page_title: Battle of Bentonville
section_title: Battlefield preservation
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Bentonville / Battlefield preservation
caption_attribution_description: English: The Harper House, main dwelling of the Harper family. During the March 1865 Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina it served as a hospital of the Union forces. It has since been restored and is part of the Bentonville Battleground State Historic Site. This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 70000459 More images
context_page_description: The Battle of Bentonville was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.
  As the right wing of Sherman's army under command of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard marched toward Goldsboro, the left wing under command of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum encountered the entrenched men of Johnston's army. On the first day of the battle, the Confederates attacked the XIV Corps and routed two divisions, but the rest of Sherman's army defended its positions successfully. The next day, as Sherman sent reinforcements to the battlefield and expected Johnston to withdraw, only minor sporadic fighting occurred. On the third day, as skirmishing continued, the division of Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Mower followed a path into the Confederate rear and attacked. The Confederates were able to repulse the attack as Sherman ordered Mower back to connect with his own corps. Johnston elected to withdraw from the battlefield that night.
context_section_description: The site of the battle is preserved as the Bentonville Battleground State Historic Site, which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996. The park, founded in 1965, includes 130 acres (0.53 km²) of the battlefield and runs a visitor's center adjacent to the restored Harper House, which served as a hospital for Union soldiers during the battle. The Bentonville Battlefield Historical Association, the Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) also own portions of the battlefield not included in the state park, including 1,770 acres (7.2 km²) by the Trust alone. The Trust and its partners, including the historical association, have acquired and preserved a total of 1,861 acres (7.53 km²) of the battlefield in more than 50 separate acquisitions since 1990.
caption: The Harper House, built in the 1850s, served as a Union field hospital during the battle and is located adjacent to the Bentonville Battlefield museum, which offers tours of its interior.
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