From a press release • “North Carolina in the Great War,” a traveling exhibit about World War I, is on display at Town Creek Indian Mound through Aug. 12.
“It’s an excellent opportunity to learn more about the war, and North Carolina’s role in it, for folks who might not be able to travel to Raleigh for the larger WWI exhibit in the Museum of History,” said site manager Rich Thompson. “We’re excited to share this story with our region while incorporating local and American Indian aspects of the engagement during this centennial.”
The exhibit was developed by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
WWI began with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, on June 28, 1914. The U.S. was reluctant to enter the conflict as the casualties to European armies approached 1 million by 1916. Although the U.S. was initially neutral, continuing German atrocities, including attacks on American vessels along our coast, led President Woodrow Wilson to declare war on Germany in April 1917. Ships for the effort were built in Wilmington, and in September 1918, Camp Bragg, a small artillery training installation, was established outside Fayetteville. That facility has since grown to become home to more active-duty troops than any other base in the U.S. Army – the largest branch of the military.
Agriculture was the linchpin of the state’s economy in 1917, and North Carolina farmers fed their fellow citizens while also providing crops for the insatiable textile mills and tobacco factories. Women joined the Red Cross, YMCA and Salvation Army to serve as nurses in military hospitals at home and in France. Children grew thrift gardens to earn money to buy war bonds, and industry and individuals united to support the war effort.
North Carolinians served in the major battles of the Western Front in 1918, including with the British Army in intense combat in Belgium and France. The U.S. suffered more than 275,000 casualties and more than 50,000 deaths in five months of action in 1918.
The mission of Town Creek is to interpret and preserve the history of the American Indians who once lived at the site. A National Historic Landmark, it is North Carolina’s only State Historic Site dedicated to American Indian heritage.
Tour groups are welcome and encouraged. The site is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and is located at 509 Town Creek Mound Road, Mount Gilead, NC, 27306. For more information, click here.