Reading on Braxton Bragg

I started my reading this past weekend on Braxton Bragg - are there any "good" books on Bragg? I’ve started with the two-volume Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat.
I recently finished Contested Borderland: The Civil War in Appalachian Kentucky and Virginia. by McKnight - loved it! Just wished there had been a little more about the military campaigns that affected the socio-economic outlook of the area.

I also read War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee 1860-1869 by Fisher - I really liked this book also. I took lots of notes

Lastly, I’ve read The Terrible Time: The Civil War in Kentucky’s Bell, Knox, Laurel, and Whitley Counties by Taylor - I really wanted to like this book. I spend a lot of time in this area. Alas, there is not really anything here that cannot be found online for free. Plus, a full third of the book is reenactorisms. I’ve reenacted for over 25 years; I think I know how to load a musket.

After Bragg, I plan to read the bio on E. Kirby Smith.

58th update

Gloomy day here in the mountains of western NC. It seems that we have tried to make up for our year-long rain deficit in the last couple of days.

If you have emailed me in the past couple of weeks, please be patient - I am getting to them as fast as possible. I think I sent close to one hundred emails in the past week. I’ve probably still got one hundred to go.

I did take time last night to actually work on the 58th NC book. I took chapter 3 and dropped it onto the bottom of chapter 1. Chapter 2 stayed the same, and the new chapter 3 is all about Vance’s Legion. Chapter 4 deals with the actual formation of the regiment. Chapter 1 now gives background on Colonel Palmer, the bridge burners, and the formation of the Mitchell Rangers. Chapter 2 backtracks and covers some of the foundations of why we had a war, especially from a North Carolina point of view.

Chapter 4 should not be too difficult - just a lot of names and dates and brief county histories.
I’m still having a hard time trying to divide up chapter 5. This chapter, time wise (at least in my mind), covers from August of 1862, when the 58th North Carolina arrives in east Tennessee, until September 1863, when they leave and join the Army of Tennessee in time for the battle of Chickamauga. While the regiment did not fight in any battles, they did move around a lot. Plus, probably 50 percent of my primary sources fall within this chapter. Once the regiment joined the AofT, they wrote fewer letters. Original letters are such treasures, and it’s so great to tell the story in the soldiers’ own words that I like to use as much of this material as I can.

What to do about Vance's Legion....

For most of you who have been reading this blog for some time, you know that I’ve taken an interest in Vance’s Legion. Now I’m trying to decide what to do with the information that I’ve collected.

In the spring of 1862, Col. Zebulon B. Vance came up with the idea of recruiting a Legion. A Legion is an organization composed of Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery. His motivation behind the Legion seems to solely be gaining a brigadier general’s star. Maybe that’s not quite a fair assessment, but that is the way it comes across in Vance’s correspondence.

Once gaining approval from the Confederate officials in Richmond, Vance began to run into problems. Vance had assumed that he would be able to get help from the governor in Raleigh - NOT! - They were of different political persuasions, and since Vance had not sought their approval, they turned a deaf ear to the young colonel. Vance assumed that he would be able to get companies already formed and in the training camps around Raleigh - NOT! See above for the reason.

Vance was facing a tight deadline regarding the Conscription Act. He basically had thirty days to finish his recruitment for his Legion. However, Vance could not even secure a pass from his commanding officer to allow him to go and recruit himself. Lastly, there were other people out recruiting, taking (not on purpose) men from the areas that Vance was most popular - his former 10th Congressional District, in the mountains of the western part of the state.

In the end, Vance was only able to recruit four companies for his Legion, three of infantry and one of cavalry, before his time ran out. The Legion failed, not only because it never met its recruitment goals, but because the idea of Legions became unpopular with the Confederate high command. Those four companies joined other regiments.

That leads me to this: I’ve come up with enough primary sources (there are almost no secondary sources) on Vance’s Legion to put together a small booklet on the organization. Say maybe 30 or 40 pages, with a roster. Would anyone out there be interested in a book on a group that never really existed?

