"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 the 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 battles, and, during the Civil War, it 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 Shenandoah Valley, it allowed bushwhackers to plunder Southern Appalachia. 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 War Strategy; however, the war's
demands and political infighting nullified Thomas's strategy. Regarding the defense of the region,
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote an official letter of confidence in Thomas' Legion (January 4, 1865). However, by 1865, it was too late because Union General George Stoneman enjoyed a series of fierce raids through the mountains.
During the conflict, 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 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 also served
in Western North Carolina regiments. As border states, 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.
(North Carolina comprised 86 counties in 1860; presently there are 100 counties)
Western
North Carolina comprised 18 counties in 1860. In 1861, however, it 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, Caldwell, McDowell, Watauga, and
Yancey counties), and Transylvania County (formed from parts of Henderson County and Jackson County).
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.
Recommended
Reading: Touring the Western North Carolina
Backroads (Touring the Backroads). Editorial
Review: This guidebook, unlike most, is so
encyclopedic in scope that I give it as a gift to newcomers to the area. It is also an invaluable reference for the visitor
who wants to see more than the fabulous Biltmore Estate. Even though I am a native of the area, I learned nearly everything
I know about Western North Carolina from this book alone and it is my primary reference.
I am still amazed at how much fact, history and folklore [just enough to bring alive the curve of the road, the odd landmark,
the abandoned building] is packed in its 300 pages. The author, who must have collapsed from exhaustion when she finished
it, takes you on a detailed tour, laid out by the tenth of the mile, of carefully drawn sections of backroads that you can
follow leisurely without getting lost. Continued below...
The author
is completely absent from the text. The lucid style will please readers who want the facts, not editorial comment. This book,
as well as the others in this publisher's backroads series, makes an excellent gift for anyone, especially the many seniors
who have relocated, or are considering relocating to this fascinating region. It is also a valuable reference for natives,
like me, who didn't know how much they didn't know.
Recommended Reading:Bushwhackers, The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains (338 pages).Description: Trotter's book (which could have been titled "Murder, Mayhem,
and Mountain Madness") is an epic backdrop for the most horrific murdering, plundering and pillaging of the mountain
communities of western North Carolina during the state’s darkest hour—the American Civil War. Commonly referred
to as Southern Appalachia, the North Carolina and East Tennessee
mountains witnessed divided loyalties in its bushwhackers and guerrilla units. These so-called “bushwhackers”
even used the conflict to settle old feuds and scores, which, in some cases, continued well after the war ended. Continued
below...
Some bushwhackers
were highly organized ‘fighting guerrilla units’ while others were a motley group of deserters and outliers,
and, since most of them were residents of the region, they were familiar with the terrain and made for a “very formidable
foe.” In this work, Trotter does a great job on covering the many facets of the bushwhackers, including their: battles,
skirmishes, raids, activities, motives, the outcome, and even the aftermath. This book is also a great source for tracing
ancestors during the Civil War; a must have for the family researcher of Southern Appalachia.
Recommended Reading for
Western North Carolina American Civil War History: The Mountaineers and Highlanders
The
below site is highly recommended for persons interested in their Western North Carolina genealogy, heritage, and history.
It is a Yahoo Group and free to join; come and discover your roots and even share your information. Through this group I also
discovered cousins residing only 45 miles away. Inform the moderator that Matt Parker sent you.
The mass exodus from Western North Carolina to Washington State:
According to Kathy Reim, "Connections between North Carolina and Washington state are “heartfelt and
lasting.” Today some 17,000 people (about 16 percent of the population) in Skagit County (home of Sedro-Woolley) trace
their families to North Carolina, said Kathy, whose mother is from Gastonia."
Ms. Terry Parker Berger states: "The Skagit Valley is full of names that appear all over your Parker History
for North Carolina. Parker, Queen, Bryson, and Wood are a few I remember. Many of the cousins are still there. If
you drive East on Highway 20 and look at the names on the mail boxes you will see a lot of familiar family names from the
western North Carolina area."
