1855-1879

A Yankee bullet pierced the center of this tray.

Federal troops shot holes through this large tray after seizing it from the "Fair Oaks" home of E.J. Lilly in Fayetteville in 1865.

The big bullet hole in the center of the prized family heirloom destroyed the inscription "Leak," which was Mrs. Lilly's maiden name.

A son, Dr. H.W. Lilly, recalled years later that the Union troops couldn't take the "heavily plated waiter" because it was too big to carry with them - "and they contented themselves by setting it up as a target on the rifle range. It lies now on a side table in our dining room perforated with Yankee bullets, bearing mute testimony to the dark days of '65."

Fayetteville's Bank of Clarendon issued this $10 note.

This $10 note from "The Bank of Clarendon at Fayetteville" is from the mid-1850s, shortly after the bank was chartered.

The illustration on the left side shows a family in a pastoral setting, and the other illustration is of a river steamboat.

The bill is signed by John D. Williams, bank president. The Bank of Clarendon was on Hay Street.

Lt. Gen. Theophilus Hunter Holmes' family retains many of his possessions, including this sword.

This is the sword of Confederate Lt. Gen. Theophilus Hunter Holmes, who is buried at MacPherson Presbyterian Church.

Even though Holmes rose to prominence in the Confederacy, his sword carries "US" initials. That's because it's the sword that he carried before the war as a U.S. Army major and then throughout the war while fighting for the South.

Holmes, the son of North Carolina Gov. Gabriel Holmes, was born in Sampson County in 1804. He died in Cumberland County in 1880.

His sword, Bible and other possessions have been passed down in the family to a great-granddaughter, Mary McQueen MacPherson (Mrs. Louis) Spilman of Fayetteville.

Rifles made at the Fayetteville Arsenal bear the city's name on their gun plates.

The Fayetteville rifle, in the hands of a skilled marksman, was a long-range weapon during the Civil War. The .58-caliber rifle's range was 1,000 yards. Its Minie balls were capable of penetrating 4 inches into soft pine. Muskets made at the time had an effective range of 50 yards.

The Fayetteville rifle is almost an exact copy of the 1855 rifle made at the U.S. arsenals in Springfield, Mass., and Harpers Ferry, Va. The only difference is the Fayetteville version has a longer barrel.

Most of the equipment to manufacture the Fayetteville rifle came from the Harpers Ferry arsenal after it was captured by the Confederates.

The Fayetteville armory made every known ordnance during the war, according to an account by S.A. Ashe, who was the assistant arsenal commander for the Confederates. Yet the arsenal's most important contributions were the Fayetteville rifle and the ammunition it made.

No one is sure what year Cape Fear Baptist Church was founded.

In 1859, members of the Cape Fear Baptist Church filed in, walking through the four columns that form the building's facade.

That year, the church was already more than 100 years old. Some church records say Cape Fear Baptist was formed in 1756.

But other records indicate an earlier date. According to the records of Welch Neck Baptist Church in Society Hill, S.C., Cape Fear Baptist "sprung immediately" following the organization of the Welch Neck church. The South Carolina church started in 1738.

Cape Fear Baptist is on Butler Nursery Road in the Gray's Creek area.