Please drop me a line and let me know. I would probably self-publish the book. I’ve written eight books and have always worked with traditional publishers. The self publishing route would be a different road for me. I’m interested in your feedback!

blogging

Yesterday, I answered about 35 emails concerning the 58th NCT, and two concerning the 37th NCT. I am trying hard to get the emails from my recent genforum posting caught up. If I have not answered yours yet,please be patient. Yesterday's emails brought a smattering of birth and death dates, a couple of obits, and three post-war photographs. I am glad to have every one.

Richard Williams at Old Virginia Blog wrote a great posting on civility in the blogging world. I'm thankfully on his "safe list." However, it led me to think about my own blogging habits. Most bloggers have long lists of other people's blogs. I don't. Not that I don't find everyone else's ramblings of interest. I try really hard to put up only the blogs that I have time to read. I am a full-time writer, and the time that I spend sitting here I try really hard to devote myself to the craft. Otherwise, I'm either sitting in my big leather chair reading, or I'm spending time outside, or with my family. I started to teach my six-year-old to play chess yesterday.

Well, I guess it's time to get back to that email pile. I think I still have about 70 emails to go.

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of going out with a fine group of folks to place VA grave markers on the graves of Confederate soldiers in Mitchell and Yancey Counties. The group later went on to Madison County, but I was not able to go with them. Our first stop was the old Bakersville Cemetery. We placed a new marker on the grave of Albert N. Marker. Next, we marked for the first time (save for a rock) the grave of John F. Baker. Baker died during the war in a hospital in Bakersville, North Carolina.

The group then took off for the Bear Creek Cemetery, where we replaced the broken grave marker of William Duncan.

Next, we took off up Rebel’s Creek to place a centotaph for John Howell. That is the large group photograph. The fellows in suits are from the SCV Camp in Blountville, Tennessee, and one of them is related to Pvt. Howell.

Finally it was off to Yancey County and the Silver Cemetery, where we placed a marker for W. Alexander Silver. Silver died in Yancey County in 1862, and we believe that he is buried here in this cemetery near his parents.

That is when I had to leave the group and head for the Toe River Storytelling Festival. As usual, I have far more to do than I have days on the calendar!

I started a new blog yesterday. It is called Glimpses of Avery County and is a place to show off some of my local photography.

Last night, at 11:57pm, I finished posting the names all 2,003 men who served in the 58th North Carolina Troops on genforum. This project has taken weeks - I’ve posted the names of the soldiers, along with where they were from, when they were born, and in what company they served. I did this with the book on the 37th North Carolina Troops I did several years ago, and I had really good results.

I have already had really good results this time around. I’ve acquired several good family stories, several unpublished photograph, and an unpublished diary from Caldwell County. So, it has already been worth the time that it is has taken me to get it done.

I’ve got a couple more local research trips before I can get back to seriouss writing. I’ve been trying to find a way to divide up chapter three, which covers January to July 1862. I think I am going to pull out the information on Vance’s Legion and make it a separate chapter and move the current chapter three to chapter four.

Well, time to go to work. If you sent me an email in the past week, I’m going to start trying to answer them today.

Richmond is a hard road to travel

What a trip - I left home Wednesday morning at 11:00 am, and got back home Thursday afternoon at 12:45 pm. I drove to Ashland, Virginia, did a program for the Hanover Metal Detecting Club, spent the night, and came home. My six - year old son has caught a bug, and I needed to be at home by 1:00pm so Elizabeth could go to work. This is not the quickest trip to Richmond that I’ve ever taken. Once, when we were in grad school (before kids), we day tripped from Boone, NC, to Richmond. We were poor, and could not afford a room, so we left early one morning and drove to the area (I think it was on a January 2, maybe 1996 or 1997), and visited a few of the attractions - I remember the Poe Museum. We then ate, and drove home - that is 12 hours on the road, plus a full of day of battlefield and museum tromping.

