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Local figure

Joseph E. Johnston

Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston met Union general William T. Sherman three times in April 1865 at James and Nancy Bennitt's farm in Orange County, on the Hillsborough Road seven miles from Durham Station. Their final agreement on April 26 surrendered 89,270 soldiers in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

Source: NC Historic Sites: Bennett Place, History

Also found in catalogs as Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston) Johnston.

1807–1891 as the Library of Congress records it · Library of Congress authority record ↗

4 indexed works are connected with this person.

Search these 4 works Research sources View indexed works ↓
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston

Indexed works

Works in the index that concern this person directly, or were written by them. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it; background reading with wider context sits further down.

The final fifteen days, excerpts from the "Narrative of military operations," by General Joseph Eggleston Johnston

1940 · General Johnston Headquarters House?

Folded leaflet issued at Hillsborough in 1940, printing excerpts from General Joseph E. Johnston's 'Narrative of military operations' on the final fifteen days of the Civil War in North Carolina, the period of his surrender negotiations with Sherman in April 1865. Its first page announces the opening of the restored house near Hillsborough that served as Johnston's headquarters that year. One sheet of four pages with illustrations.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891.

UNC

Surrender According To Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman

Stephen Cushman · 2021

Stephen Cushman on how Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman each told the story of the Bennett Place surrender of April 1865 in their memoirs, and on their friendship after the war.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the OpenAlex record: Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891.

OpenAlex

Civil War Collection

Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina · 1860

Statewide Civil War collection of the State Archives of North Carolina, dated 1860 to 1965. It gathers pardon petitions, bounty payrolls, quartermaster vouchers and supply papers, disabled veterans' claims and letters about artificial limbs, regimental and unit papers, muster rolls, diaries, reminiscences, clippings and sheet music. Orange County is one of the many North Carolina counties represented.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the State Archives of NC record: Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891.

State Archives of NC

Papers,

Bennitt, James · 1820

Papers of James Bennitt, a Durham County farmer and artisan whose home was where Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman in April 1865. The 159 items, starting in 1820, include letters, a diary, accounts, bills and receipts on local affairs and on the later history and restoration of the house, plus a Hillsborough militia regiment's muster roll. At Duke's Rubenstein Library.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Johnston, Joseph E. -- 1807-1891.

Duke

Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 973.738 HUG Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston Hughes, Nathaniel Cheairs · 1996

    A tactical history of the battle of Bentonville, fought in March 1865, Joseph E. Johnston's last effort to stop Sherman's march north through the Carolinas. Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr. follows both armies from South Carolina to Fayetteville and Goldsboro, explains why the Confederate attack's early gains came to nothing, draws on letters, diaries and official reports, and sketches commanders including Bragg, Hardee, D. H. Hill, Howard and Slocum. UNC Press, 1996; 336 pages with maps.

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 3 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Johnston accepts Sherman's basis of agreement at the Bennitt farm At their second meeting at James and Nancy Bennitt's farm on the Hillsborough Road, then in Orange County, Joseph E. Johnston accepted the "basis of agreement" William T. Sherman submitted, which offered an armistice, disbanding of the armies, recognition of state governments and a general amnesty. Jefferson Davis approved the terms, but Washington rejected them. People: William T. ShermanSearch the index · NC Historic Sites: Bennett Place, History
  2. Johnston surrendered to Sherman at the Bennett farm, then in Orange County After meetings on April 17 and 18 whose terms Washington rejected, Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman met again at the farm of James and Nancy Bennitt and signed a military surrender covering forces in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. North Carolina Historic Sites describes the Bennitt farm as a 325 acre place in Orange County, on the Hillsborough road west of Durham Station. People: Joseph E. Johnston, William T. ShermanNorth Carolina Historic Sites: Bennett Place, History
  3. Confederate leaders gather at Hillsborough Wade Hampton and Joseph E. Johnston used the Dickson farm on the edge of Hillsborough as a temporary headquarters while Johnston negotiated with Sherman, and Confederate officials including Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge came there to work on terms. Johnston and his staff rode from the Dickson place along the old Hillsborough to Durham road to complete the surrender. People: William T. Sherman, Joseph E. Johnston, Wade HamptonAlliance for Historic Hillsborough: The Alexander Dickson House

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.

All places and the county map →

Named with them in the chronology

People named in the same dated entries as Joseph E. Johnston, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Search further

The index lists works with an Orange County connection. To find everything else about Joseph E. Johnston, search these catalogs.

Books about Joseph E. Johnston

More catalogs that show where copies are

Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Searched with the Library of Congress heading Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891, so the results are about this person and not others with the same name. Each link opens that catalog’s own results in a new tab. The Friends have not reviewed what they return.

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Research sources

Additional research sources

Other catalogs to search and local organizations that can help.

Picture: Joseph E. Johnston. Public domain. via Wikimedia Commons

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