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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  McLaws Division Marker at Averasboro Battlefield, Chicora Cemetery, Dunn. Photo courtesy of Rusty Long

  • Monument Name

    McLaws Division Marker at Averasboro Battlefield, Chicora Cemetery, Dunn

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Civil War, 1861-1865

  • Creator

    Edgerton Memorials, Inc., Dunn NC, Foundry

  • City

    Dunn

  • County

    Harnett

  • Description

    The monument is a granite slab commemorating those who died in the division commanded by Major General Lafayette McLaws that manned the third line of defense for the Confederates during the Battle of Averasboro. The slab has a gable top fashioned after a Confederate grave marker (Union grave markers were rounded) and stands approximated 6 ft. tall on a double base of granite on concrete. Carved into the monument above the inscription are symbols for South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia for the home states of most southern soldiers that fought at Averasboro. The marker was donated by the family of Mark Clapp a landscape architect. His name and NC landscape architect registration number are included on the marker.

    Images: Back

  • Inscription

    Front, south face: DEDICATED TO THE / CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS / OF / MCLAWS DIVISION / WHO FOUGHT AND DIED / DURING / THE BATTLE OF AVERASBORO / MARCH 15-16 1865

    IN LOVING MEMORY / MARK ST. JOHN CLAPP / DEC. 5, 1961 NOV. 23, 1999 / NC RLA NO 877 Back, north face: MCLAWS DIVISION / BLANCHARD’S BRIGADE / 1ST AND 2ND BN SC RESERVES / 6TH AND 7TH BN SC RESERVES / KAY’S CO SC RESERVES / CONNER’S BRIGADE / 2ND SC 3RD SC / 7TH SC 8TH SC / 15TH SC 20TH SC / 3RD SC BN / FISER’S BRIGADE / 1ST GA / 5TH AND 6TH GA RESERVES / 2ND GA BN RESERVES / 27TH GA BN / HARDY’S BRIGADE / 50TH NC 77TH NC / 10TH NC HEAVY ARTY BN / HARRISON’S BRIGADE / 5TH GA 32ND GA / 47TH GA / ARTILLERY / BROOK’S BTRY

  • Custodian

    Averasboro Battlefield Commission

  • Dedication Date

    October 27, 2001

  • Decade

    2000s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.263920 , -78.672920 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Series

    Averasboro Battlefield

  • Supporting Sources

      "McLaws Division Monument, Averasboro Battlefield, North Carolina," Waymarking.com, (accessed November 3, 2020) Link

      Averasboro Battlefield & Museum website. Averasboro Battlefield Commission, Inc., http://www.averasboro.com/Home.aspx, (accessed September 21, 2015) Link

      Faulkner, Ronnie W. 2006. "Battle of Averasboro," NCPedia.org, (accessed September 21, 2015) Link

      Leclercq, Matt. “Averasboro plans salute,” Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, NC), March 17, 2001

      Leskanic, Todd. “Monuments Mark Battle Site,” Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, NC), October 28, 2001

      “Confederate Soldiers of McLaws Division,” The Historical Marker Database, HMbd.org, (accessed October 3, 2015) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite

  • Sponsors

    Averasboro Battlefield Commission

  • Monument Dedication and Unveiling

    A short ceremony was held on a cold and windy day October day during which several members of the battlefield commission gave short speeches. Lewis Lawrence, commander of the 50th North Carolina Regiment was quoted as saying that the average Confederate soldier fought “because his county had been invaded, pure and simple.” Myrtice Coley sang Dixie a capella and John Page, Jr. played taps as a flower was placed on the monument. Men dressed in traditional Civil War uniforms fired a 21-gun salute to complete the ceremony.

  • Subject Notes

    The Battle of Averasboro was a delaying action fought on March 15-16, 1865 against the Union army commanded by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. The Union army of 60,000 men was moving northward after having occupied Fayetteville and burning the arsenal located there. The 6,000 Confederate troops of Lt. General William Hardee were ordered to engage the enemy, giving General Joseph E. Johnston time to consolidate his forces for the major battle that took place at Bentonville on March 19-21, 1865.

  • Location

    The memorial stands in Chicora Civil War Cemetery at the Averasboro Battlefield site (NC Highway 82, also known as Burnett Road). The monument is close to the Confederate Dead Marker, Confederate Memorial, South Carolina Memorial and North Carolina Memorial. The Union Soldiers Memorial is also in the walking distance. The entire area, along with nearby plantation houses, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Averasboro Battlefield & Museum site is located nearby, on the other side of NC Highway 82.

  • Landscape

    The landscape is primarily agricultural, with sloping hills, streams and wide vistas. The marker sits on the grass behind the iron fence.

  • Death Space

    Yes

  • Post Dedication Use

    The site has been used for Confederate Memorial Day services and Battle of Averasboro re-enactments have been held on the battlefield.

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