I’ve been working on this site - what do you think? I’ve added another topic line to the right - what I’m reading right now. I’m reading War at Every Door for research purposes. The other book, Science of the Founding Fathers- is for fun. I thought about a column for books that I’ve purchased recently. I’ve picked up the new book on Lee by Pryor, Atlanta and the War by Garrison, and a history of Wise County, VA, and the War. I had never heard of the book by Garrison. It was published in 1995, and I got it for $5 in a used book store in Berea, Kentucky.

I didn’t mind not having much time in the Richmond area for this trip. I really don’t enjoy battlefield tromping with the temps 90+.

I really enjoyed seeing some of the treasures of the Hanover Metal Detecting Club. It is nice to know that some of these artifacts are being rescued from construction sites.

All this just to say...

A couple of days ago, I wrote a paragraph, a nice long one, on the bridge burnings in east Tennessee and their connection to the formation of the first company of the 58th North Carolina Troops. This was for my book on the 58th NCT. Sometimes writers spend a lot of time setting up a scene - like the bridge burnings, just to say something might have happened. I discovered this when putting together my book on Watauga County. I spent over a page writing about the causes of the Spanish-American War and the recruiting process for local men, just to sum up the section by saying that these recruits never got into the war.
The same might be said for my research into Vance’s Legion. Off and on for the past month I’ve been researching this group - an organization that never really existed.
I’ve often wondered why the 29th, 39th, 58th, and 60th North Carolina regiments were sent to east Tennessee, and later the Army of Tennessee or other western commands. The 29th NCT was sent in direct response to the bridge burnings. Not sure about the 39th NCT and 60th NCT yet. The 58th NCT was sent to attempt to secure the area and help stem the tide of men leaving east Tennessee for Federal regiments in Kentucky.
This afternoon, I’m off the Virginia to speak to the Hanover Metal Detecting Club at the library in Ashland.

New Book - Just Released

Folks - I am happy to announce the release of my eighth book - Remembering Avery County: Old Tales from North Carolina’s Youngest County, published by the History Press of Charleston, South Carolina.

Remembering Avery County picks up where my Avery County pictorial history, released in 2005, left off. When one puts together a pictorial history, one is confined to a small amount of words for each photograph. So many of those people in those photographs have amazing stories and that is what this book does - tells stories. There are twenty-five essays in this book (along with forty plus photos) that tell the story of Avery County’s past, like biographical information on the county’s namesakes - Waightstill Avery and William C. Newland, Jr. You can find information on Howard C. Marmon, designer of the car that won the first Indy 500 and who lived in Pineola; Lulu Bell and Scotty, who were national radio personalities and helped preserve mountain music; Keith and Malinda Blalock, who ran an underground railroad through the area in the 1860s. There are also essays on mining, railroading, Grandfather Mountain, and the Land of Oz.

The book has also gotten its first good review. Check out what Scott Nicholson wrote in the Mountain Times at http://www.mountaintimes.com/mtweekly/2007/0628/hardy.php3

I am taking orders - you can obtain a signed copy of Remembering North Carolina’s Confederates for just $22.00. Checks or money orders can be sent to PO Box 393, Crossnore, NC 28616. I will also be doing some local book signings in the very near future. I hope to see many of you at an upcoming event!

I got an email from a friend a couple of days ago. He is interested in a group of Georgians stationed along the coast of North Carolina in April 1862. One of the soldiers wrote a letter headed "Bivouac of the N. C. Battalion, near Elizabeth City, N. C., April 24th 1862." It is believed that the letter was written from the Richardson’s Farm or Richardson’s Mill area. Does anyone know to what NC Infantry Battalion the writer is referring? It is not the 2nd North Carolina Battalion - they had all been captured and sent home on parole. Another clue - The Georgia writer also writes "that after the evacuation of Norfolk and Portsmouth, this battalion marched to Petersburg with Huger’s Division"

Does anyone have any idea to whom the writer was referring? I told my friend that I’d throw this information out and we’ll see what comes back in. I’m looking forward to seeing what surfaces!

