North Carolina During the Civil War (Primary Source Sets)

About these Materials

These primary source sets consist of records found in the North Carolina Digital Collections that are related to North Carolina during the American Civil War. Each set includes links to digital items, descriptions of the items, and general subjects. These sets are meant to serve as a guide for teachers to find materials to supplement their lesson plans. The following sets are included:

Discontent and Secession
From the Battlefield (Soldiers)
On the Homefront (Women and Families)
Union Perspective
Military Campaigns
Slavery and Enslaved Persons
Reconstruction
Additional Resources

Content Warning

These records have been preserved for their historical significance. However, some records in this collection contain content that may be harmful or difficult to view, including language that reflects outdated, biased, or offensive views as well as descriptions of conflict and violence.

Background

North Carolina in the Civil War

Type of Information	Details
Historical Era	American Civil War (1861-1865)
Potential Skills	Reading comprehension, historical analysis, and information literacy
Suggested Grade level	8th Grade / High school
Standards (as of Fall 2021)	North Carolina Social Studies (8th Grade) 8.G.1.2 Explain how location, resources, and human geography have influenced the development of North Carolina and the nation. 8.H.1.4 Explain how recovery, resistance, and resilience to inequities, injustices, discrimination, prejudice, and bias have shaped the history of North Carolina and the nation. 8.H.2.2 Explain the influences of individuals and groups during times of innovation and change in North Carolina and the nation. 8.H.2.3 Explain how the experiences and achievements of women, minorities, indigenous, and marginalized groups have contributed to the development of North Carolina and the nation over time. North Carolina English Language Arts (High School) RI.11-12.9 Analyze foundational U.S. and/or British documents of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features. American History (High School) AH.B.1.3 Critique multiple perspectives of American identity in terms of oppression, stereotypes, diversity, inclusion, and exclusion AH.G.1.2 Explain how geographic conditions and expansion have presented both opportunities and challenges in the development of America AH.H.3.2 Use historical empathy and contextualization to deconstruct multiple perspectives of individuals and groups within various turning points

Primary Source Sets

Discontent and Secession

Subjects Include: secession, enslavement, 1860 presidential election, Peace Conference 1861

Title	Location(s)	Description
Craven County December 1860 resolutions	Craven County	Craven County Committee of Safety resolutions sent to Governor John W. Ellis regarding North Carolina's relationship to the United States and the secession crisis. Includes grievances of North Carolina against the Union and calls for a strategy that would align North Carolina closely with other southern enslaving states.
Resolution on Authorizing a Secession Convention, 7 January 1861	Raleigh, Wake County	Four resolutions of the General Assembly submitted to the Senate and/or referred to Senate committee in early January 1861. One resolution states that “unless by the 4th day of March next, the list of exclusive Northern sectional domination shall be quenched and a reaction in public sentiment at the North upon the subject of slavery shall have taken place...it will be the duty of North Carolina, making common cause with her sister states of the South, to seek safety out of the Union.”
Governor's Letter Book: copy of the letter from North Carolina General Assembly representatives to the Peace Conference to Governor Ellis and a report on the conference, Feb. 27, 1861	Wake County Washington, District of Columbia	Reports and resolutions from the North Carolina representatives who attended the Peace Conference in 1861, recorded in Governor Ellis’ letter book.
Governor's Correspondence: Arkansas Resolutions, March 28, 1861	Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas Raleigh, Wake County	Resolutions for Secession by Arkansas. This correspondence is from David Walker, president of the State Convention of Arkansas, to the governor of North Carolina inquiring about the status and future plans of North Carolina related to secession.
Governor's Letter Book: reply by Governor Ellis to request by United States Secretary of War for troops from North Carolina, April 15, 1861	Wake County Washington, District of Columbia	During the 1860 presidential election and its aftermath, secessionist commissioners wrote to southern states that were still undecided about secession from the United States. In early 1861, North Carolina was one of those undecided states. While Governor John W. Ellis was himself a secessionist, many North Carolinians were not and had been waiting to see what President Abraham Lincoln and the federal government would do about the seceding states. On April 15, 1861, Ellis received a telegram from United States Secretary of War Simon Cameron requesting “…two regiments of military for immediate service” following the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Almost immediately after the receipt of the telegram became common knowledge, the state gave its support to the seceded southern states. Governor Ellis replied, “…you can get no troops from North Carolina” stressing that the call for troops was, in his view, a clear violation of the United States Constitution.
Letter: Cadet Paul Faison to his father regarding resigning his commission at West Point, April 12 and 14, 1861	Northampton County West Point, Orange County, New York	In the spring of 1861, Northampton County native Paul Fletcher Faison, a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, writes to his father discussing the issue of secession and what that might mean for his military career and education at West Point. Faison did resign and followed his state out of the Union. Like his two brothers, Faison served as a Confederate officer. He spent the majority of the war as Colonel of the 56th Regiment, N.C. Troops.
North Carolina Secession Ordinance, May 20, 1861	Wake County	Ordinance passed by the North Carolina delegates of a special convention, called to address the secession question and to dissolve the ties of North Carolina to the United States. This document is part of the records for the state constitutional convention of 1861 to 1862 which proposed a dozen amendments.

