North Carolina License Plate Initiative

As part of the ongoing commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the North Carolina Office of Archives and History is working with the Division of Motor Vehicles to create a specialty license plate. Designed by Amy Sawyer of Historic Sites, the plate features silhouetted artillerymen as well as the commemoration's theme—Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory—and URL. The design conforms with the new regulations set forth by the legislature guaranteeing that a large, unobstructed central portion of the plate be reserved for the license number and that the name of the state be clearly visible. Furthermore, the URL adopts the .gov suffix in place of the previous .com, a reflection of the ongoing migration of state government websites to the former.

The intent is to market a plate over the course of the commemorative period at a cost to the vehicle operator of $30 per year. Funds received from the Division of Motor Vehicles will be directed to the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties for use in commemorative activities and for battlefield preservation, acquisition, and interpretation.

A completed application and check for $30 payable to the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources should be mailed by December 1, 2011, to Bridget Jordan, North Carolina Historic Sites, 4620 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4620. Once 300 orders have been received, the plates will be fabricated by the Department of Corrections.

Application for a North Carolina Civil War License Plate (PDF)

Events this weekend

There is much going on this upcoming weekend. We'll be at the Olde Timey Days in Burnsville this Saturday, talking about  the War in Yancey County. Please drop by and see us.

This Sunday, we are participating in a tour at the site of Childsville/Calhoun in southern Avery County. Childsville/Calhoun was the first seat of the newly created Mitchell County in 1861. It is also the site of the grave of Robert Sevier, who was mortally wounded during the battle of Kings Mountain in 1781. This site is on private property, and is almost never open to the public. Since it is the 100th Anniversary of the creation of Avery County, and the 150th Anniversary of Mitchell County, the owners made an exception. Tours start at 2:00 pm.

High Point, Wilmington Libraries Display Civil War Photo Exhibit in October

RALEIGH – Destruction was felt around homes and communities as backyards were turned into battlefields in North Carolina during the Civil War (1861-1865). Widespread suffering impacted all North Carolinians regardless of race, class or gender.

The involvement of Confederate soldiers, African Americans and women is depicted in theFreedom, Sacrifice, Memory: Civil War Sesquicentennial Photography Exhibit(www.nccivilwar150.com), which will simultaneously visit the High Point Public Library and the New Hanover County Public Library in Wilmington Oct. 1-29. The exhibit will educate and illustrate a difficult period in history that the nation moved beyond.

“The Civil War was the first war widely covered with photography,” explains Deputy Secretary Dr. Jeffrey Crow of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. “The Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory exhibit provides images of historic figures, artifacts, and documents that brought the reality of the war from the battlefront to the home front, then and now.”

The exhibit will honor North Carolinians and their dedication throughout the Civil War with images gathered from the State Archives (www.archives.ncdcr.gov), the N.C. Museum of History (www.ncmuseumofhistory.org), and State Historic Sites (www.nchistoricsites.org). A total of 24 images will be displayed by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (www.ncculture.com) in 50 libraries and four museums throughout the state on western and eastern routes from April 2011 through May 2013. A notebook will accompany each exhibit with further info rmation and also seeking viewer comments.

The collection depicts those involved in the war including images of artifacts and official documents. One image shows a mourning ring made by a Confederate prisoner, possibly to trade for goods, and recalls a practice of Southern women to show that a loved one was off in the war or had died.

For info rmation on the High Point exhibit, call the library at (336) 883-3631. For info rmation on the New Hanover exhibit, call the library at (910) 798-6300.

For tour info rmation contact the Department of Cultural Resources at (919) 807-7389. The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is the state agencywith the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina ’s social, cultural and economic future. Information on Cultural Resources is available 24/7 atwww.ncculture.com.

And the band played...

I had a great question on Monday night while speaking in Thomasville - did the band of the 26th NCT stand and play "Nearer My God to Thee" on July 3 as the Confederate troops fell back after the failed Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge. I could not remember at the time, so I came home and looked it up and I thought I would share what I found.

My first go-to place was my own book - North Carolina Remembers Gettysburg. There is a post-war story from Samuel T. Mickey, who served as chief musician of the band of the 26th North Carolina from November 1, 1862, until captured at Amelia Court House on April 4, 1865. Mickey wrote:"I will say that on the second day of July, the Twenty-sixth and Eleventh bands were ordered to the front to play for our brigade, as they formed to go into action. Both bands consolidated and played until we were ordered to stop and return to the hospital." (Charlotte Observer, September 23, 1894)

Next, I turned my attention to Rod Gragg's Covered with Glory. He also mentions the 26th's band playing on July 2, with the band of the 11th NCST.  "Rousing tunes like 'Luto Quickstep,' 'Louisa Polka,' 'Cheer, Boys, Cheer,' 'Old North State,' 'Dixie,' and 'The Bonnie Blue Flag' were among the repertory." (148) However, there is no mention of the band playing after the charge.

