Spies, Secrets, and Shenanigans in Civil War Craven County

Second Eddie Ellis presentation added

The New Bern Historical Society is pleased to offer a second presentation of Tales of Espionage in Civil War Craven County featuring historian and author Eddie Ellis, on Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center.  Tickets are $10 and are available at 252-638-8558 or www.NewBernHistorical.com/tickets.
In eastern North Carolina during the Civil War, Union occupiers existed alongside Southern civilians. Military leaders struggled to capture territory, railroads, waterways.  One of the most sought-after commodities was information.  Ellis explains, “The Burnside-created enclave of coastal forts strung from New Bern to Fort Macon was the focus of intense intelligence gathering and clandestine shenanigans from 1862 till the end of the struggle between North and South. Spies are, by their very nature, nameless. Fresh analysis of the war’s voluminous records, however, now allows us to name names. This program will reveal previously unknown tales of the dark network of Southern secret agents, both men and women, who operated here.”
While the Aug. 15 Lunch & Learn presentation on this exciting program sold out early, there are still tickets available for on Thursday, Aug. 16.
Edward Barnes Ellis, Jr. has worked as a journalist, a lobbyist and a laborer. A native of Craven County, Eddie is the descendant of a family that recorded the first land deed in North Carolina. Among his ancestors are settlers at Jamestown, Va., and veterans of the American Revolution and the War Between the States. He’s been hooked on history since elementary school.
For most of his career, he was engaged in the newspaper business as a reporter, photographer, columnist, editor and publisher. Eddie is the founder of the Havelock News and the former publisher of Cherry Point’s Windsock. He was chosen to be the official historian of the City of Havelock in 1984.
Eddie has written three histories based on his years of personal research. His 2005 book In This Small Place: Amazing Tales of the First 300 Years of Havelock and Craven County, North
Carolina, is the first volume of history ever written about the Havelock-Cherry Point area. His second book, New Bern History 101, a compelling portrait of the city of his birth, received the 2010 Book Award of the North Carolina Society of Historians. His third, a photo book entitled Historic Images of Havelock & Cherry Point, offers more than 170 rare images and detailed descriptions of the community collected over four decades.
This Historical Society presentation, in partnership with Tryon Palace, will be at 6:30 pm on Thursday, August 16 at the Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center. Tickets are $10 and are available by calling the New Bern Historical Society at 252-638-8558 or can be ordered at www.NewBernHistorical.org/tickets.
The mission of the New Bern Historical Society is to celebrate and promote New Bern and its heritage through events and education.  Offices are located in the historic Attmore-Oliver House at 511 Broad Street in New Bern.  For more information, call 252-638-8558 or go www.NewBernHistorical.org or www.facebook.com/NewBernHistoricalSociety.