Attmore-Oliver House

Attmore-Oliver House. Witness to War's Change. , When Revolutionary War officer Samuel Chapman built the 1790 core of the Attmore-Oliver house in front of your, he could never have imagined that during the Civil War the family who live in his home, by the grandly enlarged into this Greek Revival gem, would fight against the country he helped create. , By 1861, Hannah Attmore Oliver owned the house through inheritance. Her husband, William Oliver, served as a Confederate quartermaster. Hannah's three brothers also served the rebellion. Isaac was killed on May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania Court House, Va. Sitgreaves was captured at the January 1865 Battle of Fort Fisher, just a little more than tow house south of here, and died of dysentery in prison on May 22. Only George survived the war, returning home after Appomattox to a very changed New Bern. , Imagine Hannah, pregnant with two toddlers, faced with the decision to stay in her beloved family home or flee. Evidence suggests that Hannah may have joined her husband in Graham, N.C. Besides her anguish as she learned of her brothers deaths, the fate of her family home her was in question as many in New Bern knew the occupation was inevitable., While more than 120,000 North Carolina residents fought for the Confederacy, the state was also home to many Unionists. Some 10,000 North Carolina men, including 5,000 African Americans, fought for the United States. Hannah's father willed her some of his more than 30 slaves. It's possible that some of them self-emancipated and enlisted in the U.S. Army., [Caption:] , The Attmore-Oliver house was enlarged and updated to the Greek Revival style in 1834-1835. Today, it is the headquarters of the New Bern Historical Society, and contains exhibits that explain the March 14, 1862, Battle of New Bern.