Western North Carolina: American Civil War History

Western North Carolina and the American Civil War

"A great majority of the people were poor and had no interest in slavery, present or prospective. But most of them had little mountain homes and, be it ever so humble, there is no place like home...but when the Federal army occupied East Tennessee and threatened North Carolina..." Lt. Col. William W. Stringfield: Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-'65, Vol., 3, p. 734.

"The Cumberland Gap is the Gibraltar of America," General Ulysses S. Grant in January 1864

Western North Carolina proved invaluable in the defense of vital and strategic Saltworks and railroads. For example, while guarding the Strawberry Plains Bridge, the Thomas Legion's Private James Keelan was posthumously awarded the rare Confederate Medal of Honor. The Western North Carolina mountains were also in striking distance of several major Civil War battles, and, during the Civil War, Western North Carolina was a refuge for bushwhackers, deserters and outlaws.

During the 1864 Valley Campaigns, General Jubal Early's Army of the Valley absorbed the majority of the Department of East Tennessee and Western District of North Carolina (AKA District of Western North Carolina). By transferring the bulk of both commands into the Valley, it allowed bushwhackers to plunder, at will, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. The ruthless Shelton Laurel Massacre epitomized the region's lawlessness and anarchy, while Captain Goldman Bryson's Union Volunteers reflected the region's divided loyalties.

Regarding the mountains, William Holland Thomas, a Cherokee chief, Confederate colonel, and senator, had an outstanding Civil War strategy; however, the war's demands and political infighting nullified Thomas's strategy. Regarding the defense of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote an official letter of confidence in Thomas' Legion (January 4, 1865). Moreover, by 1865, it was too late because Union General George Stoneman enjoyed a series of fierce raids through the mountains.

During the Civil War, Western North Carolina was in striking distance of

Georgia

, East Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. In 1861, depending on which cartographic map you study, it included 20 or 21 western counties (See: North Carolina Maps). In 1861, however, there were 21 mountain counties. And in 1861, 71% of North Carolina's slave population resided in the Coastal Plain Region, with the Southern Appalachian Mountains considered the poorest of the three North Carolina Regions.

Many East Tennesseans served in Western North Carolina American Civil War regiments. Bordered with Western North Carolina, the two Regions reflected many similarities: East Tennessee was the poorest of Tennessee's three Regions; within Tennessee, East Tennessee possessed the least amount of slaves; both were rugged mountainous Regions; both Regions experienced lawlessness and anarchy during the Civil War; and they experienced many battles and skirmishes against the same Union commands.

Divided loyalties in the regions had no boundaries and during the aftermath spawned feuds which would last for decades. According to John L. Ransom, Andersonville Diary (1881), pp. 20-21, Madame Collier was a federal soldier from East Tennessee who enjoyed army life until her capture and subsequent imprisonment at Belle Isle, Virginia. She decided to make the most of the difficult situation and continued concealing her gender, hoping for exchange. Another prisoner learned her secret and reported it to Confederate authorities, who sent her North under a flag of truce.

1860 Western North Carolina Census Data

(North Carolina comprised 86 counties in 1860; presently there are 100 counties)

Western North Carolina comprised 18 counties in 1860. In 1861, however, Western North Carolina added 3 "mountain counties." Although created after the 1860 census, the 3 newly formed mountain counties were carved from existing counties so they had no impact on the 1860 population.

The 3 newly formed counties in 1861:

Clay County (formed from part of Cherokee County), Mitchell County (formed from parts of Burke County, Caldwell County, McDowell County, Watauga County, and Yancey County), and Transylvania County (formed from parts of Henderson County and Jackson County).

1860 Western North Carolina Census

Sources: University of Virginia Library; United States Census

County	Total Pop.	White	Free Blacks	Slaves
Alleghany	3590	3351	33	206
Ashe	7956	7423	142	391
Buncombe	12654	10610	111	1933
Burke	9237	6645	221	2371
Caldwell	7497	6295	114	1088
Cherokee*	9166	8609	38	519
Haywood	5801	5474	14	313
Henderson	10448	8981	85	1382
Jackson**	5515	4179	6	268
Macon*	6004	5370	115	519
Madison	5908	5678	17	213
McDowell	7120	5542	273	1305
Polk*	4043	3317	106	620
Rutherford	11573	9059	123	2391
Surry	10380	8950	184	1246
Watauga	4957	4772	81	104
Wilkes	14749	13280	261	1208
Yancey	8655	8226	67	362

Total 145,253** 125,761 1,991 16,439

* The 1860 census does not include the Cherokees in Cherokee, Macon, and Polk counties. In 1860, however, additional census records reflect 26 Cherokees in Cherokee County, 55 Cherokees in Macon County, and 5 Cherokees in Polk County.

** The 1860 census includes the 1062 Cherokees in Jackson County.

Western North Carolina's slaves comprised 11.3% of the region's total population. North Carolina's total slave count, however, comprised 33% of the Old North State's population.