At age 19, Woodbury Wheeler entered the service of North Carolina and served four years with the Confederacy. Wheeler rose to the rank of Captain of the 10th Battalion of North Carolina Artillery. His battalion fought in the Battle of Bentonville on 19-21 March 1865. During the battle, the Confederacy mounted a tactical offense against the Union army. It would be their last. In the largest battle ever fought in North Carolina, the Confederacy made a valiant attempt to defeat the army of General William Sherman, but he was slowed only briefly. Captain Wheeler was taken prisoner at Bentonville and sent to Fort Johnson in Sandusky, Ohio where he made this autograph book. He was later transferred to Governors Island, New York. After the war he was paroled and returned to North Carolina.
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