Browse Museums

Bennett Place Historic Site

Durham, North Carolina

Culture, History, Historic House, Military, Park

Here, on April 26, 1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston and Union General William T. Sherman met to discuss the surrender terms of what would become the largest surrender of the American Civil War. More than 90,000 Confederate soldiers of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina surrendered. Bennett Place features the reconstructed farmhouse and outbuildings, a visitor center with exhibits, an interpretive film, research library, gift shop, and living history programs.

Brunswick Town State Historic Site

Winnabow, North Carolina

Archaeology, Culture, General, History, Historic House, Military, Park

A major pre-Revolutionary port on North Carolina's Cape Fear River, Brunswick was razed by British troops in 1776 and never rebuilt. During the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed atop the old village site, and served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy. Colonial foundations dot the present-day tour trail, which crosses the earthworks of the Confederate fort.

Bennett Place State Historic Site

Durham, North Carolina

Culture, General, History, Military, Park

This simple farmhouse was located between Confederate General Johnston's headquarters in Greensboro and Union General Sherman's headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1865 the two officers met at the Bennett Place, where they signed surrender papers for southern armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Today James Bennett's reconstructed farmhouse, kitchen, and smokehouse recall the lifestyle of an ordinary Southern farmer during the Civil War.