Bennett Place Memorial Site

This site is the original farmhouse of the Bennetts from the 19th century. The Bennett’s lived a regular southern lifestyle which consisted of a lot of farming. The family was confronted by the two generals as a commonplace to meet to sign a surrender document. Later the Bennetts would find themselves in the middle of the largest Civil War troop surrender.  

This typical family agreed to let both the Union and Confederate generals and troops to meet at their farm and discuss the war in private. In 1865 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Johnston sent a telegram to General Sherman to discuss a truce. There were many meetings and discussions of demands from both troops before the generals met at Bennett’s place. Eventually in regards to stopping the war both the Johnston and Sherman met at the Bennetts farm to sign the papers for a truce. Which is now seen as the biggest Civil War surrender. 

The location now is a collection of the reconstructed farmhouse and a small museum. The site also contains the surrender table from which Johnston and Sherman signed the surrender papers.  

"A Brief History of the Bennett Family," Bennett Place State Historical Sites, accessed August 2, 2019, http://www.bennettplacehistoricsite.com/history/bennett-family/