major battle, the largest ever fought in North Carolina, was the only significant attempt
to defeat the large Union army of Gen. William T. Sherman during its march through
the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.
BENTONVILLE
BATTLEFIELD
STATE HISTORIC
SITE
Today, visitors can take a self-guided driving tour of the preserved battlefield and
view four wayside exhibit areas, follow a short walking trail to view original trenches
from the battle, and visit the Harper family cemetery and monument area. The Visitor
Center contains exhibits and a brief orientation film. Guided tours of the c. 1855
Harper House, a Union field hospital, are available on the hour beginning at 10:00 a.m.
with the last tour at 4:00 p.m.
5466 Harper House Rd
Four Oaks, NC 27524
Phone: 910-594-0789
Fax: 910-594-0070
E-mail:
[email protected]
Site Hours
April-September
Mon-Sat 9 am-5 pm
Closed Sundays
October– March
Tues-Sat 9 am–5 pm
Closed Sundays and
Mondays
Call for Holiday
Schedule
Admission is FREE
Special Events 2011
March 19-20, 2011
“The Union is Dissolved: Mustering Soldiers
off to War” Bentonville’s 146th Anniversary
Program. See front page of this issue for details.
May 21, 2011
“Confederate Memorial Day” Harper House/
Bentonville UDC Memorial Ceremony. Keynote speaker: John Mintz, Assistant State Archaeologist. The highlight of this event will be
a dedication of the Unknown Confederate Soldier grave markers for the grave sites identified
in the monument area.
June 11, 2011
“Camp Life” Discover how Civil War soldiers
Site Staff
Donny Taylor, Site Manager
Derrick Brown, Assistant Site
Manager
Megan Maxwell, Programs
Coordinator
Jeff Fritzinger, Interpreter
Johnny Carter, Maintenance
Mechanic
Website
www.nchistoricsites
.org/bentonvi
Become a fan of
Bentonville
Battlefield State
Historic Site on
Facebook!
lived in camp and what role the enlisted man
played in battle during Bentonville Battlefield
State Historic Site’s Summer Living History
Series. Period-costumed living historians from
the 18th NC/53rd PA and 1st NC/11th NC will
demonstrate how soldiers made meals, maintained their weapons and uniforms, trained for
battle, and much more. Also features musket
and artillery demonstrations. 10:00-4:00
August 27, 2011
“A Day in the Life of a Civil War Soldier”
The sounds of artillery and musket fire will
once again ring out at Bentonville Battlefield
during our second Summer Seasonal Living
History Event. Re-enactors from the 27th
NC will be on hand to discuss the typical
soldier’s life. Artillery and musket demonstrations will also be held. 10:00-4:00
October 1, 2011
“Johnny has Gone for a Soldier: The Southern
Home-front During the First Years of the Civil
War” Annual Fall Civilian Living History
Program. Southern women and children
demonstrate 19th century farm life and how
their daily lives changed when all the men
went off to war. Costumed civilian reenactors will also discuss shortages and substitutions for everyday items. 10:00-4:00
December 3, 2011
“A Civil War Christmas” Annual holiday
open house event. Costumed interpreters
decorate the kitchen in festive themes using
natural greens, berries, and fruits. Visitors
can enjoy cookies and cider while listening
to period music. 10:00-4:00
2nd Saturdays Returns in 2011
The NC Dept. of Cultural Resources continues its 2nd Saturday Series in 2011. Please
contact the site for information on special
activities taking place on each 2nd Saturday
of the month in June, July, and August.