Delap Family Cemetery

I’ve spent the past few days on "vacation" in east Tennessee and Kentucky. I know many people would not consider the constant tramp through battlefields, museums, and cemeteries as much of a vacation - but it is the only way I know. Last Friday, I revisited the Delap Family Cemetery in Campbell County, Tennessee.

For those of you not familiar with this story, here are portions of an article that I wrote two years ago:

North Carolina Confederate Soldiers Honored at Last.

On a recent warm and humid Saturday morning, more than 250 people gathered on a hilltop in LaFollette, Tennessee. They were there to honor a group of long-lost Confederate soldiers. Many of those soldiers were from the mountains of western North Carolina.

In the summer of 1862, these soldiers marched away from Grasslands, the estate of Col. John B. Palmer. The soldiers who left for war that summer represented some of the oldest families in the area, and they joined for many reasons: personal and family honor, desire to "see the world," and fear of conscription.

The regiment was the 58th North Carolina Troops. Their destination was garrison duty in east Tennessee. The first winter for these soldiers, 1862 to 1863, was a difficult one. Over sixty men from the 58th North Carolina perished far from their mountain homes. They died not from battlefield wounds, but from a host of diseases, including measles, typhoid, and even dehydration from intestinal viruses. Since their encampment was described as being "near a spring," it is possible that they were exposed to contaminated water. Those who succumbed were buried in a local family cemetery and, for the most part, forgotten.

But there were a few local residents who remembered the cemetery. Eighty-four-year-old Alice Coker learned about the cemetery from its caretaker, Bob Delay, in the 1960s.

In 2003, Watauga County native Leta Cornett, whose grandfather had served in the 58th North Carolina and met his death in camp that winter of 1862-1863, stopped by the Campbell County Historical Society and Museum and inquired about the location of the burial ground. She was directed to Coker.

Ms. Coker quickly identified the cemetery, grown up with trees and thorny bushes after years of neglect, as the long-lost burial ground of the 58th North Carolina. Historical societies and government agencies from across Tennessee and North Carolina quickly became involved, and the cemetery was cleaned and restored. Tombstones were ordered from the Veterans Administration....

I wrote several articles about the cemetery, many of which were published in local newspapers and in the Carolina Confederate. Sadly, the story of these Confederate soldiers is not well known out of Campbell County, Tennessee, and western North Carolina.

This was my first trip back to the cemetery since the memorial service in June 2005. I wanted to take a few pictures without all of the people milling around. The photograph above was one of those that I brought home, along with all the food, baby clothes, and zucchini that my wife’s relatives loaded into our car!

I’m having a rather restful July Fourth before heading down to our little community celebration this afternoon. It’s a great little event with plenty of fun photo opportunities and chances to visit with the public. I always look forward to it.

More on the bridge burners

A few days ago I advanced a theory on the bridge burnings in east Tennessee as being an impetus behind the formation of the Mitchell Rangers. I spent some time at the library reading through North Carolina newspapers trying to find a public reaction to the event. I found almost none, mostly just reprints from out of state newspapers.

The burning of the railroad bridges in east Tennessee was the idea of Rev. William B. Carter, a Tennessee native. Carter took the idea to the commanding generals in Kentucky, including Sherman and Thomas, and then on to Washington, where he received the blessings of McClellan, Cameron, and Lincoln. Carter then returned to Kentucky, and then east Tennessee.

The idea was to organize small bands of east Tennessee loyalists into groups that would burn nine railroad bridges between Bristol, on the Virginia-Tennessee line, to Bridgeport, Alabama. Then, a Federal force would march to Knoxville and capture the city and gain control of the railroad, a vital link between Virginia and the deep South.

