More Western Sites

Salisbury

Pick up a free taped guided tour and other information at the visitor center, 204 Innes St. For Salisbury and Rowan County information, call 800-332-2343.

See also Stoneman's Raid.

Confederate States Military Prison Site and Salisbury National Cemetery
202 Government Road, Salisbury NC 28144
Civil War Trails sign 224 E Bank St, Salisbury
704-636-2661 (cemetery)
 Road map 
The Confederate government in 1861 purchased 16 acres here, including several buildings, to serve as a prison for captured Union troops. When the exchange system broke down in 1864, the facility became overloaded to four times its original capacity of 2,500 men. An estimated 3,500 prisoners died here. The Salisbury National Cemetery was established orginally by the Confederates as the prison burial ground. Several monuments honor the dead. A small museum with information about the prison and cemetery is located in the office open Monday–Friday 8 am–4:30 pm.

The Dr. Josephus W. Hall House
226 S Jackson St, Salisburg NC 28144
704-636-0103
 road map 
Dr. Hall served as surgeon for the Confederate States Military Prison nearby and served at several other hospitals for wounded Confederates until the end of the war. This 1820 house is open to the public weekend afternoons 1-4 pm. Civil War Trails sign on site. $3.

High Point

Mendenhall Plantation
336-454-3819
Home of Quaker Richard Mendenhall, an active abolitionist. Featured at the site is a false-bottomed wagon used to transport slaves to freedom. Open Tuesday–Friday 11 am–2 pm, Saturday 1–4 pm and Sunday 2–4 pm.

Yadkin County
(west of Winston-Salem)

Yadkinville
Trails sign one block east of Route 601 on Hemlock Street
 Road map 
   Divided loyalties in the town and area erupted into violence in a February 1863 shootout and again in July 1864 when Unionists freed several prisoners and raided home-guard weapons and ammunition. Approximately 1,200 men served in the Confederate army, but more than a few enlisted in Union units.

Bond School House
Trails sign 1140 Deep Creek Church Road, 4 miles northeast of Yadkinville
 Road map 
   A shootout here Feb. 12, 1863, erupted when Confederate militia swept down on a small gathering of anti-war Quakers and a Confederate deserter. Several on each side were killed.

Richmond Hill
4641 Law School Road, East Bend NC 27018
 Road map 
   Richmond Hill was the home of North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Richmond Mumford Pearson. He opposed secession and worked to free North Carolinians imprisoned for avoiding the draft. A 30-acre park surrounds the home. Living history open houses are offered the third Sunday of each month May-October, 2-4 pm. Trails sign in Richmond Hill Park at the end of Law School Road, north of Route 67 between Boonville and East Bend.

Weaverville

Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace State Historic Site
911 Reems Creek Road, Weaverville NC 28787
704-645-6706
 road map 
Zeb Vance was a prominent North Carolina figure before, during and after the war. He served as governor 1862-1865. Reconstructed 1830 log buildings commemorate the site of Vance's birth. Exhibits cover his career, including the Civil War, and that of his brother, Confederate Gen. Robert B. Vance.

Thomasville

Thomasville (A Key Stop and Refuge), Trails sign at the visitor center, East Main and Trade streets – A key stop on the North Carolina Railroad, this town (war-time population about 300) was an important refuge for sick and wounded Confederate soldiers outside the war-torn eastern sections of the state. Wounded Union soldiers joined them late in the war.

Thomasville City Cemetery, Trails sign in the cemetery on Memorial Park Drive – Confederate and Union soldiers, many of whom died in the teeming hospitals of the city, are buried here.

Hospitals, Caring for the Sick and Wounded, Trails sign at intersection of East Main and Memorial Park Drive, one block south of Main and Salem streets – Removed somewhat from the main battlefields in the East, this small town became a hospital center for both wounded Confederate soldiers and sick civilians. In March 1865, hundreds of wounded made their way here as Sherman invaded the state.

Wilkesboro

Fort Hamby, Trails sign located in the Fort Hamby Park at the West Kerr Scott Reservoir off Route 421 – Union and Confederate deserters occupied this "fort," actually a two-story log house, at the end of the war. The outlaw group led a reign of terror in the neighborhood until local law enforcement caught up in May 1865.

Burnsville

Burnsville, Trails sign at the Burnsville Visitor Center, adjacent to the John McElroy House Museum, 106 W Main St, Burnsville – Divided loyalties here led to much civil and personal strife as Confederate authorities attempted to retain control over a strong Unionist population. Men from the area served in both armies, and later the town became a haven for deserters.

Franklin

Thomas’s Legion, Trails sign at the Macon County Historical Museum on Main Street – Confederate Col. William H. Thomas organized Thomas’s Legion of Cherokee Indians and mountaineers here in September 1862. Several locals, both white and Indian, joined the unit, which fought in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina. Thomas eventually recruited more than 2,000 men, among them about 400 Cherokee.