From the Battlefield (Soldiers)

Subjects include: conscription, poor conditions, prisoner of war, “Tar Heels”, death

Title	Location(s)	Description
Letter: John Thomas Conrad to Sally Conrad, April 17, 1862	Forsyth County Goldsboro, Wayne County Kinston, Lenoir County Wilmington, New Hanover County	Letter from John Thomas Conrad written to his wife, Sally, in Panther Creek, Yadkin Valley, North Carolina. In the letter, John informs his wife about the new conscription act and the impacts that the act may have on the home front as well as military life.
Diary: George Burgwin Johnston, May 19, 1862 - September 15, 1862	Fort Monroe, Hampton County, Virginia Gordonsville, Orange County, Virginia Governors Island, New York County, New York Johnson Island, Ottawa County, Ohio Madison County, Virginia Pamunkey River, King William County, Virginia Richmond (independent city), Virginia Sandusky Bay, Ottawa County, Ohio Staten Island, Richmond County, New York	This diary consists of four entries written in 1862 by George Burgwin Johnston to his wife while he was a prisoner of war. He includes detailed descriptions of the battle leading up to his capture, a short note from Johnson's Island in Lake Erie, and a description of his return voyage down the Mississippi River to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Included in the diary are brief characterizations of three of his closest friends while prisoner, Colonel Clark M. Avery of Morganton, Captain Thomas W. Meyhew of Hyde County, and Colonel Charles H. Olmstead of South Carolina, the last two of who wrote farewell letters in the journal. Also included in the diary are nine poems, a list of books he read while in prison, and the signatures of 45 fellow officers in block 5 of Johnson Island Prison.
Letter: John Futch to Martha Futch, April 3, 1863	New Hanover County Fredericksburg, Virginia Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia	Letter from John Futch to his wife, Martha Futch. Futch writes that provisions are low and that if he gets to North Carolina his wife should bring him food. He thinks there will likely be starvation in camp soon. He also asks his wife about her planting. He got the letter she sent by his captain. (John Futch would later be court-martialed and shot for desertion in September 1863.)
Letter: John Futch to Martha Futch, June 16, 1863	New Hanover County Winchester (independent city), Virginia	Letter written on paper with a patriotic Union illustration and printed verse. John Futch writes to his wife about the aftermath of a fight (Battle of Winchester) where only one of their soldiers was injured. They will soon leave their current camp, but he doesn't know where they are going. He reports on the number of Union prisoners and provisions acquired. He tells his wife that the mountains are beautiful and that his brother Charley is well and that he misses home (Charley would eventually be killed at the Battle of Gettysburg). Everyone has stopped writing to him except his wife; he wants her to tell him about a fight between Jim Anderson and Mrs. Anderson.
Diary Of William Lowrance, November 2, 1862-February 6, 1863	Duplin County Pender County	Diary of William B. A. Lowrance, Nov. 2, 1862, to Feb. 6, 1863. The last narrative entry of this Civil War diary, on February 6, 1863, contains a phrase using the nickname "Tar Heels" for soldiers of North Carolina. While encamped in what is now Pender County in the southeastern part of the state, 2nd Lieutenant William B. A. Lowrance wrote, "I know now what is meant by the Piney Woods of North Carolina and the idea occurs to me that it is no wonder we are called 'Tar Heels.'" This diary entry is considered the earliest surviving written use of the term.
Isaac Avery's Message to His Father, 1863	Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania	Letter Isaac Avery wrote as he lay dying at the Battle of Gettysburg that read, "Major: Tell my Father I died with my face to the enemy. I. E. Avery"
Letter: J. R. Redmond to his Wife, children and mother	Kinston, Lenoir County	J. R. Redmond writes to his family to let them know he has been sentenced to death. He will be shot in seven days from the date he wrote the letter. He asks that his wife try to come see him but that his family not grieve for him.
Diary: William H. S. Burgwyn Diary, September 29, 1864 - March 11, 1865	Fort Fisher State Historic Site, New Hanover County Greensboro, Guilford County Washington, District of Columbia See link for comprehensive list of locations.	William H. S. Burgwyn's diary while he was a prisoner of war, September 29, 1864, to March 11, 1865.