November 8, 1861, was the date set for the attacks. Just hours before the attack, Gen. William T. Sherman, whose support for the operation had been tenuous, pulled his support and ordered General Thomas not to advance. Of course, word could not be sent to Carter and his bridge burners. They proceeded to destroy five of their nine targets.

Unaware that the Federal soldiers had abandoned them, large numbers of loyalists turned out in different counties. At Elizabethton, not too terribly far from Mitchell County, an estimated 1,000 loyalists gathered, organized themselves into companies, elected officers, and stockpiled supplies. Confederate re-enforcements quickly arrived and the loyalist bands dispersed. Several of the actual bridge burners were arrested, tried, and hanged.

On November 18, 1861, North Carolina Governor Henry T. Clark sent a note to Secretary of War J. P. Benjamin, stating that he had two regiments on hand that were asking to be sent to the area to protect their own families. One of those regiments was the 29th North Carolina Troops, under the command of Col. Robert B. Vance.

As far as North Carolina reaction, there was an article in the newspaper from Asheville, stating that Confederate forces in east Tennessee had driven 500 (or 1,000) loyalists out of Tennessee and into Madison County, North Carolina. The folks in Asheville were obviously concerned, even though the loyalist figures were greatly exaggerated.

So, while I have no hard proof that the Mitchell Rangers were organized as a direct response to the bridge burning episode, I do think that there is a substantial circumstantial case.

Your thoughts?

A full day

I really enjoy being a writer. Yesterday, I left out about 9:30 am, onmy way to the Caldwell Historical Museum in Lenoir. I had to sign booksfor a group of teachers (the Broyhill Scholars) who were touring themuseum. I then had a wonderful lunch with them before darting off toWilkesboro. In Wilkesboro, I spent three hours going through the papersof the Lenoir family. I was particularly interested in the letters anddiary of Walter W. Lenior. Walter was an unofficial member of the 25thNorth Carolina and then helped recruit a company for Vance's Legion. After the Legion failed, that company joined the 58th North CarolinaTroops. However, right before the regiment's organization, Walter waselected lieutenant, then captain, of Company A, 37th North CarolinaTroops. Six weeks later, Walter lost a leg at Ox Hill. The diary that heleft behind is a important piece of North Carolina history.

After three hours in Wilkesboro, I went to Boone and ASU to do alittle research. I wanted to know just what North Carolina's opinion was regarding the east Tennessee bridge burnings. The conclusion I reached after two hours of reading microfilm was not what I had hoped: not much reaction by the press (save Asheville) whatsoever.

I got home last night a little after 8:30. The only downside to anotherwise great day doing what I love: with drive time, I logged in 11 hours yesterday. But some days are like that, and it's great to do whatI love, even for longs days!

bridge burning in E. Tenn. and the Mitchell Rangers

Ok - question of the day. Did the bridge burnings in east Tennessee have a direct influence on the formation of the Mitchell Rangers? The bridge burnings, one as close as Carter County, Tennessee, disrupted an important link between the deep South and Virginia. These burnings were led by local (east Tennessee) men in mid-November 1861. Six weeks later, the Mitchell Rangers were formed, with the mission of providing protection to the Toe River Valley area. The Mitchell Rangers would become Company A, 58th North Carolina Troops. The 58th NC, after its formation, was sent to east Tennessee (August 1862-September 1863) to help garrison the highly pro-Union area.

Maybe a little look into North Carolina’s reaction to the bridge burnings in east Tennessee is in order...

Civil War enthusiast identifies three soldiers buried in Raleigh

Good morning folks! - I found the below story on my morning internet hunt. It was found on a TV station’s web site in Minnesota.

Civil War enthusiast identifies three soldiers buried in Raleigh

A Civil War enthusiast has identified the remains of three soldiers buried in Raleigh - including one Minnesota Yankee resting among Confederates.

