What's Happening in Raleigh, NC…

On April 13, 1865, General William T. Sherman accepted the surrender of Raleigh. A century and a half later to the day, General Sherman appeared again, only this time he said he had no intention of entering the city without permission, nor did he plan to burn it to the ground.

This General Sherman—actually an actor named Ira David Wood III—refused to burn Raleigh for one reason: “barbeque”.

Although Wood impersonated Sherman with humor, the event itself was serious: a reenactment of the terrible situation of Raleigh at the end of the Civil War. Early in 1865, Sherman was pursuing General Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates, who had hoped to meet up with Lee’s forces. However, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox before the two Southern armies could join forces, and on April 26, in Durham, Johnston surrendered.

However, between the times Lee and Johnston surrendered, Governor Zebulon Vance sent a plea to Sherman, begging him to spare Raleigh if the city surrendered. Sherman agreed, and the city was saved. The event in 2015 commemorates the day Sherman accepted the surrender and left the city intact.

The Civil War is a vital part of American history, and the North Carolina Civil War History Center, where the surrender was reenacted, might want to work with brochure printers to create a booklet about the event and its importance to history.