The Blue and Gray Navies

Two ships named NORTH CAROLINA participated in the Civil War: the Ship-of-the-Line NORTH CAROLINA served in the Union Navy and the Ironclad NORTH CAROLINA served in the Confederate Navy. Carolina Living History Guild members will set up displays that highlight the history of the USS North Carolina and the CSS North Carolina during the American Civil War. Displays will include steam engineering, ironclad ship construction, navigation, small arms of the US and CS navies, naval ordnance (artillery), uniforms, and the "arts of the sailor".  Visitors will be able to view reproductions of period small arms and working models of steam engines, as well as many other items. Guild members will discuss with visitors the vast differences between the 1824 ship-of-the-line and the newly constructed Confederate ironclad gunboat, and how these differences highlighted the change in naval and military technology in the 1860s.



The Carolina Living History Guild is an organization dedicated to educating the public about the history of the United States during the French & Indian War, American Revolution, War of 1812, and American Civil War, with particular emphasis on the maritime and naval heritage of the country. Many of the Guild's members are employees, volunteers, and/or board members at museums and historic sites across North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, and are dedicated to the preservation of the nation's history and heritage. The Guild has conducted living history programs at many North Carolina historic sites and state parks, as well as at several national parks throughout its six years of existence.