On the Homefront (Women and Families)

Title	Location(s)	Description
Catherine Ann Devereux Edmondston Diary, 1864 Hascosea, the Devereux/Edmonston home in Halifax County	Halifax County Wilmington, New Hanover County	Catherine Ann Devereux Edmondston of Halifax County was a well-educated woman, ardent Southerner, daughter of Thomas Pollock Devereux, and wife of Patrick Muir Edmondston of Charleston, South Carolina. In this diary entry, she records the mustering of her husband at Christmas, 1864. This diary is the source for “Journal of a Secesh Lady”: The Diary of Catherine Ann Devereux Edmondston, 1860-1866. Blogged transcripts of Edmondston’s entries can be found here: Civilian Wartime Blog.
Diary: Melinda Ray, 1861-1865	Albemarle Sound Beaufort, Carteret County Chapel Hill, Orange County Fayetteville, Cumberland County Fort Fisher State Historic Site, New Hanover County Fort Macon (historical), Carteret County Harnett County Laurel Hill, Scotland County New Bern, Craven County New Hanover County Pamlico Sound Raleigh, Wake County Roanoke Island, Dare County Warsaw, Duplin County Washington, Beaufort County Washington, District of Columbia Yadkin County See link for comprehensive list of locations.	A typed copy of the diary of Melinda Ray, a young girl living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, during the Civil War.
Letter: Martha Hendley Poteet to Francis Marion Poteet, Jan. 7, 1864	McDowell County	Letter from Martha Hendley Poteet to husband Francis Marion Poteet regarding the hardships she deals with as her neighbors are trying to force her and her children from their home.
Letter: Martha Hendley Poteet to Francis Marion Poteet, June 16, 1864	McDowell County	Includes cutout of the Poteet's new baby girl's hand on a separate piece of paper. Martha tells Francis that some of the children are sick. The corn, sweet potato, and Irish potato crops look good, and Thomas is helping her plow. She wishes Francis was home so that they would have more to eat, and she wouldn't have to work when she was unable to do so. Their new daughter is four weeks old and still needs a name. She tells about some local people including wounded soldiers and a man who deserted and was sent back. His mother has visited her recently. She tells Francis not to vote for Zebulon Vance but instead to vote for William Holden for governor. She worries about Francis and tells him she cannot keep working as hard as she has to without him at home. She complains about the price of thread and cotton.
Letter: Ann L. Bowen to Henry H. Bowen, Oct. 21, 1864	Beaufort, Carteret County Plymouth, Washington County	Letter written by Ann L. Bowen to husband Henry H. Bowen. Ann tells Henry of her recent illness plus the illnesses of other family members and neighbors. She tells her husband that the baby is walking, and their youngest son is asking when his father is coming home. She tells of neighborhood news such as births, the travels of various Bowen family members, taking the sugarcane to the mill, her plans for the apples and rice 'at the old place,' and the conscription of men. She ends with news of men preparing to fight near Beaufort, North Carolina.
Letter: Cornielia Ann Bowen and Ann L. Bowen to Henry H. Bowen, Nov. 30, 1864	Great Dismal Swamp Long Acre, Washington County	Letter written by Ann L. and Cornelia Ann Bowen to soldier Henry Bowen (wife and daughter, respectively) includes updates about children and life at home. Ann describes how a patrol to round up deserters looted and harassed families in the area.
"A Female Raid" from the Carolina Watchman, March 23, 1863	Davie County Iredell County Mecklenburg County Salisbury, Rowan County Wilmington, New Hanover County	A newspaper article discussing the issues behind the Salisbury Bread Riot. This event occurred on March 18, 1863, when a group of about fifty women banded together against the businesses that they suspected of speculating with various goods and demanded that the goods be sold at government prices.
Reminiscences: Julia Rankin	North Carolina	Varied and unique were the devices that women resorted to during the Civil War to make clothes. In this reminiscence, Julia Rankin describes some of the unusual practices.