Craig Chapman's More Terrible than Victory, a history of the 11th North Carolina Troops, came next. Chapman included this about July2: "During the afternoon, the 11th and 26th regimental bands entertained the troops with patriotic tunes. The melodies of 'God Save the South' and 'When this cruel War is Over' soothed the men and cheered them a bit." (102) There was no mention of a band playing afterwards.

In an essay entitled "'Tha Kill so Meny of us': The Twenty-sixth North Carolina at Gettysburg" by Greg Mast, which appeared in Company Front in 2008, we find that the regiment band of the 26th NCT was "Ordered to get their horns and play-and it was never done more faithfully all day long-and with more effect and the writer till this day has never heard such music that cheered him so-a gloom had settled over the entire regiment at the loss of comrades and friends... but it was soon entirely dispelled by the music and by 12 o'clock noon the command could raise a cheer." (17)

Assistant Surgeon George C. Underwood of the 26th North Carolina Troops, wrote in Volume II of Clark's North Carolina Regiments concerning the second day of the battle: "The regimental band (Captain Mickey's band) was ordered to play inspiring music to cheer the soldiers, whose spirits were depressed at the loss of so many of their comrades..." (362)

While I looked at several other sources (like Coddington) for information regarding the 26th NCT, I found not much to add. One final place I searched was Steven Cornelius's Music of the Civil War Era. Cornelius quotes Julius A. Leinbach, a member of the band of the 26th NCT: "It was therefore with heavy hearts that we went about our duties caring for the wounded. We worked until 11 o'clock that night... At 3 o'clock [the next morning] I was up again and at work. The second day out regiment was not engaged [because casualties were so high], but we were busily occupied all day in our sad task [of caring for the wounded]. While thus engaged, in the afternoon we were sent... to play for the men, and thus, perhaps, [to] cheer them somewhat... We accordingly went to the regiment and found the men much more cheerful than we were ourselves. We played for some time, the 11th NC Band playing with us, and the men cheered us lustily. Heavy cannonading was going on at the time, though not in our immediate front. We learned afterwards, from Northern papers, that our playing had been heard across the lines and caused wonder that we should play while fighting was going on around us. Some little while after we left, a bomb struck and exploded very close to the place where we had been standing, no doubt having been intended for us. " (206-207)

Based upon the above, I have concluded that the band of the 26th NCT was not the band playing on July 3 while the Confederates retreated. However, Cornelius adds this in the next paragraph:  "Terrible to imagine, but also infinitely moving, is the performance by the Confederate band playing Lowell Mason's hymn "Nearer My God To Thee" as the grim survivors of Pickett's Charge fell back into their lines following the failed attack." Not sure about his source on this one.

Have you heard this story before? Do you have a source for which Confederate band played this tune?

Comparing Sources

Since I'm going to be writing a history of a city and the War, I thought maybe I should read a couple of similar texts on other cities. So, I chose Anthony Waskie's Philadelphia and the Civil War, along with Robert S. Davis's Civil War Atlanta, both published by the History Press. As a disclaimer, I have read several volumes on Richmond and the War and Leach's Reveille in Washington. However, the sources, primary and secondary, are legion when it comes to those two cities. And rightfully so: they were the two contending capitals.

What I'm interested in are the scores of materials that have already been written on those two cities, regarding the war. Now I understand that Atlanta is more important that Charlotte in the grander scope of things. But Charlotte was no light-weight. With its naval yard, gunpowder manufacturing facility, and numerous other munitions and private war-time industry, it is the most important city in North Carolina (sorry Wilmington), and one of the most important in the South.

With the books on Atlanta and Philadelphia in hand, I went through the bibliographies, looking at the secondary sources related to these cities and the war. For Atlanta, I counted 23 books, articles, and doctoral dissertations on the city (this does not include general histories). There are tour guides, looks at industry, civilians, dissidents, etc.

For Philadelphia, I went through the bibliography, looking for the same type of material: pieces related directly to the city and the War. The Philadelphia book is larger, and has a large bibliography. The numbers of books and articles are about the same as those for Atlanta. Of course, the Philadelphia sources go places that the Atlanta sources do not, namely, the maritime trade.

