March 24, 2014

On my recent vacation I had the opportunity to check out a new battlefield, and though it’s a vastly different space than Gettysburg, the experience was interesting enough that I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos. The battlefield in question: Bentonville, North Carolina. It’s not one of the biggest or one of the better-known . . . but in a way, every battle is vastly important even if only to remember those who died there. In a nutshell, Bentonville was a duel between the South’s Gen. Joseph Johnston and the much-maligned Gen. Sherman. The last duel, in fact.

 
While I didn’t get to see the battlefield (it was an early sojourn, and nothing was open yet) I spent some time at the John and Amy Harper house, a Civil War-era structure used as both a Union and a Confederate field hospital after the battle. I wished I could have gone inside but was still thrilled with the opportunity to enjoy it from afar. The first image is a sign at the visitor center. The second shows the Harper house, a beautiful 1850s farmhouse with a gruesome history, while the third photo showcases one of two slave cabins.

**HONORED TODAY**

SGT. SOLOMON MCDONALD SEXTON

Co. D, 4^TH Virginia Infantry

Born March 20, 1841/42 --- Died July 03, 1863 at age 21/22

Sgt. Sexton enlisted in April 1861 with no knowledge of the tragedy that would befall his family or the wound that would take his own life. In August 1862, his brother Benjamin would die at 2^ND Manassas/Bull Run. Less than ten months later, Sgt. Sexton himself was killed at Gettysburg. Sister Hannah passed away at the age of nine in October 1863 and brother Albert died in a prison camp at Elmira, New York in 1864.


(c) 2013-2014 Skies of Blue and Gray