North Carolina Civil War History: Averasboro Battlefield

Taking a break from my usual posts to cover some North Carolina history. I love Civil War history, and have had an ongoing love affair with this chapter in American history since I was in my early 20’s. Often, I found myself among old white men at Civil War reenactments, lectures, etc. When I moved to Raleigh, I was thrilled to be within driving distance of multiple battlefields, even if the drive is up to six hours long when I go to Gettysburg.

Just a little over 45 minutes south from downtown Raleigh is a small, but important battlefield. Located in Dunn, North Carolina, the Averasboro Battlefield was the site of a one-day battle between the Union and Confederate Army. It is noted as the first “deliberate, tactical resistance” to the march of Federal forces through the Carolinas and Georgia. Many know this as Sherman’s March. It took place three days for the infamous Battle of Bentonville and one month before the Battle of Morrisville.

Averasboro Battlefield Museum. Photo by Alex Matsuo

The Battle of Averasboro took place about 4 miles south of the Averasborough township. The goal of the battle was to delay, do damage, and slow the progress of General Sherman’s progress, and it worked. Sherman’s troops had just decimated Fayetteville, and they were heading to Raleigh. The Confederate forces behind it all were under the command of William J. Hardee. They were able to slow down General Slocum and his men in Averasboro.

If you participated in the weekend ghost hunts in Fayetteville at the Sandford House that my team hosted in October, the name Slocum should sound familiar! During the Battle of Averasboro, the Union lost about 682 men while the Confederates lost about 500.

At the Averaboro Battlefield & Museum, they have quite the collection of artifacts that were nothing but impressive. I admit that I enjoy the smaller Civil War history museums, as their artificats usually come from donations from local families. You also get to learn stories that you won’t hear in the larger museums.

Photo by Alex Matsuo

Just down the road is the Chicora Cemetery, which holds the remains of 54 unidentified Confederate soldiers. There is also an recreation of a house from the Civil War era along with several monuments.

Another thing I particularly appreciated and treasured during this visit was the chance to hold actual bullets from the battle. The kind gentleman working behind the desk brought them out to me. I got to feel how heavy they were, and I couldn’t help but think about the soldiers that had to lug these around. This was unexpectedly emotional for me. I couldn’t help but wonder who it was that shot these bullets, who or what these bullets hit, and what they look like today.

The five bullets I got to hold in Averasboro. Photo by Alex Matsuo

One question I do want to address…is Averasboro haunted? The short answer is I don’t know. I haven’t had the opportunity to investigate it yet. I also haven’t seen much in terms of reported hauntings. If there was weird activity occurring, I would probably assume there is something there. However, the lack of reports make me question whether something is there. I will say that when I visited the battlefield, it was very peaceful.

I do plan on visiting the Averasboro Battlefield. This is a wonderful piece of North Carolina Civil War history that is just a short drive away from the Triangle. While the battle was short, its impact continues to last to this day over 155 years later.

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Before you go, please take a moment to vote for me in INDY Week’s Best of the Triangle for Best Local-Interest Website and Blog! Voting take less than a minute, and it would help me a great deal.

How I Fell in Love with My City (Finally)

From 1986 until 2013 – My home was San Diego, California.

Moving to Raleigh, NC in 2013 was one of the biggest changes of my life. I won’t lie, the transition was really hard. I longed to return to San Diego any chance I had. In short, I didn’t see Raleigh as “home.”

I considered moving back, but the cost of living in San Diego was rising fast and I didn’t have job prospects to help me return. In other words, I was stuck in Raleigh. I then considered moving to another city to see if that felt more like home.

Each year, I watched the seasons change and I was still feeling very much like an outsider. In fact, I took pride in the fact that I was a “California Girl” and this was a temporary stay. I had a hard time connecting with people and finding new friends. I was completely starting from scratch.

Thankfully, being a theatre kid, there was always a new family waiting for you. I got heavily involved in the theatre community, and that was a good stepping stone. I quickly found a second family that continues to be there for me through thick and thin.

And yet, I still felt like an outsider.

I kept trying my hardest to live Raleigh, let alone North Carolina. I had multiple people try to show me around their favorite spots and where they found their place to call home. Again, I struggled. I was also dealing with guilt that I couldn’t find my place here. By this time, I had already been living here for a few years. And yet, I still wasn’t settled in. Was it time to move?

I decided to explore Raleigh for myself for a day. But this time, without anyone telling me to like Raleigh, without anyone giving me their preconceived notions about Raleigh. I ended up coming up with a short list of the things I did like about Raleigh and I went from there.

In case you’re curious, here was my list:

  • Four seasons
  • Lots of history
  • Driving distance or a short flight to my favorite east coast places
  • I joined several families in North Carolina from theatre to the con scene

Then, I decided to sign up for Great Raleigh Trolley’s “Hidden History” Tour, led by Heather Leah of Candid Slice/Hidden History. I often used Heather’s articles as a jumping off point for my own research, so I knew she was legit. Combining my love of history with my current residence seemed like the thing to do to really help me connect to Raleigh.

And it worked.

Taking a history tour seemed like something small, but it was something I was truly interested in. I saw that Raleigh belonged to others beyond the people I knew (many of who took ownership of it and really made me feel like I was violating some territory-based treaty).

What also helped tremendously was that I found my dream career in Morrisville. I had another reason to be in the area besides the one I originally moved for. I found a sense of purpose by living here. I also started engaging with the community, even on days I really didn’t feel like it. I went to the Japan Summer Festival, went to concerts, watching local theatre more than being on stage, and of course, found local haunts that were available to me.

I finally found a reason to fall in love with Raleigh. That tour was the start of me making multiple connections with the community around me. I finally saw Raleigh and its surrounding communities as a part of my world, and no longer was I standing there as an outsider.

San Diego still has my heart, and always will. I still want to move back eventually, but I’ve found a sense a belonging here in NC that I’m so grateful to finally have.

What is even more extraordinary is that I was nominated by the community as a WRAL Voters’ Choice Award for Best Blogger in the Triangle! . If you’re a resident of North Carolina, be sure to vote for me here. I’m so honored and this is truly symbolic of the community embracing me as their own.

I couldn’t feel more at home right now.