Given the importance of Charlotte, especially after mid-1863, there is surprisingly little secondary information: three or four histories of Charlotte, and the small booklet On the Home Front: Charlotte During the Civil War, which at about twenty pages, well, not much to say there. In going through online sources like JSTOR, there seems to be more on south Florida and the War, than the Charlotte area.

Needless to say, much of the work I am doing on this project will be from primary sources: newspapers, letters, diaries, and a few post-war reminiscences.  Once again, I seem to be going where no one has gone before.

"Will the real Tom Dooley please stand up?"

This past Monday, I had the opportunity to speak at Wilkes Community College. The purpose of the gathering was to celebrate the release of Sharyn McCrumb's new ballad series novel, The Ballad of Tom Dooley. Sharyn and I have known each other for a over a decade, and it has been an honor to chase Confederate (and a few Union) soldiers for her.

     Below, please find a portion of the talk I gave on Monday.

     Surprisingly, there are more men named Thomas Dula than men by any other name in the Confederate army. I believe that these different Thomas Dulas have given other researchers pause, in trying to cipher out which Tom Dula it was that killed Laura Foster in 1866. I also have had run-ins with Thomas Dula in my own works. There was one in the 37th North Carolina Troops, and one in the 58th North Carolina Troops, both regiments I have studied and on which I've written histories. I don't recall if I ever suspected that the Thomas Dula in the 37th North Carolina was the Tom Dooley or not - that was many years and many books ago. It could be that I was not familiar enough with the story so many years ago. More likely, I probably realized that that the Thomas Dula in the 37th Regiment, a native of Caldwell County,  died of wounds sustained in the battle of Gaines Mill, Virginia, in the fall of 1862, making it a bit of a strain for him to murder Laura Foster in 1866. I do have the faintest recollection of wondering how the Thomas J. Dula that enlisted in the 26th Regiment, and later transferred to the 58th North Carolina Troops, would work into my post-war chapter of the 58th North Carolina Troops as someone hung for murder. A little research showed me that this Thomas was not the right man. This Thomas enlisted in Caldwell County in March 1862 in the 26th Regiment, and transferred to Company H, 58th North Carolina Troops upon being elected Captain of Company H in May 1862. He was appointed to the rank of Major in April 1863, and transferred to the field and staff. This Thomas was wounded in the thigh during the battle of Kolb's Farm, Georgia, on June 22, 1864, and then promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 6, 1864. He resigned on August 4, 1864, after being elected solicitor of Caldwell County. Dula later moved to Wilkes County where he was a judge for many years, and buried not far from where we are today. While some solicitors and judges wind up on the wrong side of the bench, I soon learned that this Thomas Dula was not the "right" Dula.

     Then there is Thomas M. Dula, from Buncombe County, a corporal in Company K, 25th North Carolina Troops. This Thomas was discharged by reason of disability in May 1862. And then we have Thomas W. Dula, a resident of Caldwell County, who at the age of 30 enlisted in Company A, 22nd North Carolina Troops. He served until March 8, 1865, just days before the war ended. This Thomas deserted and went over to the Federal lines, where on March 10, he took the Oath and was released. There is also another Thomas Dula, who at the age of 48, enlisted in the 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves. This Thomas was classified as AWOL - absent without leave, at the end of the war.

     That leaves us with just one: Thomas C. Dula. His record in the North Carolina Troops books is simple, and reads: "Resided in Wilkes County where he enlisted at the age of 17, April 24, 1862, in Company K, 42nd North Carolina Troops. Mustered in as Private. Promoted to Musician (Drummer) in January-February 1864. Present or accounted for until captured at or near Wise's Fork, North Carolina, on March 10, 1865. Confined at Point Lookout, Maryland, March 16, 1865. Released at Point Lookout on June 11, 1865, after taking the Oath of Allegiance." Someone at the North Carolina Department of Archives and History was helpful enough to add to the entry: "This soldier is the famous 'Tom Dooley' about whom the ballad entitled "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley" was written following his execution in 1866 for the murder of Laura Foster." Of course, we know that the execution did not take place in 1866.

