Media Contacts: Susan Friday Lamb, 919-807-7943 Jackson Marshall, 919-807-7872 Dr. Jeanne Marie Warzeski, 919-807-7962 FINAL EXHIBIT OF CIVIL WAR SERIES OPENS AT N.C. MUSEUM OF HISTORY North Carolina and the Civil War: The Bitter End, 1864-1865, the final exhibit in a three-part series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina, has opened at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. The exhibit series explores the nation’s bloodiest conflict from 1861 through 1865. It is located within the museum’s permanent military history gallery A Call to Arms. Admission is free. The Bitter End, 1864-1865 begins in the spring of 1864, when heavy fighting in Virginia was thinning the ranks of Tar Heel troops. The exhibit concludes with the surrender of the CSS Shenandoah in Liverpool, England, on Nov. 6, 1865. Highlighted artifacts include revolvers, swords, battle flags and uniforms used by North Carolinians who persevered in the face of impossible odds. The Bitter End, 1864-1865 showcases battle flags that have never been exhibited or have not been on view for many years. These historic banners have been conserved through funding provided by Civil War re-enactment groups and organizations. Flags on exhibit will be changed periodically to avoid prolonged exposure to light. 1864-1865: The Last Campaigns focuses on the fighting in Virginia at the Wilderness, at Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor. Artifacts include a Burnside carbine captured from a Federal scout and presented by Maj. Gen. Stephen Dodson Ramseur to his troops. Maj. Gen. Ramseur led an attack that saved the Confederate army at Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864. Also featured is the battle flag of the First Regiment N.C. State Troops that Pvt. John Reams of Northampton County carried into the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, where he was captured during hand-to-hand combat. Unavoidable Ending recounts the fall of the Confederacy and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April 9, 1865. The exhibit also highlights the surrender treaty signed by Union general William T. Sherman and Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston at Bennett home, near Durham, in April 1865. On view is a Model 1850 foot officer’s sword used by Col. Paul F. Faison, 56th Regiment N.C. Troops, that was surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Artifacts associated with the Bennett home include a table and whiskey bottle used at the site. Last at Liverpool concludes with a surprising and little-known footnote: the final act of the Civil War. “That act was the surrender of the CSS Shenandoah in Liverpool, England,” said Dr. Jeanne Marie Warzeski, Curator, N.C. Museum of History. “The Shenandoah was surrendered by its captain, Pittsboro native James Iredell Waddell, on November 6, 1865, and it was truly the last surrender of the war.” Liverpool was the unofficial home port of the Confederate navy. Museum visitors will see a Model 1852 U.S. naval officer’s sword and scabbard used by Capt. Waddell, as well as a ring he wore during his command of the Shenandoah. Be sure to see The Bitter End, 1864-1865 and learn more about the stories of North Carolinians during the war’s final chapters. The exhibit is part of the N.C. Civil War Sesquicentennial, a statewide initiative organized by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina. For more information go to nccivilwar150. For details about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or Facebook. IMAGE: Model 1852 U.S. naval officer’s sword and scabbard used by Capt. James Iredell Waddell. They are featured in the exhibit North Carolina and the Civil War: The Bitter End, 1864-1865. Image credit: N.C. Museum of History About the N.C. Museum of History The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton Street, across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. About the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan W. Kluttz, NCDCR’s mission to enrich lives and communities creates opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state’s history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella. Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and economic stimulus engines for our state’s communities. NCDCR’s Divisions of Archives and Records, State Historic Sites, and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina’s rich cultural heritage. NCDCR’s State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state, developing and supporting access to traditional and online collections such as genealogy and resources for the blind and physically handicapped. NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported symphony orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives of North Carolina. NCDCR champions our state’s creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call 919-807-7300 or visit ncdcr.gov. # # # Susan Friday Lamb Public Information Officer North Carolina Museum of History See two magnificent exhibitions featuring hidden treasures of Imperial Russia. Through March 5, explore The Tsars Cabinet: Two Hundred Years of Russian Decorative Arts Under the Romanovs and Windows into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art. Admission and details at ncmuseumofhistory.org. Ph: (919) 807-7943 | Fx: (919) 733-8655 (E-mail sent to and from this address is subject to the N.C. Public Records Law and may be revealed to a third party by an authorized state official.)
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 13:52:30 +0000
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