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. , 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.

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.

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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.

Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.

Topics and series.

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.

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 date for this entry is February 1, 1865.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 35° 59.605′ N, 78° 54.22′ W. Marker was in Durham, North Carolina, in Durham County. It was on Blackwell Street north of Jackie Robinson Drive, on the right when 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 was at or near this postal address: 315 Blackwell St, Durham NC 27701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in North Carolina’s Piedmont

and in the Research Triangle.

It was also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate

Markers in Durham image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, February 5, 2013

3. Markers in Durham

States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: A different marker also named Durham's Station (here, next to 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). 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

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.

River Guards (Co. B, 6th N.C. Regt.), killed in Va. on May 20, 1863 Courtesy of UNC North Carolina Collection and William T. Redmond, Co. C, 6th N.C. Regt., wounded at Gettysburg, 1925 photograph Courtesy of Durham County Library.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. New CWT Marker At This Location also titled "Durham's Station"".

Credits. This page was last revised on October 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 24, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 3,838 times since then and 94 times this year. Last updated on October 13, 2025, by Mike McKeown of Baltimore, Maryland. 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. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.