Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Lecture Shows North Carolina Torn between Union and Confederacy

DURHAM - A lecture, “Red Strings: Unionist Sentiment in Piedmont , North Carolina ,” presented by N.C. Division of State Historic Sites Assistant Education Curator Jeff Bockert, will commence on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. It kicks off commemorative events at Duke Homestead State Historic Site. Light refreshments will be provided.

Despite the state's allegiance to the Confederacy, some North Carolinians supported the United States actively by enlisting to fight for the Union . Other citizens deserted from or evaded enlistment into the Confederate army and questioned North Carolina 's sacrifices as a Confederate state. Strongholds of unionism existed across the state. Vicious clashes between these groups and Confederate authorities attracted both state and national attention.

The program is the first in a series of events at Duke Homestead for the Civil War Sesquicentennial. Bockert will discuss the anti-secessionist political efforts during the antebellum period in the Piedmont .

Duke Homestead is located at 2828 Duke Homestead Road , Durham , NC 27705 . For more info rmation call (919) 477-5498, or e-mail duke@ncdcr.gov. The site is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. It is closed to the public on Mondays and most major holidays.

The mission of Duke Homestead State Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the history of the Washington Duke homestead and the North Carolina tobacco industry.

Informational resources and observances of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War are being organized by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina ’s social, cultural and economic future. Information on Cultural Resources is available 24/7 at http://www.ncculture.com/

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