The North Carolina Museum of History has many artifacts in its collection related to the Civil War. Here is just a sampling:
Candle
This candle was carried aboard the blockade runner Beauregard; an 824 ton steamer with a crew of forty-seven. While leaving Wilmington in December 1863 the Beauregard was sighted by Federal blockaders and chased by the USS Howquah until running aground above Fort Fisher. It was burned by Confederates to prevent the ship being salvaged by Union forces and then wrecked by violent storms. The candle washed ashore at Wrightsville Beach during a hurricane in August 1893.
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Enfield Cartridge Box
Many of the items delivered on Confederate blockade-runners were made in Great Britain. This is a British Enfield cartridge box purchased for shipment to the Confederacy. It could be carried either on the belt on by a sling worn across the chest. In addition to the Enfield cartridge boxes, large number of British Enfield rifles in .577 caliber were purchased for Confederate use. British war goods were usually extremely well made and sought after by Confederate soldiers.
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Winter Hat of General Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
General Lawrence O'Bryan Branch used this unusual cap as a winter hat. It may have been made using fabric cut from a pair of Union army trousers. A section of the hat folds down into a pair of earmuffs. O'Bryan was a prominent lawyer and politician before the war. He served briefly as the state quartermaster general early in the war and was later promoted to a brigadier general. As such, he commanded a brigade in A.P. Hill's Division in the Army of Northern Virginia. He was killed at Sharpsburg, Maryland by a sniper's bullet on September 17, 1862. Branch's body was brought back to Raleigh for burial in the Old City Cemetery.
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Wooden Canteen
This British made canteen was among the goods imported by the Confederacy. The canteen is marked "1854" and was probably part of a large order of surplus military goods purchased by a Confederate agent in England. Wooden canteens like this one date back to long before the formation of the Confederacy. During the Civil War tin canteens were favored over wooden ones since they did not tend to leak. However, wooden canteens were frequently made in the South due to the lack of metal.
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Slave Shoe
This crude wooden and leather shoe was handmade by a slave and probably intended for slave use. The sole is hand carved and curved and is attached by the upper section by way of a leather strap that has been nailed over the seam. Although crude in appearance, the shoe was well-made and saved scarce resources such as leather. However, compared to a shoe today it would feel very awkward and uncomfortable.
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Hat of Colonel Gaston Mears
A native of New Hanover County and a veteran of the Mexican War Colonel Gaston Mears wore this elaborate hat while commander of the Third Regiment North Carolina State Troops. Mears was killed by artillery fire at the Battle of Malvern Hill outside Richmond, Virginia on July 1, 1862 while surveying Union positions. The bugle on front represents the infantry branch of service and the number three is the regimental number.
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Artillery Kepi
This red wool kepi with gold braid on top indicates usage by a Confederate artillery officer. In the army colors indicate the various branches--red artillery, blue infantry, and yellow cavalry. Officers usually wore kepis. However, the owner of this kepi is not known.
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Trinkets Carved by George W. Davis
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A merchant in Warren County before the war, George W. Davis enlisted in Company F (Warren Guards), Twelfth Regiment North Carolina Troops (Second Regiment North Carolina Volunteers) on April 18, 1861. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in May 1864, Davis was captured by Federal soldiers and taken first to Point Lookout, then to Elmira Prison, where he made these trinkets out of beef bone. Davis was released on June 11, 1865. |
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Flag of the Brown Mountain Boys
Local women in the Brown Mountain Community in west-central Stokes County made this flag for the Brown Mountain Boys. As part of the Second Battalion North Carolina Infantry, the Brown Mountain boys landed on Roanoke Island on the morning of February 8, 1862, just in time to become part of the Confederate surrender to Federal forces. The flag was taken and kept as a souvenir by a member of the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts. It remained in Massachusetts until its purchase by the North Carolina Museum of History Associates, Inc. in 1987. The flag is based on the pattern of the first national flag of the Confederacy known as the "stars and bars."
