Secesh (@Secesh)

The occupation of Chapel Hill [NC] by Union troops lasted for seventeen days, from April 17th until May 3rd [1865]. During that period the army and the town learned of Gen. Lee's surrender, President Lincoln's assassination, and Gen. Johnston's surrender to Sherman at the Bennett farmhouse a few miles northwest of Chapel Hill, near Durham's Station... Once the soldiers and townspeople understood that the hostilities were over, they mingled freely, if somewhat uncomfortably, and became less anxious as time passed... Mallett [a local merchant] also was grateful for the protection offered by his house guard, but he disapproved of the socializing that took place between the soldiers and the young ladies on the Hill. Doubtless he was shocked to learn that a courtship was developing between Gen. Atkins and Gov. Swain's daughter Eleanor, known as Ellie. Atkins was mustered out of the Union army on June 21st, and on August 23rd he married Ellie Swain in Chapel Hill. The wedding understandably caused a sensation. Many invited guests boycotted the festivities, and students tolled the college bell for three hours, then hung Gov. Swain and Gen. Atkins in effigy... -- Lindemann, Erika, True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at the University of North Carolina, Chapter 6. #sec025 #civilwar #south #confederacy #chapelhillnc #occupation #cavalry #gensmithdykinsatkins #eleanorswain #marriage #govswain