City: Four Oaks, NC

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (910) 594-0789

Address: 5466 Harper House Rd.

Description: U.S. General William T. Sherman faced his last significant challenge from the Confederate army in March 1865 at Bentonville, a small crossroads community about 50 miles southeast of Raleigh. Today, the Bentonville Battlefield is a National Historic Landmark that serves as a monument to the lives lost and a lesson in Civil War history. Visitors can see the restored and furnished farmhouse of John and Amy Harper, which was turned into a hospital during the battle, a Confederate mass grave, miles of earthworks that soldiers dug during the fight, and artifacts collected from the battlefield. Monuments built in the decades after the war dot the landscape. Inside the visitors’ center, an interactive fiber-optic map exhibit provides visual and audio explanation of the first day of the battle. Every five years, re-enactors commemorate the battle with a two-day re-creation of the fight and other period events, involving hundreds of volunteers and antique munitions. The last re-enactment marked the 145th anniversary of the battle in March 2010. Other smaller re-enactments are held throughout the year. Admission to the site is free.