Charles Purser spent thousands of hours scrutinizing hospital logs, regimental rosters and cemetery records to put names to the headstones at the Oakwood cemetery in RALEIGH, North Carolina. He recently identified Drury Scruggs, who marched to the Civil War from his home in North Carolina's mountains and later died at Gettysburg. There's also William P. Wallace, a farm boy from Montgomery County. Both had been resting under anonymous headstones.

Purser also spent time working with New York-based historian Glen Hayes. Comparing notes, the researchers decided that John O. Dobson from North Carolina didn't exist. They agreed that John O. Dolson - a Yankee from Minnesota - had been shipped to Raleigh in his place.

Purser, 67, plans to hold a ceremony in September to honor the three soldiers with new headstones."It's three American soldiers getting their identity," Purser said. "That's what tickles me."

Purser, an Air Force veteran and retired postal carrier living in Garner, first helped rescue the Confederate cemetery from neglect in the early 1980s.

He now has names for all but five of those buried at Oakwood, save 14 unknowns in a mass grave.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Asheville

Last week was another busy week. I had book signings in High Point (Tuesday) and Albermarle (Thursday). Wednesday was a research day.

This past Saturday, I had the distinct privilege of leading a group of people on a tour of Civil War-related sites in Asheville/Buncombe County. We started out at the Vance Birthplace near Weaverville. It is a beautiful place with several restored cabins. If you are in the area and get a chance, please visit. After a picnic at the Birthplace, we headed to the campus of UNC - Asheville. We visited the breastworks used on April 6, 1865, to ward off an attack by the 101st Ohio Infantry.
This was followed b

y a trip to Riverside Cemetery to visit the graves of Gov. Zebulon B. Vance, Brig. Gen. Robert B. Vance, Brig. Gen. Joseph G. Martin, Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Clingman, and Col. Stephen Lee 916th NCT), along with many others.

Finally, a few of us visited Newton Academy Cemetery. There are 29 unknown Confederates buried here, along with five Federals who died during the reconstruction days. There is a monument to the Confederate soldiers dedicated by the UDC in 1903.

It is interesting to note that Asheville has a remarkable Confederate history - Governor Vance was from Asheville, the town was headquarters for the Department of Western North Carolina, the town was a training ground for new soldiers, had a armory that manufactured rifles, had a hospital, has a cemetery with three generals and many others officers, and had a battle, but does nothing to capitalize on this history. How sad...

This week is almost as busy. I’ll be speaking tomorrow night in Lancaster, South Carolina, and Thursday night in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. I’m going to try and sneak in some more research time also.

The picture above in the 1903 Confederate monument in Newton Academy Cemetery in Asheville.

Civil War Trail Markers

The Civil War Trails signs meeting last Thursday went well. The money for two markers has been appropriated, and we put together a small committee to finalize which two markers we would like to erect.

I’ve been a fan of the Civil War Trail Markers program for some time, even though at times when traveling, those signs in Virginia with arrows get me terribly confused. I end up following those signs and get totally confused as to where I am. Thankfully, those confused days are usually free days, and I really don’t mind.

There are already markers in Wilkes, Caldwell, and Yancey Counties here in the western part of the state, and I look forward to Avery County joining the group.

Has anyone thought of making Stoneman’s Raid a tour?

Civl War Trail markers in Avery County

Thanks to the Civil War Interactive web page for the mention of this blog.

I’m off to two meetings this afternoon. The first is our regular monthly meeting of the Avery County Historical Society and Museum. I’ve been on the board of directors for about three years now. This afternoon, I’ll be discussing the Civil War Trails marker program in Avery County. There are four sites that I’ve recommended:

First, the site of Colonel John B. Palmer’s (58th NCT) house. The home was burnt by Kirk’s raiders in June 1864. This is also the site of Camp Martin, where portions of the 58th North Carolina Troops were mustered into service, possibly even trained.

Second, a marker on Keith and Malinda Blalock. While their graves are accessible, there is no good place to park. I am thinking about Grandfather Mountain for this marker. The Blalocks hid out on Grandfather, and their underground railroad ran across the northern portion of the mountain.

