Two books out in one year? Yes sir! I actually never planned
to have two books come out within three General Lee's Immortals to be released in the fall of 2017, and Kirk's Civil War Raids Along the Blue Ridge
to come out in the summer of 2018. That is not the way things worked out, and
I'm ok with that. It just means that I am going to have a supper busy 2018!
There are books on just western North Carolina and the War
(Inscoe and McKinney's Heart of
Confederate Appalachia) and on just East Tennessee (Fisher's War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and
Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee). Kirk's
Civil War Raids along the Blue Ridge bridges the gap between the areas, tracing
the movements of guerrilla bands and regular soldiers as they operated between
the two states.
There are a host of characters involved. Union colonel
George W. Kirk takes a leading role, but Brig. Gen. Robert B. Vance, Col. John
B. Palmer, Col. William H. Thomas, Maj. Gen. George W. Stoneman and others
appear at frequent intervals. Kirk's
Civil War Raids along the Blue Ridge also covers some of the pivotal events
of the War in the mountains, including the Marshal and Shelton Laurel Raids of
January 1863, Folk’s raid on Fish Springs, and the skirmishes around
Gatlinburg, Greenville, Elizabethton, and Asheville. Of course, Kirk’s
activities in Warm Springs, Camp Vance, and as a part of Stoneman's raid are
also covered.
Signed copies are $20, shipping included. Release date is
March 5. Please visit my website to order your copy today.
1 comment:
Just purchased a copy of Kirk's Civil War Raids. It's an excellent overview of a complex subject. Highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the guerilla war in this region.
Much of this is family history to me. George Kirk married my gg aunt. His sister married my gg uncle, also named George W. Kirk's father in law Alexander Jones was part of a underground unionist network that lined the old Buncombe county road leading from Greeneville to the Laurel. They operated safe houses and piloted unionists back and forth between Greene county TN and Madison county NC, Alexander Jones was arrested by Confederates in Jan. 1864 for being a "spy and dangerous character". He later died on July 4, 64 at the prison camp in Augusta Ga.
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