     So, let's dive a little deeper into his record, because there is more. Many people want to give Tom more credit, or even combat experience. I read, just this week, a piece online, on Wikipedia no less, that stated that Dula "suffered various injuries throughout the course of the fighting." Um, no, sorry, that is actually  wrong. According to Dula's compiled service record, the teenager spent time in three different hospitals, not because of an injury, but because of a fever. He was in the Confederate States Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, in November 1862, and the Episcopal Church hospital in Williamston, North Carolina, in December 1862. He was sick in his quarters in January and February 1863, and was again reported in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, on August 10, 1864, for an undetermined amount of time. Furthermore, a drummer boy, or musician, the position listed for Tom Dula, often times did not go into combat with the other soldiers. The regimental musicians were often detailed to the medical department as stretcher bearers once a battle began, swapping their musical instruments for canvas and wooden stretchers. Yes, they would have seen the horrors of war, the mangled bodies of friends and family, but the musicians were often behind lines, and not in the front ranks. Tom would also have experienced the boredom of camp, and by his stays in different hospitals, been susceptible to  the numerous diseases that swept through the camps at different points during the war. The war undoubtedly changed Thomas Dula: how could anyone who survived those awful years not be profoundly changed?

     Dula's regiment, the 42nd North Carolina Troops, started out the war as prison guards at Salisbury. The regiment was mustered into service in April 1862, and in June was transferred to Virginia, again guarding prisoners and performing garrison duty. In November, the regiment was back in North Carolina, and on November 5, skirmished for the first time with the enemy near Tarboro. Tom was in the hospital at the time. Almost all of 1863 was spent in some type of garrison duty in the eastern part of North Carolina. It was not until February 2, 1864, that the regiment was involved in its first battle, albeit a small one, at Newport Barracks, North Carolina. Tom was reported as being sick in camp. In May 1864, the regiment was on its way back to Virginia, and combat. They fought at Bermuda Hundred in May 1864, Cold Harbor and Petersburg in June, and New Market Heights in October. By the end of 1864, the regiment was back in Wilmington, participating in the battles of Fort Fisher. The 42nd Regiment fought at Wise's Fork during the Confederate retreat, where Tom was captured. The fight continued at Bentonville, a last stand by the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The 42nd North Carolina Troops was surrendered on April 26, 1865, at the Bennett Place, near Durham, and disbanded on May 2, 1865 at Center Church in Randolph County, North Carolina.

     So, how do we know all of this? Much of what I have told you about today comes from the 18 volume set of books entitled North Carolina Troops, released by the North Carolina Department of Archives and History. The pieces about Tom's life come from his Complied Service Records from the National Archives in Washington, D. C. Added to this are my almost 30 years of reading, researching, and writing about boys and men, just like Thomas Dula.

     Thomas C. Dula was a teenager in the spring of 1862 when he voluntarily enlisted in the 42nd North Carolina Troops.  He was mustered in as a private, but soon promoted to musician, a drummer. Dula would have been the soldier who sounded revile of his drum every morning to wake the men, and who kept the cadence when required to on the march. On the approach of battle, Dula would have stowed his drum with other regimental baggage to take up a stretcher, helping to carry men off the field who were too grievously wounded to transport themselves.  He would have taken these men back to some field hospital in the rear. Dula would have shared in the hardships of camp, poor food, boredom, games of baseball and wrestling in camp, foot races, visits by dignitaries and people from home, church services and all night singings. Like all other soldiers, Dula would have been susceptible to the many diseases that plagued the camp. These diseases, at least three times, required stays in Confederate hospitals. And toward the end of the war, Dula himself was captured, enduring a stay in a prison camp, which were often more deadly, killing more men than the minnie ball and artillery shell of the battle field.  Thomas C. Dula endured and survived all of these, only to come home and run afoul of the law.

Once again, I am spending much of this week on the road. Yesterday, I was at Wilkes Community College, speaking at the premier of Sharyn McCrumb's new novel, The Ballad of Tom Dooley. The title of my talk was "Will the real Tom Dula please stand up". I'll probably post some of that talk later.

I've got a couple of other trips this week. Tonight, (Tuesday, September 13) I'll be speaking to the Anderson-Tew-Bingham Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans. They meet at the LaFiesta Mexican Restaurant on Mebane Oaks Roads.

Tomorrow night (Wednesday, September 14) I'll be speaking at the Rowan County Public Library, in Salisbury, at the monthly meeting of the Rowan Rifles Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, which meet at 6:30 pm.

This Saturday, weather permitting, I'll be at the Cove Creek Festival in Watauga County. More details to follow.

I hope to see you around this week!

News and Notes...

Time for a look around the Old North State and what is making news...

In case you have not heard, the mayor/city council in Reidsville, North Carolina, has removed the base of the Confederate monument that was struck by a driver earlier this year. It appears that the century-old monument will not returned to its original position. You can learn more here.

While on the topic of monuments, a new round of students are raising issues regarding the monument honoring former students from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). These "issues" seem to come up every two or three years. You can learn more here.