Union Perspective

Subjects Include: Eastern North Carolina, the Outer Banks, camp life, Naval operations, Union recruitment

Title	Location(s)	Description
Governor's Correspondence: Colonel Rush C. Hawkins Proclamation clarifying Union Army intentions on the North Carolina Outer Banks, Sept. 17, 1861	Outer Banks	Proclamation clarifying Union Army intentions on the North Carolina Outer Banks. The document is representative of the internal conflict in the Union Army in the beginning stages of the Civil War.
United States Recruitment Poster for the People of Eastern North Carolina, May 1, 1862	Washington, Beaufort County	A poster “to the people of Eastern North Carolina” recruiting men to join the Union Army. The poster claims they will be “paid, clothed, and fed, by the United States.”
Diary of both sides: Sergeant Henry Brantingham and Captain William H. S. Burgwyn's Diary	Amelia, Alleghany County Culpeper County, Virginia Fayetteville, Cumberland County Garysburg, Northampton County Goldsboro, Wayne County Greenville, Pitt County Kinston, Lenoir County New Bern, Craven County Snow Hill, Greene County Tar River Wise Forks, Jones County See link for comprehensive list of locations.	Diary that first belonged to Sergeant Henry Brantingham, Company C, 28th New Jersey Infantry, who was killed on December 13, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. The diary was then found and used by Captain William H. S. Burgwyn from March 29, 1863, through January 20, 1864. The diary gives a brief description of Henry Brantingham's few months in the war and some accounts of his company. The rest of the diary contains the daily entries made by Burgwyn regarding camp life, battles, deaths and fortifications that were built under his command.
Diary of Naval Engineer Lewis C.F.C. Laesch	Beaufort, Carteret County Fort Caswell, Brunswick County Hatteras Island, Dare County Morehead City, Carteret County Plymouth, Washington County Wilmington, New Hanover County See link for comprehensive list of locations.	Naval Diary of Naval Engineer Lewis C.F.C. Laesch, who served aboard the U.S.S. Pequot, during the first half of 1864, and kept a daily diary of activities, from January 1, 1864, until May 20, 1864. The diary recounts his observations near Boston, Massachusetts, Portsmouth, Virginia, and near the ports of Beaufort and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Military Campaigns

Subjects Include: Coastal North Carolina, Illustrated Plan of Attack, Battle of New Bern, Call for Volunteers, Fort Fisher, military map(s)

Title	Location(s)	Description
Governor's Correspondence: Letter from Walter S. Brewster Suggesting Ways to Sink Ships Off the North Carolina Coast, Sept. 2, 1861	Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina Hatteras Inlet, Hyde County Hatteras Island, Dare County	Letter from Walter S. Brewster to Gov. Henry Toole Clark regarding a possible method of sinking vessels off the North Carolina coast. The letter includes detailed descriptions accompanied by an annotated illustration to show how the method would work.
Map of the Battle of New Bern (March 1862), found in Governor Henry T. Clark's scrapbook, which indicates the positions of Confederate and Union forces.	New Bern, Craven County	Map of the Battle of New Bern (March 1862) found in Governor Henry T. Clark's scrapbook, which indicates the positions of Confederate and Union forces.
By the Governor of North Carolina, a Proclamation; Governor Zebulon B. Vance, December 20, 1864	Fort Fisher, New Hanover County Raleigh, Wake County Wilmington, New Hanover County	Proclamation by Governor Zebulon B. Vance calling all able-bodied men to “hurry with his blanket to Wilmington” to help in the protection of Fort Fisher from the impeding Union attack.
Military Map showing the Marches of the United States Forces under Command of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman, U.S.A. During the Years of 1863, 1864, 1865	Richmond (independent city), Virginia	Military map showing the marches of the United States forces under command of Major General W. T. Sherman, U.S.A., during the years of 1863, 1864, and 1865.

