“You will perceive by this I am at least in the Confederate service…. Since I have been here I have had a severe sickness but am glad to say at present I am well though I fear my sickness would have incapacitated me for active service…. In all probability our regiment will be stationed here permanently for the winter to guard the bridge across the Watauga River…”—Private John H. Phillips, Company E, 62nd Regiment NC Troops, Camp Carter, Tennessee, October 13, 1862
This work presents letters and diary entries (and a few other documents) that tell the Civil War experiences of soldiers and civilians from the mountain counties of North Carolina: Alleghany, Ashe, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey.
The book is arranged chronologically, 1861 through 1865. Before each letter or diary entry, background information is provided about the writer.

Christopher M. Watford, a high school teacher, is a member of the Central Piedmont Historic Preservation Association and the Davidson County (North Carolina) Civil War Roundtable. He lives in the Light area near Thomasville, North Carolina.

Edited by Christopher M. Watford
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: 39 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [2003]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4595-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0563-0
Imprint: McFarland
Series: The Civil War in North Carolina

Acknowledgments      vi
Preface      vii
Introduction      1

1861        7
1862        33
1863        87
1864        139
1865        187

Appendix 1: Distribution of Letters, Diary Entries, by County and Author     201
Appendix 2: Units with at Least Four Companies from the Mountains      203
Appendix 3: Companies Organized in Mountain Counties      204
Appendix 4: List of Employees at Asheville Armory      208
Appendix 5: Letter Writers and Diarists Herein Who Died in Service      212
Appendix 6: A Poem Composed by Private Harvey Davis      213

Notes      215
Bibliography      241
Index      245

Winner, Willie Parker Peace Award—North Carolina Society of Historians.
“valid and worthwhile…well-prepared notes…the appendixes…are a bonus…an invaluable tool for teachers and those interested in reading firsthand accounts…a wealth of information to commemorate North Carolina’s Civil War experience”—North Carolina Historical Review; “the documents are helpfully sourced and contextualized”—Appalachian Journal; “a wealth of primary source material”—The Civil War News.