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Flag of the Fortieth Regiment North Carolina Troops (Third Regiment North Carolina Artillery)
This is an Army of Tennessee pattern battle flag. Battle flags from this army tended to be more rectangular in shape as oppose to the square battle flags carried by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It's believed this may be the flag of the Fortieth Regiment North Carolina Troops (Third Regiment North Carolina Volunteers), which fought as infantry at the Battle of Bentonville on March 19, 1865. During the battle James Swazey, fourteenth Regiment Michigan Volunteers, captured the flag. Little is know regarding the history of the flag after its capture. The Hall of History (now the North Carolina Museum of History) received the flag as a donation in 1915.
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Headquarters Flag of General Robert F. Hoke
A native of Lincolnton, General Robert F. Hoke rose to the rank of major general during the Civil War. This is a second national pattern Confederate flag adopted on May 1, 1863 and used until replaced on March 4, 1865. Because of its large white field this pattern flag was nicknamed the "stainless banner." This flag most certainly marked Hoke's headquarters during his brilliant victory at Plymouth, North Carolina on April 20, 1864. This flag was donated to the state sometime after Hoke's death in 1912.
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Hat of George Pettigrew Bryan
Captain George Pettigrew Bryan, commander of Company C, Nineteenth Regiment North Carolina Troops (Second Regiment North Carolina Cavalry) worn this ornate hat with a black plume and gold tassels. A native of Wake County, Bryan was killed during a cavalry charge against Union forces outside Richmond in August 1864.
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Kepi of John Lane
This kepi is one of several artifacts associated with Colonel John R. Lane. The gold braid on the hat indicates Lane's rank as an officer and there is a gilded button with the North Carolina coat of arms on each side. Lane was born in Chatham County in 1835. His Confederate service began in May 1861 and he quickly rose in rank from private to colonel. After assuming command of the Twenty-sixth Regiment North Carolina Troops on July 1, 1863, at Gettysburg, Lane was immediately wounded. Lane managed to survive the war despite a series of wounds. He returned to Chatham County after the war where he became a successful farmer and businessman. He died in1908.
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Haversack
This haversack was fabricated in the field from a section of a Federal knapsack.
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Sword with Scabbard of
Henry K. Burgwyn
Henry K. Burgwyn, a twenty-one-year-old from Northampton County, was called "the boy colonel" by his men. On July 1, 1863, at Gettysburg, Colonel Burgywn commanded the Twenty-sixth Regiment North Carolina Troops. He was shot through the chest and mortally wounded while carrying the regimental flag in an attack. He died within two hours. Burgwyn was one of fourteen men shot down carrying the flag in the charge. His regiment lost 588 of 800 men (more than 73 percent) in the attack.
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M1860 Colt Revolver of
Charles McKinney Roberts
Born in Buncombe County, in the Mountains of North Carolina, Charles McKinney Roberts initially supported the Union strongly and spoke out against secession. Like many former unionists, Roberts cast his fate with his native state when North Carolina left the United States. During counterguerrilla operations in Madison County, Roberts was mortally wounded by a Union sympathizer on September 27, 1864, and died the next day.
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M1853 British Enfield Rifle
Imported Enfields were issued to soldiers in the North Carolina African American Union Regiments.
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Minie Ball Mold
An unlimited need for military supplies gave rise to private and government enterprises across North Carolina. Military goods manufactured within the state included flags, gunpowder, ammunition, buttons, and leather goods. A contractor in Kenansville made a variety of edged weapons, and several Guilford County gunmakers made firearms for both the North Carolina and Confederate governments. This mold was used to cast minie balls in Raleigh, ca. 1864.
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Whiskey Bottle, ca. 1862
Soldiers found numerous ways to pass time while in camp and not on duty. Smoking, drinking, and games such as cards, dominoes, and marbles went on throughout the year. For some men, alcohol abuse became a serious problem.
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Pocket Watch of Junius Daniel
Junius Daniel served as colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment North Carolina Troops (Fourth Regiment North Carolina Volunteers). Promoted to brigadier general in September 1862, Daniel fought with distinction at Gettysburg in 1863 and at the Wilderness in early May 1864. He used this watch, a gift from his wife Ellen, to count the number of Union artillery shells per minute fired on his position at Spotsylvania Courthouse. He was mortally wounded at Spotsylvania Courthouse on the morning of May 12, 1864, and died the following day.
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