Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bentonville Battlefield’s Oct. 2 Program Shows Wartime Homefront Sacrifices

FOUR OAKS — The smells of sweet potato coffee will greet visitors as Bentonville Battlefield welcomes fall with a unique program, “Life on the Homefront: Substitutions and Sacrifice,” on Saturday Oct. 2, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. During the free event, civilian re-enactors will demonstrate open-hearth cooking, substituting uncommon foods that were used because of shortages during the Civil War.


A variety of substitutes such as mock apple pie were commonly found on wartime dinner tables as ladies did their best to supply food for their families. Other demonstrations include natural dyeing, sewing, knitting, and candle making. Discussions of the hardships endured by average Southern women also will be presented throughout the day.

“Children’s activities include candle dipping and Civil War period toys and games,” says Megan Maxwell, programs coordinator. “This is a great way for families to spend a Saturday! Take a walk down our trail to some original Union trenches or study the exhibits in our Visitor Center ,” she says.

The circa 1855 Harper House, which served as a field hospital during the Battle of Bentonville, will be open all day.

Bentonville Battlefield is located at 5466 Harper House Road , Four Oaks, NC 27524. It is three miles north of Newton Grove on S.R. 1008, about one hour from Raleigh and about 45 minutes from Fayetteville . For more info rmation, visit www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi/bentonvi.htm or call (910) 594-0789.

Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina ’s social, cultural and economic future. For more info rmation, visit www.ncculture.com.

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