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Four Oaks in Johnston County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Confederate High Tide

 
 
Confederate High Tide Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006
1. Confederate High Tide Marker
Inscription. You are standing at the Morris farm, where part of the Union XX Corps arrived late in the afternoon on March 19,1865, to stop the main Confederate assault, which had crushed Carlin’s division of the XIV Corps at the Cole plantation. In the morning the Morris farmhouse was the XIV Corps field hospital, but it was abandoned and its wounded moved to the John Harper farm a half-mile west when Carlin’s men came streaming back and Confederate bullets began hitting the structure.

“The rebels amassed…emerged from the woods just as the sun went down. They came into Mr. Morris’ open field…and marched steadily on towards Robinson and the…batteries. They were received with the heaviest musketry….their officers…truly brave, brought them on in some kind of order past a point where [the 13th New Jersey and the 82nd Illinois] could get a flank fire on them. This added to their misery; yet they stood it bravely, and came on.”
E.D. Westfall, New York Herald correspondent present with the Union XX Corps during the battle for Morris farm.

“The work of that battery was the most grand…during my three years of war…I shall always feel very grateful towards that battery for making it so hot for the rebs that I had the chance, and took our ambulance train out of the rebs’ grasp and to the rear.”
- Cyrus Fox, hospital steward,
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XIV Corps

“The vast field was soon covered with men, horses, artillery, caissons etc., which brought back vividly to our minds a similar scene at the Battle of Chancellorsville.”
- Samuel Toombs, 13th New Jersey.

“Such fiendish yells never saluted my ears before. Why, it seemed to me as though the doors of perdition had been thrown wide open, and that all the devils were out!”
- Chaplin I.W. Earle, 21st Michigan.

“If there was a place in the battle of Gettysburg as hot as that spot, I never saw it.”
- A North Carolina courier at the Morris farm.

Across the field in front of you Bate’s and Taliaferro’s Divisions – green garrison troops and seasoned men from the Confederate Army of Tennessee, under the command of Lt. Gen. A.P. Stewart – made four assaults with deadly consequences. At the Morris farm they were torn to pieces by crossfire from enemy muskets hidden in the woods (to your left) on their flank (the 13th New Jersey and 82nd Illinois), direct fire of twelve Union cannons of the XX Corps, and elements of Robinson’s brigade (behind you). Bate’s Division was swept away by concentrated musket fire from Robinson’s brigade directly in front of the division and a hailstorm of deadly canister rounds from nine additional field pieces, for a total of twenty-one Union cannons (XX and XIV Corps artillery) at the Morris farm.
Confederate High Tide Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006
2. Confederate High Tide Marker
This marker is one in a series that was erected on the Battle of Bentonville for the 140th anniversary of the battle, on March 14, 2005.
Bate’s attack fell apart, and the XX Corps stopped the Confederate high tide on March 19, ending the first day’s fighting at the Morris farm.
 
Erected 2005 by North Carolina Civil War Trails.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is March 19, 1865.
 
Location. 35° 18.528′ N, 78° 18.533′ W. Marker is in Four Oaks, North Carolina, in Johnston County. Marker is on Harper House Road (County Route 1008), on the left. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4671 Harper House Rd, Four Oaks NC 27524, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Confederate Attacks (within shouting distance of this marker); Union Artillery at the Morris Farm (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Main Charge (approx. ¼ mile away); Federal Artillery (approx. 0.3 miles away); Union Headquarters (approx. 0.4 miles away); Fighting Below the Road (approx. 0.6 miles away); Battle of Bentonville: March 19-21, 1865 (approx. 0.6 miles away); General Joseph Eggleston Johnston (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Four Oaks.
 
More about this marker. The upper portion of the marker contains a battle map, several quotes, and a picture depicting “Fighting at the Morris farm, based on a sketch
Confederate High Tide Tour Stop image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006
3. Confederate High Tide Tour Stop
There are two Battle of Bentonville markers at the Confederate High Tide Tour Stop.
by artist William Waud, who witnessed the battle.” (from N.C. Office of Archives and History)

The bottom portion of the marker contains three photos. On the left are Confederate Brig. Gen. William B. Taliaferro, Hardee’s Corps (from National Archives), and Confederate Maj. Gen. William B. Bate, Cheatham’s Corps (from Tennessee State Library). On the right is a photo of Lt. Gen. A.P. Stewart, commander of the Army of Tennessee (from Valentine Museum).
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Take a tour of the Roadside Exhibits erected on the Battle of Bentonville for the 140th anniversary of the battle, on March 14, 2005.
 
Battle Map Detail image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006
4. Battle Map Detail
Harper House Hospital image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006
5. Harper House Hospital
Wounded Union soldiers of the XIV Corps were moved here on the morning of March 20,1865 from the Morris farmhouse hospital.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on May 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,083 times since then and 17 times this year. Last updated on May 9, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 1, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024