"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.

In the mountains of western North Carolina, the Civil War was fought on different terms than those found throughout most of the South. Though relatively minor strategically, incursions by both Confederate and Union troops disrupted life and threatened the

No region has undergone more dramatic changes in the last century than Western North Carolina. Published in 1973, Western North Carolina Since the Civil War takes a look at the mountain people and their uniquely structured economic, political, social, and cultural systems. The Van Noppens specifically explore the different qualities of the mountain people such as their institutions, traditions, customs, and arts and crafts. Beginning with a dark period of social and economic disintegration after the end of the Civil War, the study traces the mountain peoples' lives from isolation to economic booms all while maintaining their traditions and cultural heritage.

"I think that we can hold our position here against any force that the enemy can bring against us, as we have an admirable position & are all ready. I can give you no idea when the general attack will take place. It may be this evening, tomorrow or at any moment as both parties are apparently ready & we have nothing to do but pitch in."--Captain Charles C. Blacknall, "Granville Rifles," Company G, 23rd North Carolina Troops, Yorktown, Virginia, April 22, 1862 This work is a compilation of letters and diary entries (and a few other documents) that tell the Civil War experiences of soldiers and citizens from 29 North Carolina counties: Alamance, Alexander, Anson, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes, Union, and Yadkin. The book is arranged chronologically, 1861 through 1865, and a chart at the beginning of each chapter tells the date, subject, document type (letter, diary entry, or other), author, recipient, and the home county and unit of soldiers.

"Between these pages the reader will learn that North Carolina citizens did not idly stand by as their soldiers marched off to war. The women worked themselves into “patriotic exhaustion” through Aid Societies. Civilians with different means of support from the lower class to the plantation mistress wrote the governor complaining of hoarding, speculation, the tithe, bushwhackers, unionism, conscription, and exemptions. Never before had so many died due to guerilla warfare. Unknown before starving women with weapons stormed the merchant or warehouses in search for food. Others turned to smuggling, spying, or nature’s oldest profession. Information from period newspapers, as well as mostly unpublished letters, tell their stories."