American Civil War
The Home Fires Burn
By
Varo Borja
Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty. – Jefferson Davis
The American Civil War was probably the defining epoch of the United States of America. The war claimed the lives of more Americans than any war before or since, and it not only abolished a system that was both repugnant and destructive to the souls of the citizens of the United States, the war solidified under one government the erstwhile sectionally divided and regionally proud denizens of our Great Republic. However, sectional loyalties and regional differences still persist in the United States to this day, and almost no time in the history of America were these loyalties and prejudices more apparent than during the Civil War. Western North Carolinians were especially proud of and loyal to their homeland, as they are today. The common confederate soldier from Western N.C. in the American Civil War, although beleaguered by defeats in battle, sickness in camp, and worries of the home front, never lost sight of what truly mattered to him: his home, his family, and his region.
In 1861, the common Confederate soldier from Western North Carolina was anxious to defend his homeland against the "Northern Aggressor". Seth McBride, a soldier from Western North Carolina wrote to his brother and sister that, on August 25th of 1861 he was, “fat and still fattening” (1861). Food, for the North Carolina resident of the 19th century, was a prized commodity, and to claim that he was growing fatter, although probably an overstatement, reflected that he was content and optimistic. His spirits were high, the esprit de corps of his regiment was in full flower, and he was even grateful that his officers were, “very strict, and I like them better for that” (S. McBride, 1861). This letter was written a little over a month after the Confederate victory at Bull Run, and the general feelings about the war were optimistic and lively. Another letter from a teenage girl in Rutherfordton on January 8, 1861 said,
Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty. – Jefferson Davis
The American Civil War was probably the defining epoch of the United States of America. The war claimed the lives of more Americans than any war before or since, and it not only abolished a system that was both repugnant and destructive to the souls of the citizens of the United States, the war solidified under one government the erstwhile sectionally divided and regionally proud denizens of our Great Republic. However, sectional loyalties and regional differences still persist in the United States to this day, and almost no time in the history of America were these loyalties and prejudices more apparent than during the Civil War. Western North Carolinians were especially proud of and loyal to their homeland, as they are today. The common confederate soldier from Western N.C. in the American Civil War, although beleaguered by defeats in battle, sickness in camp, and worries of the home front, never lost sight of what truly mattered to him: his home, his family, and his region.
In 1861, the common Confederate soldier from Western North Carolina was anxious to defend his homeland against the "Northern Aggressor". Seth McBride, a soldier from Western North Carolina wrote to his brother and sister that, on August 25th of 1861 he was, “fat and still fattening” (1861). Food, for the North Carolina resident of the 19th century, was a prized commodity, and to claim that he was growing fatter, although probably an overstatement, reflected that he was content and optimistic. His spirits were high, the esprit de corps of his regiment was in full flower, and he was even grateful that his officers were, “very strict, and I like them better for that” (S. McBride, 1861). This letter was written a little over a month after the Confederate victory at Bull Run, and the general feelings about the war were optimistic and lively. Another letter from a teenage girl in Rutherfordton on January 8, 1861 said,
We are all anticipating war here; we girls are reading all the stories we can find about the women of the Revolution, so that we’ll know how to act bravely and magnanimously in time of war” (Inscoe and McKinney, 59).
With such devotion on the home front, and success in the field, the average Confederate soldier in 1861 had many reasons to believe a bright future lay ahead for the Confederate States of America.
With such devotion on the home front, and success in the field, the average Confederate soldier in 1861 had many reasons to believe a bright future lay ahead for the Confederate States of America.
In February of 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant attacked on captured Fort Henry in Tennessee, but was defeated at the battle of Shiloh two months later. Two letters are extant from 1862 that show cooled attitudes towards the war and more sober outlook by the common soldier. The first, from a Western North Carolina Confederate soldier named Alfred G__ states,
I can say to you that I am not well…I have been for two weeks and part of the time very sick…I write this letter as an inquiry also to know if you can tell me anything about my wife. I have wrote her thirteen letters and have never got an answer from her yet since I got to Virginia (1862).
This letter reveals two things: a communication breakdown in the Confederate mail system and the dreaded camp disease so prevalent in both armies during the war. By 1862, reality had set in and most of the populace counted on the war lasting an interminable amount of time. Another letter from a soldier named BL Green who was stationed at Camp Richmond, Virginia in August of 1862 reads,
This letter reveals two things: a communication breakdown in the Confederate mail system and the dreaded camp disease so prevalent in both armies during the war. By 1862, reality had set in and most of the populace counted on the war lasting an interminable amount of time. Another letter from a soldier named BL Green who was stationed at Camp Richmond, Virginia in August of 1862 reads,
I this morning take the present time in writing you a few lines which will inform you that I am in common health ever hoping that when these few lines which will inform you that I am in common health…I have nothing much to write that will interest you more than Uncle B and Brother Silas has got back from the North…Uncle is as fat as a Grisley Bear but Silas look sort of slim…Townsel died after they got to New York…As in regard to war news they keep fighting a little almost every day, but know regular engagement…(Green 1862)
This letter is also revealing of the camp sickness endemic in 19th century warfare when it speaks of Silas “looking sort of slim” and Townsel dying mysteriously in New York. There were fears expressed as well about conditions on the home front in Western North Carolina. According to a letter from Confederate lieutenant W.F. Parker, a native of Asheville who was stationed in East Tennessee, Parker expressed fear over a coming invasion from Federal forces towards Asheville, and pleaded with local militia to “erect impenetrable fortifications” to avoid such an attack (Inscoe and McKinney, 108). With infrequent letters from home, lingering camp sickness and possible attack of their native region, Confederate soldiers from Western North Carolina in 1862 had many reasons to look with dread upon the years of war that lay ahead.