Click here and here to learn more about artifacts captured by the Union army during the March 1862 battle of New Bern are being returned to North Carolina (temporarily).

The Salisbury Post has a piece on Stoneman's Raid - check it out here.

On the road....

Looks like I'll be traveling a lot this week. On Tuesday evening (September 6), I'll be visiting with the Yadkinville Gray Eagles Camp of the SCV. They meet at the Old Stage Grill in Yadkinville at 6:00 pm.

On Thursday (September 8), I'll be speaking with the Black River Tigers SCV Camp, which meet at Simon's Restaurant in Angier, NC at 7:00 pm.

Then, on Saturday, (September 10), from 11:00 until 1:00 pm, I'll be signing books at Costco in Durham, North Carolina.

I hope to see you at one of these events. If you would like me to come and speak to your group, or at your library, drop me a line, and we will see what we can work out.

No Thermopylae for Him

I dug this out of the Charlotte News (05/16/1890) recently - what do you think - was Clingman just blowing smoke? 

Washington Letter: One of the octogenarian sojourners in Washington is ex-Senator and General Clingman, of North Carolina. He tells this story of his fire-eating passion as a Confederate soldiers: "I heard General Joseph Johnston had said as soon as we heard of Lee's surrender, that he intended to give up the fight. I was ten miles away. I will never forget that day. As I came dashing down to the headquarters of the general commanding, on my gray charger, I said: 'General, by G-d, sah, we must make this a Thermopylae of the new world, and, if need be, I'll lead the van now, myself, sah!' 'Thermopylae!' said Johnston. 'That kind of talk might do for old 'bucks' like you and me, Clingman, but for the young men in this army, who have wives and children to feed, and cotton to plant, and a living to make, it is too late at this stage of the game for any Greek business at this end of the line.' 'I subsided,' said Clingman "and Joe Johnston sensibly surrendered the next day."

Civil War Charlotte on Facebook

Many of you are friends on facebook, and I frequently post short notes about what I am working on or where I am off to. Today, I decided to set up a site just for my new project: Civil War Charlotte, to be released next year. This book will be published by the History Press, which also released North Carolina in the Civil War a few weeks ago. I'll use this site to give frequent, short updates about how I'm progressing on the book. So, if you are on facebook, let me encourage you to "like" Civil War Charlotte and follow me on this adventure.

Help Brig. Gen. John W. McElroy get a new tombstone.

Greetings friends! The Col. John B. Palmer Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has embarked on a new project. John W. McElroy, a native to Yancey County, needs a new tombstone, and the Palmer Camp has taken it upon themselves to raise the funds to purchase this stone. 

Life in western North Carolina was hard during the Civil War years. No one understood that better than John W. McElroy.  The McElroy family were prominent citizens in the early days of Yancey County. John W. McElroy was a merchant, dealt in real estate, and served as clerk of court. The economic crisis of the late 1850s had forced McElroy out of business. He had sold his fine Burnsville home, and had moved to the Jack's Creek area to farm.

Prior to the War, McElroy had served as the commander of the Yancey County militia. Every county in North Carolina had a militia regiment, required by law to meet once a year to drill. Each county was composed of several militia districts, each with its own captain and lieutenants. These militia districts, found first on the 1860 census, would become townships by the 1870 census.

During the first months of the War, Colonel McElroy continued to perform his normal militia duties, which often did not amount to many responsibilities. But he had fewer and fewer men as they left to join the regular Confederate army.  In the spring of 1862, the Confederate government passed the Conscription law, requiring men between the ages of 18 and 35 to enlist in the army. McElroy was responsible for mustering the militia and for getting these men off.

But many resented having to serve. Some hid out from the beginning, while others joined the army, and then later slipped back to check on their families or to join those already evading local authorities.  Governor Zebulon B. Vance tried to use the militia to round up the outliers, but ran into legal problems. So Vance created the Guard for Home Defense.  Their chief duty was to curtail the deserter problem. To lead the First Brigade of North Carolina Home Guard, Vance tapped John W. McElroy. While McElroy had limited military experience, Vance probably chose McElroy because of a family connection. Vance's older brother Robert had married McElroy's daughter, Harriett.

McElroy's task was not easy. Huge bands of deserters roomed the mountains, using their remoteness to their advantage. Of course, the only way these men could survive was by stealing what they needed. McElroy's command encompassed all of western North Carolina. He often made his headquarters in Mars Hill, using the buildings of the fledgling college.

In April 1864, dissidents under Mont Ray raided Burnsville. They were driven out by Confederate forces from Asheville, and as local ledged has it, McElroy's old house was used as a hospital.   McElroy then returned for a short time to Burnsville, possibly using his old home as his headquarters. It is believed that at some point during the war, McElroy's home on Jack's Creek was ransacked and burnt.

