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

Raiders in Lenoir

St. James Episcopal Church and Prison

— Stoneman's Raid —

 
 
Raiders in Lenoir Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, August 20, 2014
1. Raiders in Lenoir Marker
Inscription. (preface)
On March 24, 1865, Union Gen. George Stoneman led 6,000 cavalrymen from Tennessee into southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina to disrupt the Confederate supply line by destroying sections of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, the North Carolina Railroad, and the Piedmont Railroad. He struck at Boone on March 28, headed into Virginia on April 2, and returned to North Carolina a week later. Stoneman’s Raid ended at Asheville on April 26, the day that Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Union Gen. William T. Sherman near Durham.

(main text)
The church that stood here in 1865 became a prison for three days when Union Gen. George Stoneman, with two brigades of raiders under Gen. Alvan C. Gillem, occupied Lenoir over Easter weekend, April 15-17, 1865. The prisoners were 900 old men, boys and Confederate soldiers captured as they recuperated at their homes from wounds or illness. They filled the grounds and sanctuary of Saint James Episcopal Church, which served as a hospital as well as a prison. Some looting occurred in Lenoir, but most residents merely suffered a scare. Local resident Joseph C. Norwood wrote, “We are just through with a scene of alarm and very great danger,” but added that the cavalrymen “were equipped in the very best manner, and under the severest
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discipline and were not allowed to plunder to any great extent or commit any acts of violence.” Ella Harper, of Lenoir, wrote in her diary on April 15, “At sunset the Yanks rushed in on us. We obtained a guard about our house after they came in, and fared better than some others. Did not undress or sleep all night.” The next day, Easter Sunday, was “unlike the Holy Sabbath,” she wrote, with “excitement, confusion and hurry all day. Our poor prisoners seemed almost starved.”

On the morning of April 17, part of Stoneman’s force rode west toward Morganton while Stoneman, the prisoners, and a guard headed northward toward Blowing Rock. Lenoir resident Louisa Norward wrote her uncle, Walter Lenoir, that Union cavalrymen called Lenoir “the damnedest little rebel town they ever saw.”

(captions)
(lower left) St. James Episcopal Church, ca. 1900 Courtesy Caldwell Heritage Museum; Ella Harper (Mrs. George W. Harper) Courtesy Caldwell Heritage Museum
(upper right) Gen. George Stoneman Library of Congress; Gen. Alvan C. Gillem Library of Congress
(lower right) Route of Stoneman's Raid in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, March-April 1865.
 
Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion
Close up of the map on the Raiders in Lenoir Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, August 20, 2014
2. Close up of the map on the Raiders in Lenoir Marker
(Inscription on the map) Route of Stoneman's Raid in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, March-April 1865.
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 March 1915.
 
Location. 35° 54.824′ N, 81° 32.357′ W. Marker is in Lenoir, North Carolina, in Caldwell County. Marker is at the intersection of Harper Avenue Northwest and Main Street Northwest, on the right when traveling east on Harper Avenue Northwest. The marker is on the grounds of the St James Episcopal Church. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lenoir NC 28645, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Belk's Department Store (within shouting distance of this marker); St. James Episcopal Church Labyrinth (within shouting distance of this marker); Hog Waller Market in Downtown Lenoir (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Davenport College (about 400 feet away); Caldwell County Courthouse (about 600 feet away); United States Post Office (about 700 feet away); Stoneman's Raid (approx. 0.6 miles away); Pfeiffer College (approx. 4.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lenoir.
 
Raiders in Lenoir Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, August 20, 2014
3. Raiders in Lenoir Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 30, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 654 times since then and 16 times this year. Last updated on October 29, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on September 29, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024