Green River becomes a destination for the true Civil War enthusiast. Polk County has installed new civil war markers laying out the steps of Stonemans raid. Below is a line up for the trails and also an article from the Tryon Bulletin in February 2008 about the trails. (Keep in mind that the map showing Green Rivers location is not correct. Please see direction page for corrections to the Google maps.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Stoneman's Raid

On March 25, 1865, Union Gen. George Stoneman led 6,000 cavalrymen from Tennessee into western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia to disrupt the Confederate supply lines, destroy mines and ironworks and to free prisoners at Salisbury.
    Stoneman struck first at Boone on March 29, then moved briefly into Virginia. On April 12, three days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Stoneman entered Salisbury, burning public buildings and the deserted prison camp there.
    He then headed west encountering limited resistance from scattered Confederate forces. Stoneman was in or near Asheville April 26 when Johnston surrendered near Durham. Many of the Union troopers then returned to Tennessee while others pursued Jefferson Davis.

The following sites are part of the Stoneman’s Raid story. More Trails signs are planned; check back here for updates.

Patterson Mill, Trails sign located one block east of Route 321 in Patterson – Elements of Stoneman’s Raiders burned the mill here on March 30 because it reportedly had supplied Confederate soldiers with uniforms and other goods.

“Rockford,” Trails sign located at the York Tavern in Rockford – Stoneman’s Raiders passed through here April 1–2 on their way to Virginia. Some troopers stopped long enough to harass citizens and create many local stories about the event.

Jonesville
Visitor Center, 1632 NC 67 Hwy, Jonesville 28642
 ROAD MAP 
Stoneman’s raiders passed through here April 1, 1865, destroying scientific equipment at the Jonesville Male and Female Academy but overlooking the school’s bell. The bell still rings at the First United Methodist Church. Trails sign located at the visitor center just west of I-77 on Route 67.

“Reeves Homeplace,” Trails sign located on the Yadkin River in Siloam – While moving through the area April 1–2, Stoneman’s cavalry encountered armed resistance from Confederate Maj. Richard Reeves and a colonel who was recuperating in the major’s house. The two Southerners fled after killing a Union trooper and escaped. Stoneman’s men tried to burn the house but were unsuccessful.

Windsor’s Crossroads
Trails sign at the intersection of Buck Shoals Road and Windsor Road, Hamptonville NC 27020
 ROAD MAP 
Union raiders rode three abreast down a narrow dirt road here on a path of destruction. Local residents reported that the troopers burned “everything along the way.”

Raiding Huntsville
Trails sign at corner of Courtney-Huntsville Road and Farmington Road, Huntsville NC 27055
 ROAD MAP 
On April 11, 1865, the raiders surprised and scattered a few home guard here before pillaging and burning several buildings. A Union sympathizer in town, however, fed more than 100 Union troops.

Moratock Iron Furnace at Danbury, Trails sign located in Moratock Park, 1/4 mile east of Route 8/89 on Sheppard Mill Road (about 10 miles north of Winston-Salem) – Site of a typical rural ironworks manufacturing needed raw metals for the Confederate war effort. Union Gen. George Stoneman wrecked the place during an early 1865 raid.

Rowan County Courthouse at Salisbury, 202 N Main St, Civil War Trails sign in front – North Carolina's governor when the war broke out, John W. Ellis, was the first judge in this 1855 Greek Revival-style structure. The building escaped destruction when Union Gen. George Stoneman raided the town on April 12, 1865. He burned vast quantities of military stores plus the by-then-evacuated prison site.

Statesville in the Civil War, Trails sign located at the Iredell County Courthouse – Some of Gen. George Stoneman’s raiders swept through here April 13, 1865, on their way back to Tennessee. They burned supplies, the railroad station and nearly set fire to the town. North Carolina Gov. Zeb Vance fled to his home here as Sherman’s troops approached Raleigh.

“Rocky Ford Engagement,” Trails sign located at the Morganton Greenway parking are off Route 64/18 on the Catawba River in Morgantown – On April 17, part of Stoneman’s force overcame Confederate homeguard (and Gen John P. McCowen on leave) at Rocky Ford, then moved into Morgantown. Local residents charged that the Union troopers plundered private property and wreaked havoc on the local population.

Carson House, McDowell County, Trails sign on US 70, a half mile west of Marion town limits – An element of Union Gen. George Stoneman's cavalry raiders skirmished briefly with home guards here April 19, 1865; then "were swarming in and around the house." After plundering the home and scaring the family, Stoneman moved on toward Asheville.

Raiders in Lenoir, Trails sign located at the St. James Episcopal Church in Lenoir – Stoneman and part of this raider force spent Easter weekend here April 15–17. Some looting and the townfolk suffered a scare. About 900 prisoners were kept in this churchyard during the weekend with the sanctuary used as a hospital.

Morganton
Old Burke County Courthouse
East Union Street and North Sterling Street, Morganton NC 28655
Trails sign on Business Route 64 in Morganton
 ROAD MAP 
Elements of Stoneman’s raiders occupied Morganton April 17 after a brief skirmish at Rocky Ford. The Union troopers, aided by former slaves and Union sympathizers out for revenge, ransacked the town.

Swannanoa Gap
McDowell County, Trails sign in Andrews Geyser Park on Mill Creek Road off Old US Highway 70, 4 miles west of the Old Fort Visitor Center and Railroad Museum
    Confederates consolidated here April 19, 1865, after Union raiders left the Carson House and easily turned back the Northern advance.

