Confederate States Armory - Kenansvlle, NC - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

Marker Erected by: North Carolina Civil War Trails
County of Marker: Duplin County
Location of Marker: Mallard Rd. (NC 50) & Main St. (NC 11), Kenansville,
Marker Text:

In April 1861, Louis Froelich, a Bavarian immigrant, began manufacturing uniform buttons in Wilmington for North Carolina soldiers. With Hungarian partner Col. Bela Estaván, Froelich operated his first arms factory for the Confederacy from November 1861 until March 1862, when the partnership was dissolved. Froelich continued alone until yellow fever closed the armory in September, when he bought 2.5 acres here from Alsa Southernland. Although he reopened the Wilmington facility in November, a fire closed it for good the next month. In March 1863, Froelich moved here, and he opened the Kenansville armory by May. On July 4, however, Lt. Col. George W. Lewis' 3rd New York Cavalry burned it down while raiding Confederate lines of communication. Froelich rebuilt it and continued to produce military equipment, forming a partnership with Jacob H.N. Cornehlson in January 1864. The armory is last known to have operated that June. After the war, Froelich turned to agriculture, selling scuppernongwine and other farm products.

He later moved to Halifax County, where he died in 1873.

Kenansville's Cowan Museum displays an iron metalworking block once used at the armory. The Kenansville Sword, identified by the letters CSA in the handguard, is the best known of the Froelich swords and the only one clearly identifiable as having been produced by him. The few that survive are in museums and private collections. Liberty Hall Plantation in Kenansville displays a Froelich sword once owned by Col. Thomas Kenan.

Liberty Hall, the Kenan family home, was built in the first half of the 180s. It has been fully restored to reflect the lifestyle of the mid-19th century. You can tour the main house, ten out-buildings, and the gardens.