Thirty caches are located in five different regions throughout NC. Instructions for sending the documentation are in the passport. Once all five regions are completed, you have earned a special NC Civil War trackable geocoin. Mail the passport to the address inside the passport – then your passport will be returned with your unique coin.
All of the containers are the same - camouflaged 6 inch PVC tubes - the code word you need for your passport is inside the container on a laminated card and also taped on the container that holds the log sheet. Date your logbook and add your code word in the numbered area for the cache. As the containers may become over tightened, carry a TOTT to ease the opening process.
Passports will be available at the event, some Civil War Museums in NC, and via mail if you send me you address or you can download your passport here.
Wagram: "Damnest marching I ever saw" — Sherman
The Carolinas Campaign began on February 1, 1865, when Union Gen. William T. Sherman led his army north from Savannah, Georgia, after the March to the Sea. Sherman’s objective was to join Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia to crush Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Scattered Confederate forces consolidated in North Carolina, the Confederacy’s logistical lifeline, where Sherman defeated Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s last-ditch attack at Bentonville. After Sherman was reinforced at Goldsboro late in March, Johnston saw the futility of further resistance and surrendered near Durham on April 26, essentially ending the Civil War.
(main text)
Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army marched slowly through this area on March 9, 1865. Low land and heavy rains required the construction of corduroy roads that consisted of saplings, trees, and fence posts laid lengthwise across the makeshift highways. They helped to support Sherman’s 60,000 Federal soldiers and foragers, or “bummers” as they were called, as well as supply wagons and artillery.
This site lies along the route of Sherman’s army as it moved from Laurel Hill to Fayetteville. The Temperance Hall to your left was built in 1860. Passing troops allegedly shot off the upturned chalice (symbol of temperance) and Bible, but left undisturbed a mill house near the pond behind the hall. Near here, Confederate cavalrymen began reconnoitering the Federal advance before the Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads. A small skirmish occurred here as the Confederates intensified their reconnaissance. Sherman’s XV Corps crossed the Lumber River on the Gilchrist Bridge at the site of the present-day U.S. Route 401 span.
Stage #1: N 34 52.957, W079 23.364
Tombstone of James L. Cooley. Born July 23, 1842. Died July 31, 1912. Member of NC Troops; Army of Northern Virginia 1861-1865; 18th Infantry Hills Corp, Camp Thomas, Ohio. Tombstone directly to the left of Cooley, Year of birth (1BAC): W79 23.ABC
Stage #2: N 34 52.953, W 079 23.350
Tombstone of Archibald Alexander McMillan. Born March 30, 1843. Died April 30, 1913. Enlisted May 1, 1862 in Cumberland County, NC into Company A, 63rd Regiment, 5th Cavalry, N.C.S.T.. Tombstone states "Faithful in loving service to their family, their country, and their God". Who shares his tombstone, Year of Death (19DE): N 34 53.0DE
Stage #3: N 34 53.0DE, W79 23.ABC