Swannanoa Gap Engagement
Trails sign located at the Lifeway Conference Center, Ridgecrest NC 28770
   Confederate Home Guard turned back elements of Stoneman’s raiders at Royal Gorge visible from here. On April 20, 1865, local Southerners blocked the road in the gorge with felled trees and other obstructions, causing the Union raiders to end their advance on Asheville (at least through here). The raiders detoured from here, however, and found another — much longer — way into the city.

Rutherfordton, Rutherford County
Trails sign located in front of the Norris Library, one block south of the Rutherford County Courthouse on Main Street
    Part of Union Gen. George Stoneman’s raiders pushed through here. Some of the Union soldiers were from the region and decided they would settle some scores against their Confederate sympathizer enemies while in town.

Green River Plantation: Unwelcome Guests
Trails sign at 6333 Coxe Road, Rutherfordton NC 28139
 ROAD MAP 
A hungry detachment of Stoneman’s Raiders stopped at this early 19th-century home late in April before moving on to Columbus. According to family tradition, Union horses entering the house left hoof prints on the parlor floor.

Polk County Courthouse: Raiders in the County
Trails sign at 1 Courthouse Square, Columbus NC 28722
 ROAD MAP 
A company of the 16th NC Infantry mustered here at the courthouse April 20, 1861, but the county’s population was divided on the war with many draft evaders later fleeing to the mountains. Stoneman’s raiders came through April 22 after the Confederates blocked progress at Swannanoa Gap.

Hickory Nut Gorge, Rutherford County
Trails sign located on Route 74A in the Chimney Rock Village
   Word of Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston’s surrender at Durham (April 26, 1865) reached Union Gen. George Stoneman’s raiders near here along with news of Confederate president Jefferson Davis’s flight through North Carolina. Troops camped here were ordered to pursue Davis, which they did until he was captured in Georgia.

Col. William J. Palmer: Quaker Warrior
Trails sign at Hickory Nut Gap Farm, 15 Clarke Lane, Fairview NC 28730
 ROAD MAP 
   Union Col. Palmer, commanding one of Gen. George Stoneman’s brigades of cavalry, made his headquarters here at Sherrill’s Inn on April 27, 1867, after the capture and pillaging of Asheville the previous day. He was promoted here to general and took command of two of the Union brigades in the area. Earlier, an Underground Railroad operated through Hickory Nut Gap, helping escaped Union soldiers and slaves travel to freedom in Tennessee.


     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tryon Daily Bulletin

Civil War marker for Stoneman's Raid installed at Polk County courthouse

Written by Administrator   

THURSDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2009

Mitch Bowman, Director of Civil War Trails, installed the marker at the Polk County Courthouse and and the one on Coxe Road by Green River Plantation. The new locations are listed on their web site, www.civilwartrails.org and will be included in brochures and other marketing materials.

During the Civil War, Polk County sent a total of 303 men into the conflict, according to a historical account written by Clarence Giffin in 1955. He says the county also sent a number “into the armies of the United States, but there is no way today to pick these out of the other thousands enlisted in the Union cause.” During the war, an “underground” railroad ran through Polk County.

The skirmish between Confederate forces and a band of Stoneman’s “Raiders” at Howard’s Gap on April 23, 1865 became known as Stoneman’s Raid. The following is information from www.ncmarkers.com about Stoneman’s Raid.

In late March 1865, Union cavalry under Major General George Stoneman, commander of the Union army “District of East Tennessee,” marched throughout western North Carolina during one of the longest cavalry raids in history. About 5,000 men under Stoneman’s command entered North Carolina with a mission “to destroy and not to fight battles” in order to expedite the close of the Civil War.

Stoneman’s raid coincided with the raids of Gen. William T. Sherman in the eastern sections of the state, stretching local home guard and militia units thinly across the state and forcing Confederate commanders to make hard choices on where their men were needed most.

Stoneman divided his men and sent detachments throughout the region, securing the destruction of the region’s factories, bridges and railroad lines. The army relied heavily on local citizens for food and supplies, often emptying storehouses.

Stoneman’s raids in North Carolina lasted from late March until May when they left to assist in the search for Confederate President Jefferson Davis as he fled the collapsed Confederacy.

The men had marched more than 1,000 miles during the raid and historians credit their march with assuring the death of the Confederacy as they captured artillery pieces and took thousands of prisoners while destroying Confederate army supplies and blocking a line of possible retreat for both Lee and Johnston’s armies.

After hearing rumors of the end of the war, Stoneman’s men remaining in North Carolina under the command of General A. C. Gillem marched toward Asheville. The Union forces reached Swannanoa Gap on April 20 and were met by a Confederate blockade. Gillem was forced to flank the Confederate position, placing his men 40 miles south of the Swannanoa Gap, on April 21. The flanking movement effectively placed Gillem and his men in the heart of the Confederate backcountry.

Gillem and his men continued moving further toward Asheville, meeting slight resistance because word of Johnston’s surrender had reached Confederate forces in the region and many refused to fight any longer. Gillem did, however, meet some resistance on April 22 at Howard’s Gap. Prior to news of the surrender, the force at Howard’s Gap had been equal to Gillem’s and may have effectively ended the raid. Gillem’s men pushed their way through the skirmish and continued their raid en route to Asheville.