Dixie Hall, Trails sign located across the street from the above site at the Macon County Courthouse – One of the last formal surrenders of Confederate forces happened here, the site of Dixie Hall, on May 12, 1865. Military clashes involving Thomas’s Rangers continued locally until then.

Cashiers

Zachary-Tolbert House, Trails sign located at the house on Route 107, 2 miles south of Cashiers – The owner of this house, Mordecai Zachary, had strong Confederate ties, serving in Thomas’s Legion. His brother and neighbor, Alexander, felt differently, helping escaped Union prisoners. Alexander’s sons served on both sides.

Madison County

Mars Hill College, Trails sign located in the center of the Mars Hill College campus on College Street – This small institution found itself in the middle of some nasty business as local folks divided between North and South. A small Confederate detachment held the strategic crossroads town early, but lost support as Union sympathies grew. When local Union troops entered town at the end of the war, they burned several of the college buildings.

Marshall, Trails sign located in front of the Col. Allen House on Main Street, Route 25-70, in Marshall – Divided loyalties boiled over early here when a local election in May 1861 resulted in gunfire and death. In January 1863 a band of Union soldiers and citizen sympathizers from the Shelton Laurel community raided Marshall, burning and looting buildings. Confederate troops executing 13 prisoners. The event became known as the “Shelton Laurel Massacre.”

Warm Springs Hotel, Trails sign located at the Hot Springs Resort off Route 25-70 – A Union regiment made up largely of Confederate deserters and Union-supporting area citizens captured and briefly held this place in the fall of 1863. The hotel was Union headquarters until the Northerners were expelled in late October.

Asheville

Smith-McDowell House, Trails sign at 283 Victoria Road – This was the home of William W. McDowell, who helped raise several Confederate units and served as an officer in one of the war's first major land engagements at Big Bethel, Virginia. After returning home in 1864, McDowell served as a Confederate treasury officer, selling government bonds. In April 1865, he encouraged one of his slaves to join the United States Colored Troops.

Waynesville and Haywood County
(west of Asheville)

Waynesville Engagement, Trails sign located in front of Town Hall, 16 S. Main St., Waynesville – Some of the last fighting of the war occurred here after Union soldiers occupied Waynesville in early May 1865. Members of Thomas’s Legion attacked May 6 routing about 200 Federals near here. The Union troops retired to Waynesville and were surrounded. At a meeting the next day, the Confederates learned that the Civil War was over and surrendered.

“Thomas’s Last Resting Place,” Trails sign located in Greenhill Cemetery, Hillview Circle and Main Street in Waynesville – Col. William Thomas, the only white man to serve as a Cherokee chief and an influential figure in western North Carolina prior to the war, is buried here. Thomas organized his Legion, composed of Cherokee Indians and mountain people in September 1862. The Legion fought in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky and largely prevented an early Union occupation of western North Carolina.

“Battle House," Trails sign located in Sulpher Springs Park on Timothy Lane in Waynesville – The Battle House stood near this site until is was demolished in 1899. By the evening of May 6, 1865, Union forces in Waynesville were surrounded by more than 600 Confederates, part of them Thomas’s Legion. The Union commander sent a note requesting a meeting in the house to discuss his surrender. At the meeting, learning the war was over and the major Southern armies had surrendered, the Confederates surrendered instead.

Locust Field Cemetery, Trails sign located at Locust Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, across from the library in Canton – The Locust Field Church served as a Confederate campground and rallying point throughout the war. After losing control of the Cumberland Gap in 1863, many Confederates retreated to the area and camped in the churchyard. Six companies of Thomas’s Legion camped here the last winter of the war.

“Kirk’s Raid,” Trails sign located in the Ghost Town amusement park on Route 19 in Maggie Valley – Union raiders under Col. George Kirk passed through this area on Feb. 1, 1865, killing several citizens and burning buildings on their way to Waynesville. Kirk arrived in Waynesville Feb. 4 and sacked the town. After leaving, the Federals encountered resistance but escaped back into Tennessee.

Robbinsville

“Civil War in Graham County,” Trails sign located at the Graham County Courthouse, Main Street and Snider Hill Road in Robbinsville – Divided loyalties plagued this area throughout the war as citizens on both sides suffered from both Union and Confederate raiders, bushwhackers and other renegades. One of the last surrenders east of the Mississippi occurred here May 14, 1865, when part of the famed Thomas’s Legion was issued parole papers.

Lincoln County, northwest of Charlotte

Cottage Home, Trails sign located 3 miles south of Route 73 at the entrance to the Lincoln CT Power Plant – This was the site of the home of the Rev. Robert Hall Morrison family. Three of Morrison’s daughters married men who became Confederate generals: Rufus Clay Barringer, Daniel Harvey Hill and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.
    After Jackson’s death, his widow, Mary Anna, and young daughter Julia came back to Cottage Home. The house burned in 1911.

Links to North Carolina websites: North Carolina Links