Or maybe have a website dedicated to each of these unattended battlefield sites and on each website solicit donations that would go to buying and preserving it.

I was just at the Averasboro Battlefield Museum, and was quite impressed by what that small non-profit has been able to do. They have an original uniform from a local soldier with buttons that came through the blockade. It’s been very well preserved.

It’s distressing that there are no federally-protected lands among the Civil War sites in North Carolina. For me, the most likely reason is that the history of the war has been simplified into a series of struggles: Lincoln vs. Jeff Davis, Lincoln vs. McClellan, Grant vs. Lee. Sherman is remembered for the incredible impact of the march to the sea, but not the more magnanimous surrender terms he came to with Johnston at Bennett Place. There’s a kind of cult of celebrity involved, and Johnston is not in the right crowd, with Lee, Grant, Stonewall Jackson, and Sherman.

There are also issues, I’m sure, in terms of proximity to DC. And some of this no doubt has to do with North Carolina pride, where they have taken pride in preserving these sites, but they just don’t have the resources of the federal government.

There are two books that I can recommend without any hesitation. First is the classic by John G. Barrett, Sherman’s March Through the Carolinas, which is considered a classic, and Mark Bradley’s excellent Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville, which is the best study of this campaign yet published.

You can’t possibly go wrong with either of these books.

Eric

So I’ve heard it described. 🙂

From what I can tell, it’s a pretty accurate description.

Eric

Eric