After the war ended, McElroy made his way to Graham County, where he died in 1886, interred in the Old Mother Cemetery.

Recently, it came to the attention of the Col. John B. Palmer Camp. Sons of Confederate Veterans, that the tombstone marking McElroy's grave was in poor condition. At some point in the past, the stone had been broken, and then cemented back together. The Palmer Camp chose to take the steps to get McElroy a new stone. Since McElroy was a state-appointed officer, and not a regular Confederate soldier, he is not eligible for a stone from the Veterans Administration.

The Palmer Camp has decided to purchase a stone to mark McElroy's grave and is seeking donations to assist in procuring the stone. Donations may be sent to PO Box 317, Micaville, NC  28755.

After the stone returns from the stone cutter, the Palmer Camp is planning a memorial service in Graham County for John W. McElroy. An announcement will be posted with this information when the time and date have been set.

Weekend recap.

We had a great time this past Saturday talking about Watauga County and the War. Chris Hartley, author of the new book on Stoneman's Raid, did a great job covering the events in and around Boone and Watauga County, while also setting the events into a greater context.

Then it was my turn: instead of focusing on Watauga County and the War as a whole (which I have done in the past), I chose to follow just two local men around. The two I chose to follow were Franklin and William Henry Cousins ( also spelled Cozzins). These two brothers both served in the 37th North Carolina Troops. Franklin was killed in the fighting at Second Manassas in August 1862, and William Henry as captured on April 2, 1865, just outside Petersburg. He survived his brief stay in the Federal prison, and then moved to Yancey County after the War. The truly remarkable part of this story is that both men were "free persons of color" - some of those elusive black Confederates.

I'll be speaking again in Watauga County at the library on September 20. The topic will be my new book, North Carolina in the Civil War. I hope you can make it.

Watauga County and the Civil War Symposium

I will confess - I've been doing some type of program about the Watauga County area at the library in Boone for over a decade now. I recently came across something that I clipped from the newspaper from 1998.

I know I've written a lot about Watauga County in the past - of all the North Carolina counties, I probably know more about the war in Watauga than in any other county (Avery comes a close second). While my direct line had already passed on to Kentucky by the 1860s, I am related to large portions of the population. My Hardy line and the Council line had already mingled (some say three times) before the Councils came to the area and my Hardys went to Alabama. I'm also related to the Proffits, Hamptons, and Laws families, all early settles in Wilkes County.

Over the years, we've done a variety of different programs - lectures, displays of clothes and weapons, and round table discussions. This year, I thought I would put together other writers whose work has touched on the area. Matt Bumgarner wrote a book a few years ago entitledKirk's Raiders: A Notorious Band of Scoundrels and Thieves.  This book is a history of the 2nd and 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry.  Chris Hartley is the author of not only a biography on Brig. James B. Gordon from Wilkes County, but more recently, a great study of Stoneman's Raid, which passed through Watauga County in March 1865. Of course, I've written histories of the 37th NCT and the 58th NCT (both of which had large amounts of men from Watauga County) and a history of Watauga County itself.

The program starts at 10:00 am, and there will be ample time to ask questions. And I am sure there will be a few books for sale.

Bentonville Battlefield

Friends, here is an image that I shot at Bentonville a week or so ago. It is of one of their new tombstones. I believe that they are still raising funds to purchase more of these. You can learn more about the battlefield by visiting: http://www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi/

New Project

It is rare for me to be without a contract for some type of book. I mean, I turn in one manuscript, and often before I have proofs back, I am already working on something else. So for the past couple of months, I've not had a contract - that is not say that I've not been working. The History Press has a very quick turnaround time, weeks, as compared to months like some other publishers. I turned in North Carolina in the Civil War in May, and it was released on July 29.

Writing North Carolina in the Civil War has shown me some serious gaps in the coverage of our fair state when it comes to reading about the war. There are significant counties and cities that have no easily accessible War-related histories, and you are probably tired of me griping about the lack of regimental histories.  

A couple of weeks ago, I submitted a proposal to The History Press, who published North Carolina in the Civil War. The new project, which they accepted and for which I signed the contract this past weekend, is for book tentatively titled Civil War Charlotte.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no other more important city in North Carolina during the War than Charlotte. Yes, I know Wilmington had the port, the last remaining port open to the Confederacy. Yet Charlotte had the Confederate Naval Works, a gunpowder making facility, uniform making facilities, the Confederate Acid Works, other facilities that made war goods, hospitals, ladies aid societies, and toward the end of the war, a prison. Of course, Jefferson Davis was in Charlotte (along with other refugees) at the close of the war, as was the Confederate gold, Confederate cabinet, and surviving papers of the Confederate War Department. Plus, the railroad that ran through Charlotte was, after mid-1863, one of the most important railroads for funneling supplies from the Deep South to the main Confederate army in Virginia.

Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are not new subjects to me. Two of the companies of the Thirty-seventh North Carolina Troops, the topic of my first book, hailed from Mecklenburg County; I touched on the area in both my book Remembering North Carolina's Confederates,  and my history of the 58th North Carolina Troops; and, I wrote four articles in the Old Mecklenburg County Heritage Book on prominent Confederate officers from Mecklenburg County. And finally, there is a good bit of discussion on the Queen City in North Carolina in the Civil War.  (That is not counting the series of lengthy blog posts that I wrote on Mecklenburg County last year.)

So there you have it: my next project will be on Charlotte, North Carolina, during the War for Southern Independence.

Watauga County and the Civil War Symposium

I hope you will join us!

What they thought...

I came up with an idea last night - how did the rest of the country perceive North Carolina's secession struggle. Here are some newspaper articles that I dug out. These are from the month of March 1861. I plan to go back and look at May 1861 next.

"Our returns from North Carolina are too meager to indicate the result yesterday, whether for Union or secession. Raleigh gives a splendid vote in favor of the constitution as it is." - 01 March 1861 Springfield Republican (MA).

"North Carolina. - The result of the North Carolina election may remain in doubt for some days, but the returns, so far as yet received, seem to us to be favorable, and to show a probability that no convention will be held. A glance at the map and at former election returns will show that we are hearing from the worst part of the State first, --that is, from the counties near the coast and in the southern part of the State. This, New Hanover seems to have voted for a convention by about the same majority which it gave to Breckinridge; Duplin seems to have gone for a convention, and gave Breckinridge over 1200 majority; Brunswick, a small county, and usually nearly balanced, it is reported to have voted for a convention, which is a gain to the wrong side. The chief county in the interior which has been heard from is Wake county (containing Raleigh), which, instead of 86 majority for Breckinridge over Bell (Douglas having 276 votes), now gives 1000 majority against a convention, and Wayne, somewhat nearer the coast, votes for a convention by rather less than Breckinridge's majority.

     "The returns from the coast, as we anticipate, will be unfavorable, but in the interior and western parts of the State, the Tennessee feeling is very strong, and we anticipate there such noble majority against disunion as those by which Eastern Tennessee swamp the secession majority of the western part of that State. A few counties like will turn the scale, for in the State Breckinridge had only 3549 majority over Bell, 2701 votes being cast for Douglas." 2 March 1861 - Boston Daily Advertiser.

North Carolina for the Union for the Union- Convention Rejected.

"The returns received, says the Raleigh Register, warrant us in asserting that North Carolina has gone for the Union by an overwhelming majority, and in expressing the opinion that a majority of the people have refused to call a convention, and this, we believe, is the general impression herel for a though by our returns as published to-day, the Convention is ahead, there are counties yet to hear from, which it is believed, will turn the scale the other way.
    "The result of the election shows the devotion of North Carolina to the Constitution and the Union of the States, and her utter detestation of the policy of the Ellises, Averys, the Persons, the Hokes, the Thomases, et id omne genus, which would have carried the State out of the Union and tacked her to South Carolina two months ago. But North Carolina's action on Thursday last must not be misconstrued into anything savoring of a declaration that she will submit to anything and everything for the sake of a so-called Union. To place such a construction on her action would be to make a great mistake.
   "North Carolina declares that she has seen nothing as yet to justify the destruction of the Union, or make her turn her back on the blessings which she thinks she has enjoyed and is enjoying in it. This is what she has declared. But should the time unhappily come when the Constitution, which supports that Union, is so perverted that the rights which she contracted for are not recognized and respected, her action will be in accordance with the spirit which prompted her sons in 1775 to be the first on this continent to declare the great principles of human liberty. " - 8 March 1861 Philadelphia Inquirer.

"North Carolina.-If any body has entertained the idea that North Carolina would follow the bad example of her more Southern namesake, and declare her connection with the Union severed, that idea will now probably be dispelled. A telegram from Raleigh informs us that the State has voted against holding a convention by one thousand majority, and that the delegates elected to a Convention in case one had been ordered are two to one for the Union. - North Carolina has been confidently counted upon for secession, and her adherence to the to the Union is a gratifying evidence that the disunion movement has been effectually checked." 11 March 1861 Trenton State Gazette (NJ).