After a stunning victory at Fredericksburg in December of 1862, war fever ran high through the Confederate ranks. However, camp sickness and worries of the home front still plagued many soldiers. Most soldiers were reluctant to inform their families of their true states of health or conditions in the field due to extreme loyalty and a desire not to worry their kinfolk, but in some instances poor health could mean a furlough, as is described in a letter from T. B. Edmisten to his parents in July, 1863. The letter reads,
This letter is also revealing of the camp sickness endemic in 19th century warfare when it speaks of Silas “looking sort of slim” and Townsel dying mysteriously in New York. There were fears expressed as well about conditions on the home front in Western North Carolina. According to a letter from Confederate lieutenant W.F. Parker, a native of Asheville who was stationed in East Tennessee, Parker expressed fear over a coming invasion from Federal forces towards Asheville, and pleaded with local militia to “erect impenetrable fortifications” to avoid such an attack (Inscoe and McKinney, 108). With infrequent letters from home, lingering camp sickness and possible attack of their native region, Confederate soldiers from Western North Carolina in 1862 had many reasons to look with dread upon the years of war that lay ahead.
After a stunning victory at Fredericksburg in December of 1862, war fever ran high through the Confederate ranks. However, camp sickness and worries of the home front still plagued many soldiers. Most soldiers were reluctant to inform their families of their true states of health or conditions in the field due to extreme loyalty and a desire not to worry their kinfolk, but in some instances poor health could mean a furlough, as is described in a letter from T. B. Edmisten to his parents in July, 1863. The letter reads,
It is improving some but I am not able for duty I hav got so that I can talk nearly as good as eaver My throat is very soare even now now and has been for the last two weeaks I hav not Mother I cant tell whier I wil git of or not the Dr gave me a surtificate for a disch-- charge and it is gone to the general it will be some thing like a month befour I hear from it and if I git the chance I will come home as soon as I can Reduced mutch but I am very weak.
Edmisten goes on in the letter to remind his parents that their letters are a great pleasure to him, and he exhorts his father to “take more rest” because of “advancing age” (Edmisten, 1863). 1863 was the zenith of Confederate success during the Civil War, culminating in Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville in May of that year. On the eve of Gettysburg, a Western North Carolina soldier named JG Huntley wrote to his sister saying,
Edmisten goes on in the letter to remind his parents that their letters are a great pleasure to him, and he exhorts his father to “take more rest” because of “advancing age” (Edmisten, 1863). 1863 was the zenith of Confederate success during the Civil War, culminating in Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville in May of that year. On the eve of Gettysburg, a Western North Carolina soldier named JG Huntley wrote to his sister saying,
Dear sister a fiew Lines to you I am in the Best of health at this time hoping this Will find you all in the same Condition I Will only say to you that We have Crossed the potomach and has passed through Meriland and is Now in P A Within 60 miles of harrisburg the Capital of this state We hant herd of any Yankees Nearer than harrisburg the Capital But I Expect that hooker is Nearer than that We are stoped today in a Beautiful Oke grove I Cant tell whare old Lee Will Carry us tow this is One of the finest Countrys that I Ever saw But I hant time to tell you of any of Our ups and downs Now at this time tell pap Not to Come to this War I hant time to tell you Nothing at this time worth any thing may heaven Bless you all (Huntley, 1863)
This letter is very indicative of the feigned optimistic tone found in many Civil War letters from soldiers to family, and foreshadows the calm before the storm at the great Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Not much longer would the tide ride high for the soldiers of the Confederacy, and camp disease and trouble on the home front were two shadows that loomed constantly in the backs of the their minds.
This letter is very indicative of the feigned optimistic tone found in many Civil War letters from soldiers to family, and foreshadows the calm before the storm at the great Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Not much longer would the tide ride high for the soldiers of the Confederacy, and camp disease and trouble on the home front were two shadows that loomed constantly in the backs of the their minds.
