The Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort will exhibit the 58th Regiment N.C. Troops’ battle flag from the Civil War. The historic item, on loan from the N.C. Museum of History, will be displayed during Mountain Gateway’s Pioneer Day Festival on Saturday, April 25.
“Soldiers from McDowell, Yancey, Watauga and Caldwell counties served in the 58th Regiment and fought under this flag,” reads the event release.
The free kid-friendly festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes antique cars, vintage farm equipment, music, food vendors and other exhibits, according to organizers.
Here is the full release from the NC Department of Cultural Resources:
OLD FORT, N.C. – In addition to antique cars, vintage farm equipment, music, food vendors, and exhibits, the Mountain Gateway Museum’s April 25 Pioneer Day Festival will include a limited time exhibition of a North Carolina Civil War flag. The free family event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will celebrate the pioneer spirit and the joy of spring in Old Fort.
The fun-filled day will include traditional Appalachian Mountain crafts demonstrations, children’s games, wagon rides, animals, Civil War re-enactors, authors and much more.
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s end, a special feature of the 2015 Pioneer Day Festival will be exhibition of the 58th Regiment N.C. Troops battle flag. The historic flag is loaned from the N.C. Museum of History and will be exhibited at the Mountain Gateway Museum the weekend of April 24-25 only. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) will be encamped on the grounds.
Soldiers from McDowell, Yancey, Watauga and Caldwell counties served in the 58th Regiment and fought under this flag. Part of the Army of Tennessee, the regiment participated in campaigns from Chickamauga in September 1863 to the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina’s last major Civil War battle, in March 1865. The regiment was part of the Confederate troop surrender at Bennett Place near Durham on April 26, 1865.
Almost exactly 150 years later, descendants of the original 58th Regiment, now members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 379, will stand guard over the battle flag during its three day exhibition at the Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center.
The badly deteriorated flag was conserved through a partnership between the N.C. Museum of History and the 26th Regiment, N.C. Troops, Reactivated. This is the state’s largest Civil War re-enactment group. The 26th N.C. Troops adopted the 58th Regiment battle flag as its preservation project in 2009 and raised funds to conserve the flag’s fragments.
During the weekend members of SCV 379 and 22nd North Carolina will be encamped on the Mountain Gateway grounds and will be part of the April 25 Pioneer Day Festival’s events. They will provide commemoration of the Battle of Swannanoa Gap Sunday April 26, including a Sunday church service in the museum’s amphitheater and 1 p.m. program at the Unknown Confederate Soldier Marker just west of Old Fort. Living history activities will continue throughout the day at the encampment site.
For more information about the 2015 Pioneer Day Festival or the flag exhibition, please contact RoAnn Bishop at Mountain Gateway at (828) 668-9259 or email roann.bishop@ncdcr.gov. Mountain Gateway is located off I-40 at exit 73 in Old Fort at 24 Water St. Free parking is available in the parking lot at the end of Water Street. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 2-5 p.m., Monday noon-5 p.m.
For more information about the SCV Camp 379 encampment or other Civil War activities during the weekend, please contact Jeff Cordell at (828) 659-6377 or email cordellcsa@yahoo.com.
Mountain Gateway is part of the Division of State History Museums within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources:
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDCR’s mission is improve our state’s quality of life by creating opportunities that promote economic development, stimulate learning, preserve the state’s history and spark creativity to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state’s communities. NCDCR’s Divisions of State Archives, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina’s rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR’s State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for people who are blind and have physical disabilities.
NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state’s creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.
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