Chairman Dr. Lyle Holland

BATTLEFIELD PROJECTS

BATTLE OF WYSE FORK BATTLEFIELD
Camp Southwest Site

Pictures of Camp Southwest Earthworks

After the capture of Union soldiers on the first day of the Battle of Wyse Fork,  the Union prisoners were brought to this location to be disarmed and sent by rail to Richmond for imprisonment.

This area consist of about 57 acres and lies next to the railroad tracks within the core area of the Wyse Fork Battlefield. The site has  some of the most pristine earthworks in North Carolina.  It was the location of part of Camp Southwest and some of the fortification along Southwest Creek.  It is believed that after the capture of Union soldiers on the first day of the Battle of Wyse Fork,  the Union prisoners were brought to this location to be disarmed and sent by rail to Richmond for imprisonment.

57 acres has been purchased by the Historical Preservation Group to be preserved forever as part of the Wyse Fork Civil War Battlefield

-Much undergrowth has been cleared

-GPS reading have been done on various areas of the site

-Seek funding for development

-Plans include:
     Acquisition of property
     Parking area
    Trails with interpretation




                    FIRST BATTLE OF KINSTON BATTLEFIELD PARK

                                                     Wil King Memorial Site
                       This area is where the union forces first broke through the Confederate lines.

The first sited to be developed on the Kinston battlefield has been named for Wil King.  One section of the site has been developed. It is beautifully landscaped. There is a brick wall with the name of the battle and date of battle inscribed on the front. Behind the wall is a fifty foot circular brick plaza. At one end of the plaza is a granite memorial monument for Wil King. At the other end of the plaza are three flag poles. The center pole flies the American flag. The other flag poles fly the period flags for the Union and the Confederacy. A spotlight brightens the plaza and flag poles. The flags fly 24 hours a day. There are two markers, each placed at the walkways entering the plaza. One is a Civil War Trails marker interpreting what took place on the site during the battle. The other marker is a copy of a resolution written by the Lenoir County Battlefields Commission expressing their gratitude for Wil’s work. Beyond the plaza is a berm that circles around the site. There is a walking path atop of the berm. At intervals along side of the berm are State markers for each state that fought in the battle. On theses markers are listed all the regiments from a given state. A state flag representing the given state is affix to the marker. The state flags fly only on special occasions. Dwarf Magnolia trees line along the edge of the site near Meadowbrook Drive and Harriet Drive.

CIVIL WAR TRAILS
 

Members of the Historical Preservation Group( Cindy Brochure, Jane Phillips and Lyle Holland) and Battlefield Commission ( Lonnie Blizzard) started meeting  with a group in 2002 and for the next year and a half worked on Civil War Trails coming to North Carolina.  The NC Department of Cultural  Resources, NC Department of Transportation and the NC Department of Commerce put their stamp of approval on the project and gave it their full support. 

A series of meetings took place with the Kinston people being a part of the planning process.  The Kinston people made sure that the Battle of Wyse Fork and the First Battle of Kinston was included in the first CWT brochure published for North Carolina.  It was Cindy Brochure and Jane Phillips that met with groups in Wayne, Craven and Carteret Counties and introduced them to Civil War Trails.

Funding for the Lenoir County Civil War Trails markers came from the NC Dept of Transportation and the Lenoir County Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Development Authority.

At the present time Lenoir County has eight marker.  The Battlefield Commission is  in the planning process to have more markers for Lenoir County.

 

CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENT

CIVIL WAR PRINTS

WYSE FORK BATTLEFIELD MAP SETS

Interesting Sites on Why and How to Save Battlefields

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