Raleigh historian Ernest Dollar’s new book on the Civil War’s real end in NC will shock (and awe) you.
Contrary to what many believe (and what you may have read in your history books), the Civil War did not end on April 9, 1865, with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. In fact, it would be almost two more weeks of fighting before Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston would surrender to Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman at Bennett Place, near Durham Station.
“Literally the largest surrender of the American Civil War is forgotten,” says Ernest Dollar—whose new book, Hearts Torn Asunder: Trauma in the Civil War’s Final Campaign in North Carolina, comes out April 23—speaking of the approximately 90,000 soldiers throughout the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida (Lee only surrendered just over 28,000 troops to Grant). “There are so few books written about the end of the war. Why in the world has this been forgotten?”
In his own book, Dollar, the executive director of the City of Raleigh Museum, specifically highlights the last days of the war—a time he considers neither sexy nor brave—and how it had a great impact on many of the soldiers’ mental health.
“There’s a lot of trauma going on in the last months of the war,” says Dollar. “What they said and felt here could come back and haunt them the rest of their lives.”
It’s no wonder the last days of the Civil War were indeed stressful, as Union soldiers marched toward Raleigh, some burning, pillaging and raping along the way. Soldiers on both sides struggled with morality and questionable actions, causing a source of tension within their ranks. The flow of alcohol didn’t help either, and many citizens lived in fear—some even fleeing to avoid the fate of those in previous attacks in the Carolinas.
“Looking back through time, we see people from every conflict having fear; war just breeds fear,” says Dollar. “PTSD literally fueled reconstruction violence. … I think those who were responsible for many of the attacks on civilians were those who were most damaged by war.”
In his attempt to provide a clear picture on how the war affects the mind and body, Dollar, who has been fascinated by war from an early age and enlisted in the Army Reserves after college, studied the behaviors of all involved in the Civil War, as well as looked to current soldiers for references. “It was interesting talking to veterans of Afghanistan and seeing such similar thoughts and feelings,” says Dollar. “The feelings of loss, helplessness and confusion about their service and their war and trying to reconcile its end.”
In addition to highlighting how the soldiers were feeling about their unknown surrender during those last days of the war, Dollar also included stories from NC citizens who were dealing with fear, uncertainty and, in some ways, disbelief at their potential loss.
“I was curious to add the civilians’ perspective,” says Dollar, recalling the tale of Margaret Mordecai Devereaux, who cared for an endless procession of wounded Confederate soldiers in her home, housed refugees and was ultimately terrified of Union occupation. “I wanted to put humanity back into the story. We forget the human cost.”
But the main thing Dollar hopes to achieve through Hearts Torn Asunder is providing a new perspective on soldiers during the Civil War—and how their trauma informs the experience of soldiers today—while starting conversations with veterans and their own families about issues they face from their war experience. And that’s something the history books don’t tell you. savasbeatie.com
5 Things We Didn’t Know
Those women who remained in Raleigh as Union soldiers approached spent hours hiding their valuables and sewing jewelry and silverware into hoop skirts and corsets. The girls at St. Mary’s slept fully clothed with their valuables in their pockets in case they had to flee.
Gen. Sherman and Johnston heard of Lincoln’s assassination via telegram right before they were to meet to discuss peace at Bennett Place.
The university remained open throughout the war, but the total student body in the class of 1865 was only two students, with professors, alumni and potential students fighting.
In 1863, a mob of 50 angry women armed with axes attacked stores in Salisbury and assaulted price-gouging merchants, forcing them to hand over flour, salt, molasses and cash.
Research suggests that of the approximately 125,000 North Carolinians who entered Confederate service, nearly 32,000 died. That equates to roughly one in four men.
Here’s a look how it’s going… and where it’s likely headed next.
It’s March—and ’tis the season for sports. As we come off the Super Bowl and head into March Madness and the Big Dance, sports are top of mind. Heck, even nonfans emerge to bust a bracket or two.
It has been less than a year since college athletes have been able to benefit from name image and likeness (NIL) opportunities. If you’re a big sports fan, you no doubt know what NIL is—but for many, that acronym remains pretty foreign. As a quick refresh, last July 1, the NCAA made the huge, much-debated move to grant NCAA college athletes the opportunity to monetize their name, image and likeness. Translation: Just as pro athletes have long been able to financially benefit from use of their NIL—think Peyton Manning and Nationwide, among a million other examples—now, instead of universities profiting from their star athletes, the athletes themselves can be paid directly.
