As the winds of war began to blow in the spring of 1861, John W. Amick joined the Greenbrier Sharpshooters. According to family legend he was a captain at Carnifex Ferry, Lewisburg and Dogwood Gap reported first to Jackson then later to Lee. In 1862, Captain John Amick led the scouts for General Loring as he recaptured the Kanawha Valley from the invading Yankees. During the war, the Amick scouts battled invaders on Sewell Mountain throughout 1862 and 1863. The Amick Company of Scouts were used as spies across western Virginia. As the Confederacy became overwhelmed in spring of 1864, Captain John resigned his commission to form a guerilla band to protect his family and home. The Amick Partisan Rangers quickly grew to a battalion of four companies commanded by captains Tyree, Halstead, McClung and Baumgardner. The Yankees soon put a price on his head - wanted dead or alive. But his mother said, "You've got to catch him before you can hang him." This is the story of the Amick Partisan Rangers.

This book is a companion to the book The Amick Partisan Rangers. This work covers the early Amick family and the Sewell Mountain area and the other members of the Amick family through the war. The chapters include Settling the Wilderness, Eli Amick and the 14th Virginia Cavalry, Joseph Amick and the Dixie Rifles, James Anderson Amick Company C 22nd, Asa Amick and Co. E of the 26th Battalion, James and Perry Amick and Company F, 36th, Henry Amick and the Nighthawk Rangers, The Amick Cousins in the Fight, Family Appendices and family information. Read the first chapter for a background of the family and to get acquainted with the area, then the chapters can be read in any order.

Johan Georg Emig was born in Germany on July 13, 1715. He married Maria Elisabeth in Germany around 1735. They had two children in there, the first, Johan Heinrich, was born about 1737, the second, Johan Philip was born about 1741. Johan Georg, with his wife and two young children, took the ship Christian from Rotterdam and arrived in Philadelphia on the September 13, 1749. Georg Emig took the oath of allegiance upon his arrival. Most of the passengers were from the Palatine region or Rhine Valley. Georg built a grist mill on Tohickon Creek in Bucks County outside of Philadelphia. Georg passed the mill down to his son Henry when he died. Henry Emig, son of Henry who was the son of Georg, was also a miller, inherited his father's grist and saw mill on Tohickon Creek in Bucks County.

Peaceful Panther Mountain became a war zone in the summer of 1861. Virginia had broken away from the United States and families in the western part of the state had to choose sides or face jail, exile, or death. 18-year-old Lydia Renick watched her world crumble. Her best friend was forced to sign the Confederate oath. Her father fled the state because he wouldn't, leaving the teenager, her mother and seven siblings to fend for themselves. Faced time and time again with danger, Lydia is forced outside of the world she knows and to act with courage and quick-thinking like never before. She takes on the roles of guard, mountain guide, and detective, all while navigating a life in the 19th century that intersects with the country-molding Civil War and the Chicago World's Fair. Lydia's story is a reflection of the bravery, innovation, and excitement of a country that is truly on the verge.

In v. 1-11 each state has at end a "Biographical" section; "Additional sketches illustrating the services of officers and privates and patriotic citizens" are appended in v. 2 (Maryland, p. 185-447; West Virginia, p. 139-296) ; in v. 3 (Virginia) p. 693-1295 ; in v. 4 (North Carolina) p. 355-813; in v. 5 (South Carolina) p. 425-931. 1. Curry, J. L. M.; Legal justification of the South in secession. Garrett, W.R.; The South as a factor in the territorial expansion of the United States. Evans, C. A.; The Civil history of the Confederate States.--2. Johnson, B. T.; Maryland. White, Robert; West Virginia.--3. Hotchkiss, Jed; Virginia.--4. Hill, D. H. Jr.; North Carolina.--5. Capers, Ellison; South Carolina.--6. Derry, J. T.; Georgia.--7. Wheeler, Joseph; Alabama. Hooker, C. E.; Mississippi.--8. Porter, J. D.; Tennessee.--9. Johnston, J. S.; Kentucky. Moore, J. C.; Missouri.--10. Dimitry, John; Louisiana. Harrell, J. M.; Arkansas.--11. Roberts, O. M.; Texas. Dickinson, J. J.; Florida.--12. Parker, W. H.; The Confederate States navy. Jones, J. W.; The morale of the Confederate armies. Evans, C. A.; An outline of Confederate military history. Lee, S. D.; The South since the war. Documental and statistical appendix.