Slavery and Enslaved Persons

Subjects Include: Insurrection of Enslaved Persons, Currituck County, Conscription, point of view on enslavement, plantations

Title	Location(s)	Description
Currituck Superior Court Minutes, Jan. 14, 1861 [referencing 1860 enslaved persons insurrection] Currituck County Court minutes, Feb. 1, 1861 [referencing 1860 enslaved persons insurrection]	Currituck County	Currituck County records related to the “insurrection” by enslaved persons that occurred in the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal in 1860.
Petition to the North Carolina General Assembly from Currituck County citizens, 1861 [referencing 1860 slave insurrection]	Currituck County	Petition by Currituck County citizens asking the North Carolina General Assembly to enslave all free people of color after the “insurrection” by enslaved persons that occurred in the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal in 1860.
Governor’s Correspondence: Abram Riddick to Gov. Henry Toole Clark, Feb. 3, 1862 Governor’s Correspondence: J. S. Browne to Gov. Henry Toole Clark, Feb. 11, 1862 Governor’s Correspondence: John Ragland to Gov. Henry Toole Clark, Feb. 11, 1862 Letter: B.A. Capehart to Thomas Goode Tucker Esq., Feb. 24, 1862	Bartonsville, Hertford County Hertford, Perquimans County Perquimans County Roanoke Island, Dare County Greenville, Pitt County Williamsboro, Vance County Garysburg, Northampton County Windsor, Bertie County	The twin pressures of the conscription of able-bodied men for the Confederate army in late 1861 and the successful invasion of United States armed forces into coastal North Carolina in early 1862 placed enslavers under a “strain.” Conscription forced men into service and sometimes to the detriment of older planters who could not manage their plantation in the absence of newly conscripted overseers. Some citizens appealed to have conscripts released in order to remain on plantations to oversee the enslaved persons while others weighed the option of moving the enslaved persons away from the coast. One correspondent noted the increased “boldness” of the enslaved persons and their activities including running away. Some of the enslaved found opportunity in the twin pressures – fewer able-bodied white men at home and a hostile army nearby – to gain their freedom.
William H. Burgwyn Letter: May 19, 1862	Northampton County Raleigh, Wake County South Carolina	William H. Burgwyn expresses to his father his feelings on slavery and what the future holds for the South when the war is over. He writes: “I can’t but think that Slavery has received its death blow with this war.”
Henry Toole Clark to Weldon N. Edwards, August 17, 1862	Raleigh, Wake County Warren County	Letter from Governor Henry Toole Clark to Weldon N. Edwards concerning General Hill's order to commandeer enslaved persons to work on fortifications.

Reconstruction

Subjects Include: end of legal enslavement based on race, Oath of Allegiance, marriage records of formerly enslaved, cohabitation records, Register of Deeds, pensions

