# Sherman's Carolinas Campaign *Columbia to the largest surrender* Sherman's Carolinas Campaign is a ~280-mile back-roads route from Columbia to Durham on US 1, US 301 and NC 82, driven in 2–3 days, that stays off I-95 / I-40 through the Atlantic Coast. - **Drive:** Columbia → Durham - **Distance:** ~280 mi - **Days:** 2–3 - **Highways:** US 1, US 301, NC 82 - **Avoids:** I-95 / I-40 - **Region:** Atlantic Coast - **Themes:** Civil War, History & Markers, Small Towns, Music & Juke Joints Sherman called the march through the Carolinas harder than Georgia, and his veterans agreed: winter swamps, burning Columbia, and the war's true final act. This route follows the army north: the six bronze stars where shells hit the South Carolina State House, Cheraw's spared streets (and Dizzy Gillespie's corner), the leveled Fayetteville arsenal, Bentonville's last great counterattack, and Bennett Place, where the largest surrender of the war, nearly 90,000 men, ended it seventeen days after Appomattox. Markers: Carolinas Campaign Civil War Trails signs pace the route; Bentonville's driving loop is the standout. ## The drive, segment by segment ### The Burning Capital *Columbia → Cheraw · ~95 mi* The shell-starred State House and the disputed fire, then the sand hills to Cheraw's spared green. Stops: - **SC State House stars** (Columbia) · Civil War — Six bronze stars mark where Sherman's shells struck the granite in February 1865; the burning of the city that night remains the war's most argued fire. - **Cheraw & Dizzy's corner** (Cheraw) · Music & Juke Joints — A town Sherman's officers admired enough to spare, per the local telling, and the hometown of Dizzy Gillespie, whose bent-trumpet statue holds the green. ### Fayetteville & the Arsenal *Cheraw → Bentonville · ~85 mi* The arsenal Sherman erased, then east to the fields of the war's last great Confederate attack. Stops: - **Museum of the Cape Fear & Arsenal** (Fayetteville) · Civil War — The US arsenal seized in 1861 and methodically wrecked by Sherman in 1865; the ghost-frame steel outline stands over the foundations. - **Bentonville Battlefield** (Four Oaks) · Civil War — North Carolina's largest battle, March 1865, Johnston's last full-scale counterpunch; the Harper House interprets the field hospital in unsparing detail. ### Surrender Roads *Bentonville → Durham · ~100 mi* Through Smithfield and Raleigh's intact capitol to the Bennett farmhouse where the numbers ended. Stops: - **NC State Capitol** (Raleigh) · History & Markers — The 1840 Greek Revival capitol surrendered intact, spared the Columbia treatment; the old chambers survive upstairs. - **Bennett Place** (Durham) · Civil War — In this farmhouse Johnston surrendered nearly 90,000 men to Sherman, the largest surrender of the war, seventeen days after Appomattox. The quiet is the exhibit. ## Tips and best time to go - Run March to the Sea first and this second; the two routes are one campaign with a state line in it. - Bentonville's anniversary living history lands in mid-March; the Harper House tour is the essential ticket. ## Worth a detour - **Averasboro Battlefield** — The delaying action two days before Bentonville, told through the Smith family plantations it swept across. - **Camden Revolutionary War Site** — The earlier war's southern disaster and restored 1780s town, a reminder these roads have been fought over twice. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long is Sherman's Carolinas Campaign and how many days does it take? Sherman's Carolinas Campaign is about 280 miles and takes 2–3 days at a back-roads pace. ### Where does Sherman's Carolinas Campaign start and end? It runs from Columbia to Durham. ### Which highways does Sherman's Carolinas Campaign follow? It follows US 1, US 301 and NC 82. ### Which interstate does Sherman's Carolinas Campaign replace? It avoids I-95 / I-40, using US 1, US 301 and NC 82 instead. ### How many stops are on Sherman's Carolinas Campaign, and what are the highlights? 6 stops are mapped, including SC State House stars, Cheraw & Dizzy's corner, Museum of the Cape Fear & Arsenal, Bentonville Battlefield and NC State Capitol. ### When is the best time to drive Sherman's Carolinas Campaign? The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “Run March to the Sea first and this second; the two routes are one campaign with a state line in it.” ## Connects with - [Gold, Clay & Longleaf](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/piedmont) — Raleigh → Columbia - [US 301: The Ghost Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/us301-ghost-road) — Emporia → Santee - [The Old Ninety Six District](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/old-96) — Augusta → Abbeville --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/shermans-carolinas Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-05