In April 1861, public opinion in North Carolina was divided between Union and secession supporters. It was only after President Lincoln issued his call to arms to subdue the rebel state of South Carolina that North Carolina seceded, primarily in protest of the order to fight her sister state. Beginning with a look at the prevailing atmosphere in North Carolina in the spring of 1861, this volume provides an in-depth history of one Confederate infantry regiment, the 28th North Carolina, which was comprised primarily of units from the central and southwestern parts of the state. It discusses the various battles in which the 28th North Carolina was involved, including Hanover Court House, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chapin's Farm and Appomattox. Special emphasis is placed on the thoughts and surviving accounts provided by those soldiers who witnessed firsthand the atrocities of war. Appendices contain (among other items) a chronology of the 28th North Carolina; a list of casualties among officers; a list of casualties in the 28th from 1862 through 1864; and the full text of letters from two members of the 28th, the Harding brothers.

Early in the Civil War, prisons were adequate to hold the numbers of prisoners. As the war continued and the number of prisoners increased, so did the number of facilities. Some 150 locations were utilized to hold soldiers captured on the battlefield as well as political prisoners suspected of disloyalty. Facilities can be classified in six categories: 1) existing jails or prisons, 2) coastal fortifications, 3) converted commercial buildings, 4) barracks enclosed by a high fence, 5) cloisters of tents enclosed by a high fence and 6) barren stockades. Many prisoners, both Confederate and Federal, came to feel that a quick death from a bullet would have been better than slowly starving to death in a cold, crowded, filthy prison. The hope of freedom was sometimes the only thing that kept a prisoner alive, and if that prisoner wanted to see his home once more, he tried every way possible to escape. This work is divided into two sections--the Federal prisons and the Confederate prisons. The facilities have been organized alphabetically for easy reference. Facts about each prison include when it was established, type of facility, location, number and kind of prisoners held, known escapes, and other available data. An appendix lists the monthly Federal prison population from July 1862 through late 1865 and the escapes reported each month.

On November 11, 1862, Brigadier General Thomas Lanier Clingman, despite a lack of formal military training, was named commander of four regiments sent to the eastern counties of North Carolina to prevent Federal troops from making further inroads into the state. Clingman has been called one of North Carolina's most colorful and controversial statesmen, but his military career received little attention from his contemporaries and has been practically ignored by later historians. Like Clingman, the brigade, composed of the 8th, 31st, 51st, and 61st regiments of North Carolina Infantry, has been both praised and condemned for its performance in battle. This work determines the effect Clingman's Brigade had on various battles and in various defensive positions. It also corrects falsehoods by providing a more accurate portrayal of Clingman, the brigade, and the problems it faced. Chapters are devoted to Clingman as a lawyer, politician, and Congressman, Clingman as soldier, battles fought by the brigade, and the four regiments. Appendices include Clingman's two order books (detailing general and specific orders), a roster of his officers, and miscellaneous letters.

From doctors to lawyers and privates to generals, this volume records the stories of a few special people who chose to serve their country during the Civil War. Twenty-four individuals from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line are remembered for their extraordinary and often little known contributions to the Confederate and Union causes. These include Colonel Thomas Rose, who was in charge of the Libby Prison tunnel; Colonel John R. Winston, who was one of the few to escape from the Federal prison on Johnson's Island; Sally Tompkins, who ran a private hospital in Richmond; and Sergeant Richard Kirkland, who risked his life to take water to the Federal troops at Fredericksburg. Contemporary sources include correspondence and diaries from these subjects and those who knew them. Appendices contain a roll of participants in the Great Locomotive Chase; a list of Federal prisoners who escaped through the Libby Prison tunnel; and a directory of Confederate officers on board the Maple Leaf.

Located in the western piedmont of North Carolina, Yadkin County was hardly a hotbed of rebellion at the start of the Civil War. Many of the 1,200 men from Yadkin who served in the Confederate Army did so with distinction, but a number deserted. Some of these holed up in the Bond School House, and when the militia attempted to arrest them, four were killed and several others were wounded. This is a comprehensive accounting of how the county responded to the Civil War and the effect it had on Yadkin's citizens, civilian and military alike.

Edward Wild, the controversial Union general who headed the all-black African Brigade in the Civil War, was one of the most loved and most hated figures of the 19th century. The man was neither understood nor appreciated by military or civilian, black or white, Northerner or Southerner. After enlisting at the outbreak of the war, Wild was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in charge of the United States Colored Troops. In fulfilling his assignment to free slaves and gain recruits, he took three women as hostages and ordered a great deal of property destruction. He freed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of slaves and settled them safely on Roanoke Island. Wild then not only recruited the newly freed blacks, but trained them and gave them the opportunity to prove their worth in battle. Nobody, it seems, was happy about serving with them, but the African Brigade performed courageously in several battles. Wild did some inexplicable things. Were his actions typical of the 19th century or did he act outside the norm? Was the criticism he suffered from his fellow Union officers valid - or was it due to personality conflicts? Did he deserve to be arrested, court-marshalled, and even wiped from the history books - or was he the victim of discrimination? This work draws its answers from extensive research and includes many rare letters to and from Wild, including one from one of the North Carolinian hostages.

Captain George W. Alexander was a controversial figure in Richmond duringthe Civil War, honored as a hero and condemned as a cruel prison superintendent. He was appointed Provost Marshall and put in charge of Castle Thunder in 1862, after escaping imprisonment at Fort McHenry. At his Confederate prison in Richmond, he oversaw prisoners of all types, including Confederates, women, slaves, Federal deserters, and spies.

This biography traces his entire life from his career in the U.S. Navy andthe voyage with Commodore Perry to Japan, to his hiding in Canada after Lees surrender, to his editorship of Washington DCs "Sunday Gazette" and death in 1895. The main body of the text concentrates on Alexanders time at Castle Thunder, but the book also explores the evolution of the prison system and the provost marshalls department, touching on unusual prisoners and escape attempts. Appendix 1 is a partial list of prisoners at Castle Thunder and when, where, and why they were arrested. Appendix 2 is a transcript of the court martial of Private John R. Jones. Appendix 3 lists prisoners sent from Camp Holmes and appendix 4 is a report of Alexander as Assistant Provost Marshall. Appendix 5 is a pamphlet published by the Republican Party National Committee; it struck at the it struck at the Democratic Party by scorning its military prison keepers.