Said NCAA President Mark Emmert at the time: “This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities.”
Now, as we round the corner through spring and toward the one-year anniversary—and given the debate surrounding NIL—we wanted to take a look at how it’s going. While some deals have been widely publicized, like Alabama’s current Heisman winner Bryce Young—who reportedly made a cool mil in endorsement deals before ever taking a snap for the Tide—most athletes have received endorsements on a much smaller scale.
But it’s not Young-level lucrative for everyone. Think about it: With nearly half a million student athletes in the NCAA across 24 sports, there is an extremely deep pool of talent for businesses to pull from. … Yes, Bojangles picked up UNC footballer Sam Howell and NC State basketballer Cam Hayes, but large deals—especially on the local level—have been rare to date as companies slowly dip their toes into the waters of collegiate athletics.
“Working with smaller brands really helps grow your following and customize what you want to do and think you should be doing… and helps get your foot in the door because that will eventually lead to you having bigger endorsements.”
—Melissa Evans
“I definitely think there are a ton of opportunities for the community to get involved and support their athletes,” says Cameron Wells, co-CEO of OFFSZN Marketing Group, a Raleigh-based company that represents both professional and collegiate athletes, including notables like NC State football star Thayer Thomas. “Why shouldn’t businesses who already have relationships with the schools—like sponsors that contribute directly to the program—get involved directly with the athlete? If you are already noticing the benefit of seeing your sign up there, why not leverage their social media, leverage their clothing or help them connect with the fans through a meet and greet?”
Case in point—and the first to ink a local NIL deal post-policy passage—is Raleigh restaurant sports haven Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant (founded by former NC State football player Amedeo DeAngelis), which signed seven NC State student athletes right out of the gate last July.
Durham’s The Dankery also sponsored multiple athletes across various sports. “I chose to do some NIL deals to highlight athletes’ careers and boost their personal brand,” says Ian Burris, owner of The Dankery, originally a food truck that is now a Durham hot spot. “Creating relationships with the athletes has been great as well. There are some awesome athletes here in North Carolina, and it’s great to work with them and get to know them.”
One of The Dankery’s #DankAthletes is Melissa Evans, an NC State volleyball player who recently finished her last season as a college athlete. Since Evans only had less than a year of eligibility to use her NIL, she admits that she probably got less from it than athletes in the future—but it has been beneficial in growing her brand.
Now able to partner with jewelry designers and local photographers, Evans—who, with more than 11,000 followers, is considered a microinfluencer—can grow her brand in a digital world worshiped by Generation Z.
“Working with smaller brands really helps grow your following,” says Evans—“and customize what you want to do and think you should be doing… and helps get your foot in the door because that will eventually lead to you having bigger endorsements.”
“We have now seen a shift to social media marketing influencer campaigns,” adds Corey Staniscia, director of external affairs of Dreamfield, an Orlando-based company representing NIL athletes. “This tends to be due to the easiness of how these campaigns are run. As long as the athletes are contributing to the ROI of the company, companies will continue to run these marketing campaigns.”
In conversations with NC State about the NIL experience to date, the university acknowledges the policy’s fledgling status as paramount. It is, after all, not even a year in—and while we’ve seen the likes of Heisman winners’ NIL deals skyrocket, it’s only the beginning for the other 99% of NCAA athletes. Now that we’ve had some test cases and are all gaining a better understanding of how this works, the playing field will no doubt start to level—and the university fully expects more athletes to participate.
And with a nod to that imminent growth, Staniscia adds, “we have also seen an increase in how much certain athletes have continued to realize their own market price and market value, along with what companies are willing to pay.”
NC State’s engineering program expands to meet the growing STEM needs of the Triangle.
North Carolina’s growing tech economy demands a larger skilled workforce—and NC State is stepping up to the plate, expanding its engineering and computer science program by almost 40% over the next five years.
“It’s very exciting to see Raleigh and the Triangle experiencing such dramatic economic growth,” says NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson. “We’re very involved with economic development. A lot of the companies that were looking to come to the Triangle—NC State was very involved in recruiting them here.”
