March 11, 1865---The Fall of Fayetteville, North Carolina

MARCH 11, 1865:     

The Fall of Fayetteville, North Carolina: Despite William Tecumseh Sherman’s Order of March 7^th “to prevent any wanton destruction of property, or any unkind treatment of citizens" in North Carolina, today he issues very different Orders regarding the fate of the staunchly Confederate city of Fayetteville: 

Fayetteville's Market House was built in 1832. Located in the geographic center of the old town, merchants and hawkers used the open first floor to ply their wares on market days (usually Wednesdays), Municipal offices were upstairs.  Although damaged in the Civil War the landmark building was restored.

Special Field Orders No. 28.

HDQRS. Mil. Div. of the Mississippi,

In the Field, Fayetteville, N.C.,

March 11, 1865.

I.   The Right Wing, Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard commanding, will cross Cape Fear River as soon as possible and take roads leading toward Faison’s Station, on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, but will not depart from the river until further notice.

II.  The Left Wing, Maj. Gen. H. W. Slocum commanding, will hold the town of Fayetteville, and he will lay his pontoons ready to cross the river, but in the meantime will destroy all railroad property, all shops, factories, tanneries, &c., and all mills, save one water-mill of sufficient capacity to grind meal for the people of Fayetteville.

III.  The cavalry is charged with destroying the railroad trestles, depots, mills, and factories as far up as lower Little River, including its bridge, and will be prepared to cross to the east of Cape Fear River during Monday night.

IV.  Bvt. Col. O. M. Poe is charged with the utter demolition of the arsenal building and everything pertaining to it, and Bvt. Lieut. Col. T.G. Baylor, chief ordnance officer, is charged with the destruction of all powder, and ordnance stores, including guns and small-arms, keeping the usual record.  The time allowed will be Sunday and Monday.

V.  All commanding officers having refugee families or negroes in charge will prepare a train with a small guard to proceed to Wilmington,; after crossing South River an officer will be detailed from these headquarters to conduct them to Wilmington.  A guard of 100 men of each will composed of men entitled to discharge or escaped soldiers and officers will be deemed a sufficient guard

VI.  The army will prepare to lean toward the northeast by Tuesday next.

By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman:

L.M. Dayton,

Assistant Adjutant- General

Sherman is surprised at the resistance he is finding in supposedly “Unionist” North Carolina. To date, Confederate forces have engaged his more aggressively and effectively than in “Secesh” South Carolina, and despite his initial intentions, Sherman feels it is time to inflict a lesson on the State. As his men march into Fayetteville, the commercial centers of the town and the Fayetteville Arsenal are set alight.

But there are Unionists in Fayetteville, and they are not unhappy about Sherman’s change of plans, The Editor of the underground newspaper Fayetteville Herald of The Union, newly emerging into the light, pens a short piece entitled “Sherman, The Raider”:

It is usual for those who set about the conquest of a country to act upon the miser’s rules. “Get all you can, and keep all you get.” Hence, they endeavor to secure their acquisitions as they go, and to make each the basis of the next. 

Sherman acts upon a different rule. He is simply a great raider. He is conducting a novel military experiment and is testing the problem, whether or not a great country can be conquered by raids.

Results, so far have gained him some reputation for success in making his transits and consequently exhibit the theory on which he is operating under most favorable conditions.

During the Civil War, nearly one-third of Fayetteville’s men of age fought for the Confederacy (and approximately that number fought for the Union or stayed “neutral” as long as they could). It was, during the war, definitely a Confederate city. There was a Unionist presence, but it remained subdued. The town’s resources fed the Southern war machine exclusively --- Fayetteville’s munitions factories (staffed entirely by women) turned out 900,000 bullets for The Army of Northern Virginia in 1864 alone.

And today, as Sherman’s men march in, Wade Hampton C.S.A. daringly does not march out. A skirmish takes place down in the rail yards. About a dozen Billy Yanks are killed before overwhelming numbers force Hampton and his men to flee Fayetteville. 

Antebellum Sandford House in Fayetteville's Heritage Square is today used for special functions such as conferences and weddings. Battle damage from the Civil War is still visible within the house. During World War II, the house served as a residence for young unmarried women working in Fayetteville's war industries

 

In Raleigh, the Confederate Governor, Zebulon Vance, castigates Sherman for going back on his Orders of March 7^th, advising his constituents that Sherman is dishonorable and that it has never been Sherman’s plan to spare the State. Vance’s criticisms are disingenuous at the least --- can any resisting enemy expect no reaction from their adversary? 

Governor Zebulon B. Vance of North Carolina was an ardent States' Rights advocate who worked against the policies of the central government in Richmond. He often refused to let North Carolinian regiments leave the State, tithed all foreign imports to the Confederacy, fought national conscription laws, nullified the suspension of Confederate habeas corpus, and cordially disliked Jefferson Davis on a personal level.

Sherman, for his part, is not swayed by Vance’s remarks.