Third, a marker in Cranberry dealing with the Cranberry Iron Ore deposits. This site employed a couple dozen men during the war. The iron was transported via wagon to Morganton. Some was taken to Asheville to be used by the Asheville Armory.

Fourth, a marker in Banner Elk, where the escaped Salisbury POWs and other dissidents arrived, often under the care of the Blalocks. Usually, one of the other scouts met them (like Dan Ellis), and they continued on their journey to Kentucky and Tennessee.

That second meeting begins a hour after the first and involves the Avery Heritage Council. The markers are one of the items on the agenda.

The article about Vance’s Legion is shaping up. I’ll post more information soon.

Missed Materials

Eric Wittenburg wrote on June 3:

The primary source material from the Civil War that continues to surface never ceases to amaze me. It also makes me wonder what else like it remains out there, unknown and languishing…. He goes on to detail the mostly unpublished materials of Pennock Huey, a federal cavalry officer.

That has led me to this line of thinking for aspiring authors.

When Bob Krick reviewed my first book, on the 37th North Carolina Troops, he wrote
Michael C. Hardy's The Thirty-seventh North Carolina Troops: Tar Heels in the Army of Northern Virginia (McFarland & Company, Jefferson, N.C., 2003, $45) mines such hidden riches in gratifying detail. The author unearthed dozens of accounts, from a wide range of locations, by the soldiers in a regiment that fought steadily at center stage throughout America's Civil War. He also constructed a first-rate roster of the 37th by scouting cemeteries, digging out obituaries and tracking down descendants.

Finding those primary sources is an uphill battle. As most of you know, I’ve been working on a regimental history of the 58th North Carolina. They were one of just four North Carolina Infantry regiments that fought with the Army of Tennessee. While I have been collecting information for the past ten years, the real hunt has been on for the past couple of months. This hunt has led me to read/browse dozens of family histories and county heritage books for the little details that I want to make the project as complete as possible.

Also, I’ve started to post the names of the hundreds of men who served in the 58th North Carolina on online family discussion groups. This gives me access to an untold amount of materials, like photographs, documents, and stories, that are not in books or public repositories.

I once got an email from someone writing a book on a particular North Carolina regiment - a project that I myself had hoped to eventually undertake. This author has written several books on the war, most of which have not garnered positive reviews. I prepared a list of sources and dissertations and people to contact in response to this author’s request for information. This author basically responded, "I do not have time to go through all of this material." Instead, this author is willing to write a book with only a few easily accessible sources. Why bother writing something about the war if you are not willing to go through every possible source or at least make the effort to find material? This is not to say that my research methods are perfect, but I do make the effort to run down as much information as I can to give readers and scholars the most complete text possible.

The sad thing is that no publisher will be willing to tackle a new history of this regiment for quite some time, and readers and scholars will be stuck with a less-than-thorough resource.

My advice - go through everything: archives, newspapers, family histories, county histories, everything. And even when you think that you have been through it all, there will be items that have been missed.

As historians, we have a responsibility to leave behind us the best tools possible for others.

Saving the South

What a great weekend. The Avery County Heritage Festival was good. I had a chance to talk to quite a few people about the old 58th NCT.

On Sunday, we went to the reenactment in Jonesville, Virginia. The local SCV Camp - the Wise County Rangers (I think), had a booth set up and I went to ask about one of my Wise County relatives. (Louis Roberts, Co. B, 7th Battalion, Confederate Cavalry). The gentleman manning the both was Allen Thomas, a descendant of men who had fought in both the 37th NCT and the 58th NCT. It was nice to have a few minutes to talk to Mr. Thomas about well known places.
I’ve not had a chance to work on article about Vance’s Legion since I last posted.

Today, I am working on proposals for Civil War Trail Marker signs in Avery County.

This evening, I’m speaking with the SCV Camp in Yadkinville.