It is no secret that the Triangle has become a tech hub, from existing companies like IBM and Cisco to the announcement of the arrival of Apple, Google and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. By adding 2,000 graduate and 2,000 undergraduate students in needed disciplines, the state’s largest public university is positioned to help contribute to the growing workforce.
“It’s important to us to meet the growing needs of the state,” says Woodson. “Our growth is really a response to the critical needs of the state of North Carolina, and we’re pleased to be the driver of the economy of the state.”
The growth will be funded by Engineering North Carolina’s Future, a state legislative initiative that will provide $50 million to hire faculty and support staff, as well as upgrade facilities. (Engineering NC’s Future is also providing funding to NC A&T and UNC Charlotte.)
“The legislature has always been very supportive,” says Louis Martin-Vega, dean of NC State’s College of Engineering. “They also have made the connection very clearly between greater investments in engineering, computer science and economic development—not only in the Triangle area, but in the whole state.”
More recently, the commitments that have been made by worldwide companies to come here and expand and grow depend a great deal on talent in the engineering and computer science fields that are already here and have existed here for many years.
“I don’t think [the companies] would even be looking at coming to the Triangle or NC State if it weren’t already for the track record that there is,” says Martin-Vega. “Our graduates have already contributed significantly to the growth and development of so many companies in this area and in the state.”
Through growth, the university has the capability to keep potential students in the state. Last year alone, the College of Engineering denied admission to 1,400 undergraduate engineering applicants who had a 3.75 or higher unweighted GPA due to lack of space. Unfortunately, many of those students not accepted left North Carolina for other large engineering programs like Purdue, Virginia Tech and Illinois. Now, there will be fewer missed opportunities to retain those students.
“Our graduates want to stay here for the most part,” says Martin-Vega. “If there are opportunities in this area, this is exactly where they stay. It builds on itself. It’s been growing and building for years, and we’re really proud that our college has grown and now is going to continue to grow even more.”
Wake Tech 4.0
NC State is not alone in advancing their sciences. Wake Tech’s current main goal is to construct its East Campus, or Eastern Wake 4.0, with the focus of growing engineering, biopharm and applied engineering to meet demands. (The campus should start serving students in 2024.)
“We’re growing in our campuses, and we have a lot of opportunities directly in response to that growth and to support that growth,” says Keith Babuszczak, chief campus officer for the Wake Tech RTP Campus and Provost of Information Technology Programs.
Also, by having courses that easily transfer to its partnership schools like NC State, (including Engineering Mechanics – Statics; Engineering Mechanics – Dynamics; and Logic System Design) Wake Tech’s fundamental engineering courses are able to give students a head start in their engineering career. Additionally, Wake Tech is able to encourage high school students to enroll in its technical programs, preparing them for some of the opportunities coming to the Triangle.
“Wake Tech is uniquely responsive to help meet the needs of the existing labor market, as well as the companies coming in,” says Babuszczak. “We provide access for a wide diversity of students to enter into these high-tech fields, and companies say hiring a diverse workforce is important. Through multiple campuses, our mission as a community college is to provide access to a diverse population and provide access to graduation and jobs.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE A virtual food court is coming to Wake County—and it’s bringing a plethora of flavor to the Triangle.
Taking up the old Golden Corral space on Capital Boulevard, David Foye’s Flavor District will be the largest ghost kitchen in the Triangle, housing a number of different restaurants serving a variety of cuisines. Customers will have the ability to order from one or multiple restaurants via the website and either pick up their food, or have it delivered—aka one-stop dining at its best.
“Ghost kitchens are beneficial right now because people aren’t necessarily always looking for a great dining experience,” says Foye, who also owns two commissary kitchens in the Triangle. “Sometimes you just want great food where you are, and it gives people the opportunity to have great food delivered to them at their given location.”
While the pandemic served as a catalyst in the surge of ghost kitchens—or kitchens where meals are prepared but have no seating for diners—food delivery has been on the rise for years. In fact, between 2015 and 2020, the food delivery market revenue grew 204%, thanks in large part to the popularity of delivery apps, according to Business of Apps. Ghost kitchens can help restaurants meet this delivery need without paying for the overhead of brick-and-mortar dining areas.