Why does no one remember Samuel Cooper?

I had a great time signing books and speaking at the Bentonville Battlefield this past Saturday. A conversation with one of the patrons led me to this question: why does no one remember Samuel Cooper?

Ask the common rank and file on the streets who the highest ranking Confederate general was, and you usually get one, maybe two answers. Most people say Robert E. Lee. A few will say Joseph E. Johnston. Neither is right. The highest ranking Confederate general was Samuel Cooper.

Born in Dutchess County, New York, in 1798, Cooper graduated from West Point in 1815. He served in the artillery until 1837, when he became chief clerk at the War Department. After that he served as Assistant Adjutant General, until July 1852, when he was promoted to Adjutant General. For three days in March 1861, Cooper was Secretary of War ad interium. Cooper resigned from the United States Army on March 7, 1861, and a few days later, appointed Adjutant General and Inspector General of the Confederate Army. His appointment as a full general in the Confederate Army was dated May 16, 1861. Cooper died on December 3, 1876, and is interred at Christ Church Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia.

The other ranks of the other top five Confederate Generals: Albert S. Johnston's commission as a full general dated to May 30, 1861; Robert E. Lee - June 14, 1861; Joseph E. Johnston - July 4, 1861; and, P. G. T. Beauregard - July 21, 1861. Of course, many of you are familiar with the story of Joseph E. Johnston, upset that he was not the highest ranking Confederate general, based upon his being promoted to quartermaster general in the regular army a year prior to the war.

So, what does this have to do with North Carolina and the War? In the last days of the conflict, as Jefferson Davis fled south into North Carolina, his cabinet followed him. Cooper traveled as far as Charlotte. When Davis chose to continue further south, Cooper, being 67 years old, chose to remain behind in Charlotte, supposedly watching over the papers of the War Department. Cooper was paroled in Charlotte on May 3, 1865.

So there you have it. The highest ranking Confederate general.

Bentonville Battlefield Free 2nd Saturdays Program

“A Patchwork of History: Quilts, Soldiers and North Carolina ’s Civil War Sacrifice”

FOUR OAKS -- Bentonville Battlefield will present “A Patchwork of History: Quilts, Soldiers, and North Carolina ’s Civil War Sacrifice” at the free 2^nd Saturdays program on Aug. 1 3, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Topics will include 19^th-century quilts and textiles, North Carolina ’s Civil War Death Study and the 58^th NC Troops. Visitors will enjoy music by Waterbound Dulcimers of Kinston throughout the day.

 11 a.m. 19^th Century Quilts and Textiles. Textile historian and conservator Lynn Lancaster Gorges of New Bern will present a detailed history of quilts and textiles production prior to the Civil War. Learn about the most popular quilt patterns and fabric colors found in the possession of a soldier or on the home front during the war. Following the presentation she will be available to evaluate quilts and textiles bought in by visitors. Visit her Web site at www.textilepreservation.com. Quilts of the 19^th century will be on display.

1 p.m. North Carolina’s Civil War Death Study. N.C. Office of Archives and History Research Historian Josh Howard has painstakingly re-examined official military records, and records from hospitals, cemeteries, churches, prisoner-of-war camps, as well as news paper accounts, letters, diaries, and census info rmation, to establish the first official count of North Carolina’s Civil War dead. Learn about his research journey and surprising findings! For more info rmation, visit www.nccivilwar150.com.

 3 p.m. The 58^th NC Troops. Civil War historian and author Michael C. Hardy will present info rmation on the 58^th NC Troops, one of the few North Carolina regiments that served in the western theater (from Alabama to Kentucky ) of the Civil War. The 58^th was in Palmer’s Brigade with remnants of the Army of Tennessee at Bentonville on March 19-21, 1865. Hardy will sign and sell books throughout the day. For info rmation on the award-winning North Carolina historian visit www.michaelchardy.com.

The Battle of Bentonville involved 80,000 troops and was the last Confederate offensive against Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Bentonville Battlefield is located at 5466 Harper House Road , Four Oaks, NC 27524, three miles north of Newton Grove on S.R. 1008. For more info rmation, visit www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi/bentonvi.htm or call (910) 594-0789.

 Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina ’s social, cultural and economic future. 2nd Saturdays is a series of more than 100 free events that bring together artists, history and authentic North Carolina culture at all 37 of the Department of Cultural Resources’ museums and Historic Sites. For more info rmation on Cultural Resources, visit www.ncculture.com.