The Fayetteville Arsenal-- Part 4: Destruction of the Arsenal

Col. Childs' force resisted for a short time but were overwhelmed by Sherman's numbers.  Sherman entered Fayetteville March 11, 1865.  He took over the arsenal which had been stripped of its arms, munitions and useful machinery before the Confederates retreated.

The Harpers Ferry rifle manufacturing machinery was said to have been hidden in the Egypt Coal Mine, near Sanford, North Carolina.

Continuing with his scorched earth policy and because the arsenal had been supplying the enemy with weapons, Sherman ordered the arsenal razed to the ground.  His soldiers used railroad rails as battering rams to knock the buildings down and then set the remains on fire.

As the fire raged, some remaining artillery shells exploded and completed the destruction.

--Old Secesh