“A lot of restaurants have really been hit hard with COVID, and this offers a lot of flexibility for startup food businesses and restaurants within the given area,” says Foye. “If you look at the average strip mall restaurant that pays for a kitchen that has six tables for dine-in, you hardly ever see anyone in there. The vendors are paying for their real estate, and this really gives them the opportunity to lower their operating expenses and be more profitable in a trying time for a lot of restaurants—and for the restaurant industry.”
Foye hopes to provide opportunities for both restaurants looking to step up, as well as those needing to step down from a full-service restaurant to only delivery and takeout. He also wants to make his ghost kitchen a little less opaque than others.
“Many ghost kitchens are just that, so no one knows where the restaurant is or the location of where their food came from,” says Foye. “It’s a mystery to them, and it scares a lot of customers. The Flavor District is in a very visible place off of two major roads that pretty much join North Raleigh and Wake Forest. It gives people an opportunity to know where their food came from, and they also have the opportunity to go to that location and pick their food up.”
With Euromonitor International predicting that ghost kitchens could reach a $1 trillion market by 2030, it looks like Foye headed in the right direction.
Whether you are “Sober Curious,” have a boozy holiday hangover, are meeting a New Year’s resolution or just looking to cut some cocktail cals for a bit, the local Downtown scene has expansive options to stay dry this season and beyond.
It’s that “spirited” time of year again… the calendar overflowing with bubbly holiday parties, wine dinners, boozy brunches—a daily deluge of spirits. Enter that familiar holiday hangover—and the inevitable desire to detox and dry out, giving your liver, wallet and waistline a much-needed break.
While detoxes and dry periods are by no means new concepts, especially after the overindulgent holidays—hey, Dry January, which has now been around for almost a decade—what has changed are the spirit-free offerings emerging and expanding throughout the Triangle.
No longer are we stuck in the world of soda water, soft drinks and O’Doul’s (thank God), as local bars and restos have begun embracing alcohol substitutes, like nonalcoholic distilled spirit Seedlip, and incorporating fresh produce, aloe tonic, chai spice tea and the like as tools to devise sober cocktails (aka “mocktails”) that rival their more “spirited” sister sippers.
“I started just messing around with different teas, herbs and spices, and I noticed there was an appreciation for it for people who just wanted to feel included,” says Josh Gagne of Killjoy, a self-dubbed “colorful, comfortable cocktail bar where all drinks are treated with the same exquisite respect.” Adds Gagne, “There was such a bad rap for people who just ordered a soda water or something while they were with a group of people who were ordering drinks. I always want every guest that walks in, no matter what, to feel comfortable.”
That inclusive concept is one you see on the bar menu at Wye Hill as well, which updates seasonally and features sundry delicious zero-proof selects. “This fall we have a really incredible option called What’s Up Doc that our bar manager crafted for us,” says Wye Hill co-owner Sara Abernethy. “It’s a delicious fall treat with fresh carrot, ginger and citrus, and it’s really quite tasty and looks like a carrot. It sounds kind of funny, but the ingredients are just a really nice combination together.”
Abernethy intends to expand the restaurant’s zero-proof options this coming year because, she says, more and more guests are asking for alcohol-free craft cocktails. “I just think there’s been a reckoning with people’s habits and vices,” she adds. “People still want to go out and enjoy a good time, but maybe just want to have a little more flexibility in what’s available to them.”
Beyond Wye Hill, other uberpopular and highly respected watering holes are jumping on the wagon—from Atlantic Lounge’s “Wagon” drinks to Dram and Draught’s highly curated spirit-free cocktail menu. Or simply removing alcohol completely (!), like Carrboro’s Coronato Pizza.
“We have some great products like CBD sparkling waters, craft nonalcoholic beers, bitter Italian sodas and a full list of 0% craft cocktails,” says chef Teddy Diggs of Coronato, who knew he needed to replace alcohol with amazing drinks when he removed it from his menu in September. “We craft our 0% cocktails seasonally, so you can always find produce in our drinks, like our Fizzy Up-Beet, which has juiced local beets, pressed pomegranates and sparkling oolong tea.”
While Coronato is unique in its total elimination of alcohol to create an environment that celebrates zero-proof sips and allows everyone to fully participate in the same experience, the popular pizza spot is clearly not alone in providing sober options—leaving no doubt that drink menus are becoming more inclusive. And to that, we raise our spirit-free ’tails. Cheers!