Title	Location(s)	Description
The 13th Amendment	Raleigh, Wake County Washington, District of Columbia	North Carolina’s copy of the 13th Amendment, the amendment that formally ended legal slavery in the United States.
Oath of Allegiance signed by Daniel W. Revis, Aug. 29, 1865	Henderson County	Oath of allegiance to the Union completed and signed by Daniel W. Revis and witnessed by four justices of the peace. It includes the statement that he agrees to "abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves."
Cohabitation Records	North Carolina	An act established in 1866 included a statute that enslaved persons who had been living together as man and wife during slavery were now considered legally married. Cohabitation Bonds were filed with the register of deeds of each county and legitimized the marriages of formerly enslaved persons. These bonds were retroactive, legitimizing the marriages of formerly enslaved persons. Typically included was the name and age of the bride and groom and length of time they had been married. Some counties included the name of the enslaver and/or the number of children the couple may have had.
Confederate Pension Applications	North Carolina	This collection contains both the 1885 and 1901 Confederate pension applications from the holdings of the State Archives of North Carolina. These materials include application forms for Confederate pensions and occasionally correspondence or additional affidavits regarding a soldier's or widow's claim. The forms provide information on name; age (at time of application); place of residence; service information such as company, regiment, length of service, and wounds or disability; name of witness; and date of application. Also included are verification from the county pension board regarding applicant's claim and whether the application was approved or disallowed by the state-level board of inquiry. Widows' applications are typically filed under the names of the deceased soldier.
Letter: J. M. Edmunds to James Henry Harris, March 26, 1867	Granville County Raleigh, Wake County Washington, District of Columbia	A letter from J. M. Edmunds expressing the need to act quickly “to effect a moral and political reform” in North Carolina. James Henry Harris was an African American Republican legislator (1868, 1872, 1883) and editor from Granville County, North Carolina. Harris's postwar appointments include "Teacher of Freed People in N.C." (New England Freedmen's Aid Society, 1865), council member of Union League of America (1867), Raleigh city commissioner (1868), and agent with Albion W. Tourgee to solicit northern contributions for the destitute in North Carolina (1868).
Petition to the Congress of the United States of America, July 8, 1867	Washington, District of Columbia	Petition by James H. Harris and others to the Congress of the United States of America to “remove the disability of voting and holding office imposed on W. W. Holden by the Constitutional Amendment and the Reconstruction Acts.”
Certificate of appointment: James H. Harris to City Commissioner for Raleigh, N.C., July 13, 1868	Raleigh, Wake County	A certificate appointing James Henry Harris to Raleigh City Commissioner, signed by Governor William W. Holden.

Additional Resources to Explore

Subjects Include: Newspapers, Union, Confederacy, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth, NCpedia

Title	Description
The Daily Confederate (Raleigh, N.C.)	Raleigh-based newspaper that disseminated information about the Confederate States of America to the inhabitants of North Carolina. This included information about military movements, government reports, habeas corpus and desertion, and enslaved persons.
Newbern Progress (New Bern, N.C.)	New Bern-based newspaper that was taken over by Union forces in 1862. Prior to the 1860 election, the Newbern Progress came across as pro-Union. As North Carolina moved towards secession in spring of 1861, the paper became more aligned with those sentiments. Union infantry members continued to publish editions of the Progress, at times issuing daily and weekly editions and at other times publishing a semi-weekly newspaper.
Civil War Sesquicentennial Blog of the State Archives of North Carolina	Blog created by the State Archives of North Carolina during the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. Includes detailed posts about Civil War-related records found at the Archives.
Civilian Wartime Blog of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources	Blog created by North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources during the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. Focused on words written by civilians who witnessed the war firsthand.
Emancipation Day Celebrations	Short video exploring the history of Emancipation Day and Freedom Celebrations in North Carolina.
Juneteenth Records at the State Archives of North Carolina	Video exploring some of the records preserved by the State Archives of North Carolina regarding the celebration of Juneteenth in North Carolina, including General Assembly records, Governors' papers, and archived state government websites and social media.
Civil War Digital Collection	Digital collection created by the State Archives and State Library of North Carolina of materials related to North Carolina's Civil War history. This may include letters, diaries, newspaper articles, reminiscences, troop histories, state agency records, maps, rosters, books, and other materials.
Civil War Flickr Collection	Collection of materials related to North Carolina's Civil War history, hosted on Flickr, by the State Archives of North Carolina.
NCpedia	A North Carolina-focused online encyclopedia. The encyclopedia contains articles covering a broad spectrum of topics and resources about North Carolina, including: historical time periods, subjects, and events, biographies of notable people that lived in the state; counties and government; geography and environment; business and economy; historical places and monuments; natural resources and natural heritage; and many others.