Bentonville Battlefield will showcase authentic North Carolina culture and heritage on Saturday, July 14, in the second installment of the popular three-part summer program “2nd Saturdays.”

The theme for July at Bentonville Battlefield in Four Oaks is “From Slaves to Soldiers: The African American Experience during the Civil War.”

Presentations will include “A War with Many Voices: African American Memory and the Civil War,” by Michelle Lanier, Curator of Multicultural Initiatives with North Carolina State Historic Sites at 10:30 a.m. Earl Ijames, a curator at the North Carolina Museum of History will offer a presentation on African American Confederate Soldiers at noon. April Turner from Life as Art Productions will perform her program “African Stories and Dance” at 1:30 p.m. The final presentation will be made at 3 p.m. by Bentonville’s Buck Dunn Memorial summer intern Rachel Moore, who will present her research about the psychology of food, and how it was prepared by and for slaves.

The Harper House Chapter of the UDC will be on site selling raffle tickets for a hand-sewn quilt as well as a framed print. The Friends of Bentonville will be selling T-shirts and hats in support of the battlefield. Visitors will also be able to tour the Harper House, a local farm house that was used as a field hospital for the XIV Corps during the battle.

The Battle of Bentonville on March 19-21, 1865, involved 80,000 troops and was the last Confederate offensive against Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Bentonville Battlefield interprets the battle and field hospital, where many Confederates were left in the aftermath.

Sponsored by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the 2nd Saturdays series takes place at 37 State Historic Sites and museums on the second Saturday of the summer months. The more than 100 events across the state bring together history and authentic North Carolina culture. Each site will have its own stylized theme; and many sites will have artists and/or musicians. A complete schedule of events is at www.ncculture.com.

For information call 919- 807-7389.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives. Cultural Resources champions North Carolina’s creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state’s economy. To learn more, visit www.ncculture.com.