Soldiers of the Old North State To Encamp at Bennett Place Oct. 9-10

DURHAM – In excess of 125,000 “Tarheels” served in the Confederate Army, more than of any other state, and over 32,000 North Carolina soldiers died during the four-year Civil War. Re-enactors portraying these soldiers will demonstrate camp life during free programs at Bennett Place State Historic Site.

Activities will include cooking, musket firings and talks on how North Carolina soldiers came to be known as “Tarheels” on Saturday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Some new recruits enlisted willingly, some by conscription. Stations in Hillsborough, Company Shops (Burlington), Graham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh served as training and recruiting stations for young and old who rallied to the Southern cause. They were trained to provide re info rcements and relief to soldiers already battling in Virginia , Georgia , Tennessee and along the North Carolina coast.

Visitors will learn about the unique style of equipment and uniforms produced by the state’s booming textile industry during the Civil War. Activities will be ongoing during the two-day event.

"These Confederate soldiers will bivouac -- camp out on the grounds -- the entire weekend,” Site Manager John Guss explains. “Visitors will see these living historians cook salt pork, corn and sweet potatoes over open fires, and mend their own clothing and demonstrate other necessities soldiers had to learn away from home.”

In the Visitor Center many exclusive Civil War-related artifacts interpreting the life of the Bennett family and North Carolina soldiers during surrender negotiations will be on view. The short film, Dawn of Peace, will be shown in the theater, and the recently commissioned painting, The First Meeting, is on display. Bennett Place -related collectibles and Civil War souvenirs will be sold in the museum shop to benefit preservation of this historic landmark.

Bennett Place is in western Durham at 4409 Bennett Memorial Road , Durham , NC 27705 . For more info rmation, call (919) 383-4345 or e-mail bennett@ncdcr.gov. Bennett Place is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites within 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. Information on Cultural Resources is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com