The War Between The States
On May 20, 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union to join the "Confederate States of America." In Charlotte, the United States Mint was taken over as Confederate headquarters. Students and faculty from the new Charlotte Military Academy went to Raleigh to train as troops and leaders. The Academy closed at the beginning of the war and became a Confederate hospital.
In 1862, the Confederate Navy Yard, threatened by Union forces, was moved from Norfolk 250 miles inland to Charlotte and located on East Trade Street near the Square. Charlotte's excellent railroad connections aided in this move. Many naval weapons were produced here for the Confederate Navy; but on January 7, 1864, fire and explosion at the Confederate Navy Yard destroyed it and over ten million dollars' worth of munitions and supplies.
For several months in 1865, the Mecklenburg Courthouse stored the State Department of the Confederacy records, including the Great Seal. While visiting Charlotte, on April 18, 1865, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy was informed by telegram of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In the days that followed, the last two formal meetings of the Confederate Cabinet took place in Charlotte, the last held in the Phifer house on North Tryon Street on April 24, 1865. Mecklenburg County furnished more than 2,700 men (17 percent of its total population) to the Confederate armies. Gravestones survive for nine Confederate veterans at Settlers'.
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Location. 35° 13.75′ N, 80° 50.592′ W. Marker is in Charlotte, North Carolina, in Mecklenburg County. It is in Charlotte center city. It is on West 5th Street just west of North Church Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 200 W Trade St, Charlotte NC 28202, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Census Information (here, next to this marker);
Credits. This page was last revised on February 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 385 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 20, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