After crippling Confederate defeats at Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Chattanooga, many in the South began to believe that the war was lost. Desertion plagued the Confederate army, and Union forays into the mountains of Western North Carolina left the people on the home front discouraged and disgusted. A letter from G.W. Logan, a Unionist who was elected to the Confederate Congress, relates some of the damage done by the recent campaigning in Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. The letter states,
Dear Sir:A few days ago I visited Camp Winder a Hospital near this place & saw some of your countrymen & gained the following information of casualties in the late battle G.S. Ferguson was wounded in the head, not serious M. Main [?] in the elbow L.W. Murray, in the side H.P. Holland in the hand T.M. Green in the arm The above are the only ones I have heard from. I am sorry I cannot write you something of interest Congress has done but very little, nor do I think it will do much. We are trying to modify the Tax T_____ and impressment laws but I cannot as yet tell the result.Genl Lee has fallen back near this place & it is believed his army will soon be within the entrenchments surrounding the City.It is said Gen Grant is now coming up on the old ground of McClelland & will unite with _____. Both armys are reinforcing largely [?] & the next fight is expected to be the great battle of the War. In the late engage-- ments the loss on both sides was immense, our loss must have been in Killed wounded & prisoners at least 20 or --25.0000 & the Yankees more than double that number.There is but little ap-- pearance of Peace, though the present Congress is much stronger for negotiations than the preceding one.The Dis_______ are determined not to havepeace only in their own way & at their own time. Very Respectfully G.W. Logan
With defeats in the field of this magnitude, an ever-increasing sense of doom was held by many in the Confederate army, and desertion rates mounted steadily. In Western North Carolina, guerrilla warfare was ravaging the countryside with both Union and Confederate troops inflicting damage on the populace, prompting North Carolina governor Zebulon Vance to say in a letter to Confederate General John C. Vaughan after two of Vaughan’s men had been lynched in Watauga county,
With defeats in the field of this magnitude, an ever-increasing sense of doom was held by many in the Confederate army, and desertion rates mounted steadily. In Western North Carolina, guerrilla warfare was ravaging the countryside with both Union and Confederate troops inflicting damage on the populace, prompting North Carolina governor Zebulon Vance to say in a letter to Confederate General John C. Vaughan after two of Vaughan’s men had been lynched in Watauga county,
No one can more deplore the quasi warfare between the troops and citizens than myself. But sir, the conduct of many of your men…in parts of our mountain country has been sufficient to drive our people to desperation. The stories of robbery and outrage by them would fill a volume and would fully justify the immediate and indiscriminate slaughter of all men caught with the proofs of their villany. From looking upon them as their gallant protectors, thousands in their bitterness of heart have come to regard them as their deadliest enemies (Inscoe and McKinney, 138).
More defeats mounted for the Confederates in 1864, with a substantial loss at Nashville in December and Sherman’s infamous “March to the Sea”, in which Sherman inflicted heavy material and moral losses to the Confederate cause and crippled their ability and their will, to fight.
More defeats mounted for the Confederates in 1864, with a substantial loss at Nashville in December and Sherman’s infamous “March to the Sea”, in which Sherman inflicted heavy material and moral losses to the Confederate cause and crippled their ability and their will, to fight.
In conclusion, the year of 1865 tolled the bell for the end of the Confederacy after Lee’s army of Northern Virginia gave a last gasp attempt to fight at Petersburg, with battle ending in defeat and ushering in the sack of Richmond. Lee surrendered less than a month later, with General Johnston surrendering nine days later to Sherman and officially ending the war. The common soldiers of Western North Carolina returned home to find guerrilla warfare still reeking havoc among their kinfolk. More than a month after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the vestiges of conflict began to die down in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Western North Carolina soldiers had fought a long and brutal conflict, and returned home to chaos and the fear of banditry. What is remarkable about them though, is the ability of these soldiers to retain a positive attitude, at least about their health and their stations in life, even in the midst of a war that for many was hell on earth, and purgatory on the home front. The simple faith in family and Creator held by the men from Western North Carolina sustained them in their tribulations, and although many of them lost faith in their government and even in the war itself, they never gave up on what truly mattered: their immediate families and their homes. More than anything else a sectional and regional conflict, the American Civil War proved the resilience and devotion of a generation of fighting men, and imbued them with the toughness to weather the storm of Reconstruction ahead.
Works Cited
Works Cited
McBride Letter: 1861. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
G, Alfred Letter: 1862. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
BL Green Letter: 1862. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
T.B. Edmisten Letter: 1863. Found at: http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/edmon/edintro.htm
JG Huntley Letter: 1863. Found at:
http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/huntley/hunttext.htm
GW Logan Letter: 1864. Found at:
http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/cathey/INDEX.HTM
Inscoe, John C. and Gordon B. McKinney. The Heart of Confederate Appalachia:
Western North Carolina in the Civil War. Chapel Hill: The University of
North Carolina Press, 2000.
Collection.
G, Alfred Letter: 1862. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
BL Green Letter: 1862. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
T.B. Edmisten Letter: 1863. Found at: http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/edmon/edintro.htm
JG Huntley Letter: 1863. Found at:
http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/huntley/hunttext.htm
GW Logan Letter: 1864. Found at:
http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/cathey/INDEX.HTM
Inscoe, John C. and Gordon B. McKinney. The Heart of Confederate Appalachia:
Western North Carolina in the Civil War. Chapel Hill: The University of
North Carolina Press, 2000.
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