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

Pine Grove Camp

Confederate Government Seat

By Don Morfe, August 21, 2014

1. Pine Grove Camp Marker

Inscription.

Pine Grove Camp. Confederate Government Seat. For an hour on the evening of Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, a pine grove outside Lexington became the de facto seat of government for the Confederate States of America and the state of North Carolina. President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, together with a cavalry escort from Gen. George G. Dibrell’s division, entered Davidson County by carriage and on horseback after disembarking from a train at Greensboro. The party traveled on the Greensboro Road on the afternoon of Easter Sunday and camped near here in a grove of pine trees on Abbott’s Creek. Some of the cavalrymen bivouacked along the creek and set up guard posts. . . Unknown to Davis, Abraham Lincoln lay dead in Washington, assassinated the previous Friday. Davis met with his cabinet, including the postmaster general and attorney general as well as the secretaries of state, treasury, and war. At 10 p.m., North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance joined the group for an hour-long discussion of the war and whether to continue the fight, which Davis hoped to do. Afterward, Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge and Postmaster General John H. Reagan left Lexington for Durham to supervise the surrender discussions between Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Davis had approved these negotiations while in Greensboro. . . The next morning, April 17, Davis, the remaining cabinet members and the cavalry escort broke camp. They crossed the Yadkin River about noon, left Davidson County, and headed for Salisbury and then Charlotte, where Davis would learn of Lincoln’s death. . . (sidebar) . The exact location of Davis’s camp is unknown but is most likely near the house of Lindsay L. Conrad, a Confederate soldier whose leg had been amputated. An earlier marker southeast of here notes the spot. . . (captions) . (upper right) Zebulon B. Vance Courtesy Library of Congress . (lower right) President Jefferson Davis Courtesy Library of Congress . This historical marker was erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails. It is in Lexington in Davidson County North Carolina

For an hour on the evening of Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, a pine grove outside Lexington became the de facto seat of government for the Confederate States of America and the state of North Carolina. President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, together with a cavalry escort from Gen. George G. Dibrell’s division, entered Davidson County by carriage and on horseback after disembarking from a train at Greensboro. The party traveled on the Greensboro Road on the afternoon of Easter Sunday and camped near here in a grove of pine trees on Abbott’s Creek. Some of the cavalrymen bivouacked along the creek and set up guard posts.

Unknown to Davis, Abraham Lincoln lay dead in Washington, assassinated the previous Friday. Davis met with his cabinet, including the postmaster general and attorney general as well as the secretaries of state, treasury, and war. At 10 p.m., North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance joined the group for an hour-long discussion of the war and whether to continue the fight, which Davis hoped to do. Afterward, Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge and Postmaster General John H. Reagan left Lexington for Durham to supervise

Close up of the map on the Pine Grove Camp Marker image. Click for full size.

By Don Morfe, August 21, 2014

2. Close up of the map on the Pine Grove Camp Marker

the surrender discussions between Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Davis had approved these negotiations while in Greensboro.

The next morning, April 17, Davis, the remaining cabinet members and the cavalry escort broke camp. They crossed the Yadkin River about noon, left Davidson County, and headed for Salisbury and then Charlotte, where Davis would learn of Lincoln’s death.

(sidebar)
The exact location of Davis’s camp is unknown but is most likely near the house of Lindsay L. Conrad, a Confederate soldier whose leg had been amputated. An earlier marker southeast of here notes the spot.

(captions)
(upper right) Zebulon B. Vance Courtesy Library of Congress
(lower right) President Jefferson Davis Courtesy Library of Congress

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.

Location. 35° 53.33′ N, 80° 11.458′ W. Marker is in Lexington, North Carolina, in Davidson County. Marker can be reached from Yokley Road 0.6 miles east of Ridge Road, on the left when traveling east.

By Don Morfe, August 21, 2014

3. Pine Grove Camp Marker

The marker is located in Tom-A-Lex Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lexington NC 27295, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Jefferson Davis (approx. 2.4 miles away); Pilgrim Church (approx. 2.7 miles away); John H. Mills (approx. 2.9 miles away); NC Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.6 miles away); Daniel Boone and Gen. Nathanael Greene (approx. 5.7 miles away); Captain Benjamin Merrill (approx. 5.7 miles away); City of Lexington (approx. 5.7 miles away); Lexington in the Civil War (approx. 5.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lexington.

Pine Grove Camp image. Click for full size.

By Don Morfe, August 21, 2014

4. Pine Grove Camp

The marker is on the bank of Lake Thom-A-Lex municipal reservoir

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 4, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 818 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 4, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.