Monday, August 11, 2014

NC Colonel Thomas S. Kenan




Friends and Supporters of the Cape Fear Historical Institute,

We are pleased to announce that we have added to our “Historical Essays” page the biography of Duplin County native Colonel Thomas S. Kenan.  He was born at Liberty Hall in Kenansville, the family home of the Kenan family and currently a beautifully-maintained historic site available for guided tours.  Col. Kenan’s grandfather was Revolutionary War Brigadier-General James Kenan, who commanded the Wilmington militia district.

Col. Kenan led the Forty-third North Carolina regiment at Gettysburg where he was severely wounded and captured, and sent to Johnson’s Island prison where he remained until the end of the War. 

He subsequently became mayor of Wilson, North Carolina Attorney General, and Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court.  His niece, Mary Lily, married Florida developer Henry Flagler who made a generous donation to Richmond’s “Battle Abbey” museum and Confederate memorial project at Col. Kenan’s request.


Bernhard Thuersam, Director
Cape Fear Historical Institute
"Documenting Cape Fear People, Places and History"
www.cfhi.net  

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