<P> The Bennetts never fully recovered from the war, and in 1878, James Bennett died and the family moved to the new community of Durham to begin a life without him . The Bennett Farm was abandoned and fell into ruin, a fire finally destroying the farmhouse in 1921 . In 1923 the Unity monument was dedicated on the site . In 1960 the Bennett Farm site was fully reclaimed and restored by local preservationists . It was then turned over to the State of North Carolina and made a state historic site . </P> <P> The difficulty in reaching a surrender agreement lay in part in Johnston's desire, influenced by President Davis, for more than the purely military surrender that Major General Sherman offered . Sherman's original terms matched those offered by Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant to General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, but Johnston along with General John C. Breckinridge, also serving as Secretary of War for the Confederacy, insisted on resolutions of political issues, including the reestablishment of state governments, return of some weapons to state arsenals and civil rights after the war . Sherman, in accordance with Lincoln's stated wishes for a compassionate and forgiving end to the war, agreed on terms that included the political issues . He was unaware that on March 3, Lincoln had given Grant orders to only discuss military matters with Lee . United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton identified many problems and loopholes within Sherman and Johnston's original terms and persuaded the cabinet to unanimously reject them . In response, Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to disband his infantry and escape with his mounted troops . However, Johnston disobeyed his orders and agreed to meet again with Major General Sherman at the Bennett Farm again on April 26, 1865 . The rival generals agreed to new surrender terms identical to the ones Grant gave Lee, along with some supplemental terms written by Schofield pertaining to rations and return of the paroled soldiers to their homes . The surrender agreement ended the war for the 89,270 soldiers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida . Three more primary surrenders would follow in Citronelle, Alabama; Galveston, Texas; and Doaksville, Oklahoma . </P> <P> The home of James and Nancy Bennett, simple yeoman farmers, served as the site of the surrender negotiations between Major General William T. Sherman and General Joseph E. Johnston April 17, 18, and 26, 1865 . It was the largest surrender of the American Civil War, officially ending the fighting in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina . The original house burned in 1921 and was reconstructed as a one - story log structure covered by weatherboards with a gable roof and a shed addition . Also on the property are a log kitchen and smokehouse . </P> <P> In 1923, the Unity Monument was placed on the site to commemorate this historic event . Among the many contributors to the preservation of this historic landmark were the Duke, Everett, and Morgan families . </P>

Who owned the farmhouse where the two commanders of the civil war met to end the war