Stoneman's Raid — Morganton Skirmish
Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Stoneman's Raid. On their raid through western North Carolina Gen. Stoneman's U.S. cavalry skirmished with Confederates near here on April 17, 1865.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
During Union General George Stoneman's raid through western North Carolina in the last weeks of the Civil War, his cavalry skirmished with Confederate defenders near Morganton on April 17, 1865. Coming just days after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, the clash was one of the scattered final fights of a collapsing Confederacy in the Carolina mountains. The raiders pressed on through Burke County, targeting supplies, railroads, and remaining Confederate resistance.
Why it matters
The skirmish captures the ragged end of the Civil War in the Appalachian South, where fighting flickered on even after the war's outcome had been decided.
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Related people
- · George Stoneman
Related events
- · Stoneman's Raid
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Stoneman's Raid — Gillem's Column
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