The Carolinas Campaign led by Major General William T. Sherman in 1865 is often overlooked due to the events that occured in Virginia at the time. Following his successful “March to the Sea” in February 1865, Sherman marched north to join Union forces in Virginia and defeat General Robert E. Lee. However, the Confederacy in the Carolinas was not yet defeated. While Sherman advanced through South Carolina, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, who had been reappointed to command despite being semi-retired, gathered troops to resist Sherman in the neighboring state. In this discussion led by author Wade Sokolosky, we will explore the intense “Two Weeks of Fury” in North Carolina during March 1865.

Colonel Wade Sokolosky (Ret.), a native of Beaufort, North Carolina, is a graduate of East Carolina University and a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army. He is one of North Carolina’s leading experts on the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. Wade has lectured throughout the country speaking to roundtables, various societies, and organizations, and at historical sites. He is the author of North Carolina’s Confederate Hospitals, 1861-1863, Volume I. Wade is also co-author (with Mark A. Smith) of To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming: The Battle of Wise’s Forks, March 1865, and No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar: Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro, and the compiler of “Final Roll Call” Confederate Losses during the Carolinas Campaign.”

He is the recipient of the Raleigh Civil War Round Table’s 2017 T. Harry Gatton Award for his important efforts to study, preserve, and share the Civil War heritage of his native North Carolina. Additionally, Wade is a tour guide with the Friends of Bentonville Battlefield and a Brunswick County Civil War Round Table Advisory Council member. Wade lives in Beaufort, North Carolina, and works for the N.C. Department of Transportation Ferry System.