Durham in Durham County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Durham's Station

Prelude To Peace

— Carolinas Campaign —

Durham's Station Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006

1. Durham's Station Marker

Inscription.

Durham's Station. Prelude To Peace. , (Preface):The Carolinas Campaign began on February 1, 1865, when Union Gen. William T. Sherman led his army north from Savannah, Georgia, after the “March to the Sea.” Sherman's objective was to join Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia to crush Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Scattered Confederate forces consolidated in North Carolina, the Confederacy's logistical lifeline, where Sherman defeated Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's last-ditch attack at Bentonville. After Sherman was reinforced at Goldsboro late in March, Johnston saw the futility of further resistance and surrendered on April 26, essentially ending the Civil War., On April 17, 1865, Union Gen. William T. Sherman arrived by train at Durham’s Station (two blocks northeast of here) at the culmination of his Carolinas Campaign to discuss terms of peace at the request of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, headquartered in nearby Hillsborough. Carrying a telegram in his pocket that announced the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Sherman spoke with his cavalry commander, Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick, near here at the Durham home of Dr. Richard Blacknall. Then Sherman rode three miles west to meet Johnston at James and Nancy Bennett’s farmhouse to open negotiations for the Confederate surrender., Since the 1820s, the U.S. Post Office Department had assigned this community various names. It was officially named Durham in 1853, after Dr. Bartlett Durham donated four acres of land for a North Carolina Railroad station and the Durham’s Station post office was established. About 100 people called the hamlet home in 1865, and the community grew rapidly around the station. After the Civil War, Durham developed rapidly as a tobacco and textile manufacturing center. Durham County was established in 1881, and by 1900 its population was more than 26,000 (a century later, the metropolitan area totaled more than 450,000)., (Sidebar): Durham residents comprised the Flat River Guards (Co. B, 6th North Carolina Infantry) and saw heavy action at the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861. The Durham Light Infantry (Co. C) participated in “Pickett’s Charge” against the center of the Union line during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

(Preface):The Carolinas Campaign began on February 1, 1865, when Union Gen. William T. Sherman led his army north from Savannah, Georgia, after the “March to the Sea.” Sherman's objective was to join Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia to crush Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Scattered Confederate forces consolidated in North Carolina, the Confederacy's logistical lifeline, where Sherman defeated Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's last-ditch attack at Bentonville. After Sherman was reinforced at Goldsboro late in March, Johnston saw the futility of further resistance and surrendered on April 26, essentially ending the Civil War.

On April 17, 1865, Union Gen. William T. Sherman arrived by train at Durham’s Station (two blocks northeast of here) at the culmination of his Carolinas Campaign to discuss terms of peace at the request of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, headquartered in nearby Hillsborough. Carrying a telegram in his pocket that announced the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Sherman spoke with his cavalry commander, Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick, near here at the Durham home of Dr. Richard Blacknall. Then Sherman rode three miles west to meet Johnston at James and Nancy Bennett’s farmhouse to open negotiations for the Confederate surrender.

Since the 1820s, the U.S. Post Office Department

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had assigned this community various names. It was officially named Durham in 1853, after Dr. Bartlett Durham donated four acres of land for a North Carolina Railroad station and the Durham’s Station post office was established. About 100 people called the hamlet home in 1865, and the community grew rapidly around the station. After the Civil War, Durham developed rapidly as a tobacco and textile manufacturing center. Durham County was established in 1881, and by 1900 its population was more than 26,000 (a century later, the metropolitan area totaled more than 450,000).

(Sidebar): Durham residents comprised the Flat River Guards (Co. B, 6th North Carolina Infantry) and saw heavy action at the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861. The Durham Light Infantry (Co. C) participated in “Pickett’s Charge” against the center of the Union line during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1864.

Location. 35° 59.606′ N, 78° 54.221′ W. Marker is in Durham, North Carolina, in Durham County. Marker is on Blackwell Street, on the right when

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, February 5, 2013

2. Durham's Station Marker

There are two Civil War Trails markers at this location. The Durham's Station marker is seen here on the right.

traveling north. Marker is located on Blackwell Street in Diamond View Park, near Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Durham Performing Arts Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 315 Blackwell St, Durham NC 27701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. North Carolina (here, next to this marker); Emanuel J. Evans, 1907-1997, and Sara N. Evans, 1905-1986 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Five Points Loan Company (approx. ¼ mile away); Visionary Leadership in the New South (approx. ¼ mile away); Financial and Professional Impact in Durham (approx. ¼ mile away); A Black Capital for the World to See (approx. ¼ mile away); North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. / Mechanics and Farmers Bank (approx. ¼ mile away); Black Wall Street (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Durham.

More about this marker. The top center of the marker contains a photograph of Durham, ca. 1880 - Courtesy of Durham County Library, Durham, N.C. Also on the marker are photographs of Dr. Bartlett Durham Courtesy of Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, and Generals Sherman and Kilpatrick, Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Within the sidebar are photographs of Henry S. Harris, Flat River Guards (Co. B, 6th N.C. Regt.), killed in Va. on May 20, 1863 Courtesy of UNC North Carolina Collection

Markers in Durham image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, February 5, 2013

3. Markers in Durham

and William T. Redmond, Co. C, 6th N.C. Regt., wounded at Gettysburg, 1925 photograph Courtesy of Durham County Library.

Bennett Farmhouse image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006

4. Bennett Farmhouse

Union Gen. William T. Sherman and Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston met in this house to discuss the surrender of the Southern forces. It is located about 4½ miles from the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 24, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,804 times since then and 57 times this year. Last updated on April 5, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. Photos: 1. submitted on December 24, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 2, 3. submitted on February 5, 2013, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 4. submitted on December 24, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.