Greensboro in the Civil War - April 11, 1865

A large concentration of Quaker pacificism caused Greensboro to relunctantly follow the rest of North Carolina into the Confederacy in 1861. The city was not involved in any major conflicts throughout the duration of the war, but they manufactured carbine rifles and other supplies for the Confederacy.

A militia unit called the Greensboro Grays was formed and played a part in many important battles of the war. The city suffered like all of the South in shortages of food and supplies, but they also supplied food and munitions to the Confederate army. The railways in Greensboro were an important connection for Confederate troops and munitions being shuttled between battlefronts. As Lee was being surrounded near Appomattox courthouse at the crucial end of the war, General P.G.T. Beauregard was instructed by General Joseph E. Johnston, to prepare for a defense of the city. General Sherman and the Union army approached from the east. Though several battles were waged on the North Carolina coast, the last major battle fought in the war was near Goldsboro at Bentonville.The retreating Confederate army under General Johnston was hard pressed on a line between Greensboro and Raleigh. As Lee's army tried to escape to the west, Jefferson Davis and the remaining members of the Confederate cabinet fled and met in Danville, VA.

When Union General Sheridan threatened Danville, Davis and his cabinet slipped away by train to Greensboro on April 11, 1865. Davis tried to find lodging but everyone was afraid to offer help, as the Union armies converged from the north and the east. Finally he was offered the use of a tiny upper room on S Elm St, but most of the cabinet slept in a traincar. With news of Lee's surrender and the imminent defeat of the Confederacy, the city closed up, as rioters and pillagers ransacked local stores and warehouses. On April 11-13, 1865, Greensboro was the de facto "final" capital city of the Confederacy as the cabinet met in a railcar at the downtown depot. On the 16th, Davis fled south through Jamestown and High Point on a long trek that would lead to his capture in southern Georgia. Final surrender negotiations were completed between General Johnston and General Sherman at Bennett Place, a farm near Durham.

On April 26, 1865, the American Civil War literally ended in Greensboro as Confederate soldiers stacked their arms and received their paroles. I bet you didn't know that; capital of the Confederacy, and end of the Civil War, right here in Greensboro.