Civil War re-enactment surrounds State Capitol building

The state Capitol building will be surrounded on Saturday with a Civil War-era troop encampment on the lawn. The event recalls the April 1865 occupation of the Capitol by Union troops.

The occupation occurred days before the largest surrender of the war at Bennett Place State Historic Site in Durham, which involved nearly 90,000 Confederate troops in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

Union and Confederate troops camped on the Capitol grounds will portray military life near the close of the Civil War. Re-enactors will also portray black soldiers who fought for the Union.

Strolling through the Capitol will be costumed interpreters portraying former governors David Swain and William Graham; “Aunt” Abby House, a vehement supporter of the Confederate troops; Union Signal Corps Officer Lt. George Round and newly freed slave Ellick Moore.

“Characters are based on personal letters, diaries and period accounts and will speak about hardships they have endured, life in Raleigh and their hopes and dreams for the future,” Site Manager Deanna Mitchell said in a statement.

Guides will lead tours at 10 and 11 a.m. and 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Organizers recommended that visitors 919-733-4994 to make a reservation.