Michael Moore, Exhibit panel in "North Carolina and the Civil War," 2013

Michael Moore, Exhibit panel in "North Carolina and the Civil War," 2013

This panel illustrates a tone that, while accurate in its portrayals of the atrocities of the American Civil War, functions more in a context which serves to honor the sacrifice and hardships of “Tar Heel soldiers” in 1863, a “year of carnage.” The text follows a narrative thread which, highlighting the experience of white North Carolinian men fighting for the Confederacy, evokes feelings of loss, reverence, and pride.

Moore, Michael

Michael Moore, Exhibit panel in "North Carolina and the Civil War," personal photograph by author, Raleigh, NC.

2013-03-12

Moore, Michael

Still Image

Raleigh, North Carolina

Photograph

1863: A Year of Carnage

"Our N.C. troops behaved most nobly....My Brigade behaved magnificently and got cup up terribly."

     --Brigadier General William Dorsey Pender, May 7, 1863

The intensity of the battles that North Carolina soldiers fought in 1862 continued into 1863.  On many occasions, the men helped turn near disasters into victories for the Confederacy.  But the cost to North Carolina proved tremendous.  More than 10,000 Tar Heel soldiers were killed or wounded or died from disease in 1863 alone.  These losses left families and communities at home devastated.