Bushwhackers: The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains

by William R. Trotter

Bushwhackers recounts hundreds of incidents that brought the Civil War home to the mountains of the Old North State. Some are violent, some humorous; some are heroic, some shameful. From the opening shots of the war to the vicious acts of vengeance that continued for months and even years after the war ended, Bushwhackers relates the tragic and rarely told tale of how the Civil War was fought among the proud mountain people of North Carolina. William R. (Bill) Trotter is an essayist, book reviewer, and author of The Civil War in North Carolina and A Frozen Hell , among other books, as well as several short stories and novellas, and has twice been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. He wrote a monthly column called "The Desktop General" for PC Gamer magazine until 2004. He was the first recipient of the North Carolina English Teachers' Association "Lifetime Achievement Award." He lives in Greensboro, NC.

Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction, American History

338 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Timbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating account of a lesser known aspect of the Civil War, the brutal fights that took place on the North Carolina mountains. Having had ancestors who were among the Unionists in Madison County, NC, I was interested to read more in depth accounts, but I had no idea of the brutality that took place, nor how widespread Union loyalty was in that remote region.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of the fighting in the mountains of North Carolina during the Civil War. I would add that it can get confusing at the different locations in the mountains even if you are familiar with the geography of western North Carolina. It might help to have an atlas of the area from Salisbury NC to Knoxville TN handy if you are not familiar with the area.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rivetting tales of the Civil War in the mountains of North Carolina.

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not particularly interested in Civil War History, an extension of my general disinterest in military history altogether. However, Bushwhackers meanders through some of the more fascinating bends of what happened in southern Appalachia during the Civil War.

In reality, very few battles, in the traditional sense, took place in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was mainly skirmishes, murders, banditry, harassment, and theft that took place between Unionist and Confederate neighbors in the mountain counties that were most vicious and destructive. Distrust abounded while a rich man's war was being fought by poor farmers forced by circumstances to leave behind their families. Economic conditions were rough as communities were strained by a lack of food, most economic activities going toward war efforts, and other destructive ends.

So many seeds of rancor were planted, growing into revenge and extra-judicial retribution in the uncertain decades that followed the Civil War.

Trotter's history is written in a compelling manner, almost like a collection of violent and tragic short stories. He paints a clear picture, highlighting just how different the mountain regions of North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee are from the flatland portions of those states.

It's one of the best books I've read on regional history so far.

(Western Norther Carolina is far more Appalachian than it is Confederate or Southern, as far as I'm concerned.)

[Georgene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories about the regional impacts of the Civil War in western North Carolina. Because there were so few slaves held in this area, the war was more between the classes of rich land-holding Confederates and poor white mountaineers. Although many of the poor white mountain men originally signed up to fight for the Confederacy, they quickly became disillusioned and deserted. They formed bands of brigands who knew the woods and mountains intimately, and they began preying on their neighbors. Many also just wanted to go back to their farms and families and left alone. Lots of animosity between neighbors and families resulted, with many innocent people suffering.
This very readable book provides context for anyone with ancestors who lived in the area and want to know more about the affects of the Civil War in Appalachia. Recommended!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bushwhackers by William Trotter is a history of the Civil War in the Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. The book is divided into six parts with a major focus on the Thomas Legion. The author William Trotter describes the region's mountainous topography very well. Good information on the people living in western North Carolina at the time and what caused so many of them to remain loyal to the Union, as well as the factors that caused many others to side with the Confederacy. The author collected a lot of stories from western North Carolina handed down orally from one generation to the next and these stories effectively illustrate the asymmetrical nature of the warfare occurring in the mountains during the Civil War.

[Shawn Slattery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting not well known stories from the civil war among the mountains of North Carolina. Well written and engaging.

[Steve Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disorganized history of the disorganized Civil War in Western NC. Could have used some maps. Probably best for inhabitants of Western NC.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a folk lord Civil War story? Did it really happen in real life? You decide.

[Bill Tyroler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, insightful, informative.

[Shannon Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title is misleading

This book is about the war in western Carolina, but has very little to do with bushwhakers. Otherwise its interesting

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Trotter has written a memorable regional civil war history of the mountain people of North Carolina. He has a beautiful style of writing, with which he invites the reader into a living past fraught with existential events. Cherokee lived in those Appalachian mountains, as did self-sufficient mountaineers, whose forebearers first settled the coves and ridges as a result of service in the Revolutionary War or who migrated into the mountains from out of Pennsylvania in later years. The truth of the matter in 1861 was that the hill people were anti-secession Unionists.

Trotter writes, "Historically speaking,many of the violent men who roamed the mountains were anonymous. they were known to those who sympathized with their allegiances, and in many cases they were known to their victims and their victims' families. But most of the violence happened to people who had neither the education nor the inclination to leave detailed written accounts, and by the time regional historians began writing down the orally preserved stories of wartime events--not until the early 20th century, in many cases--a great deal of information was lost forever, or had become smudged by time and countless retellings." (p. 147)

But tell the story, he does. I determined to read Bushwhackers . . . after I read Cold Mountain and discovered that Frazier had used Trotter's history as a resource. What a resource! And what dreadful, cold-hearted times, especially for the outliers (deserters) who only wanted to get home to tend their land and families. Given that we are commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I recommend this book. And given that in the run-up to Barack Obama's re-election it often seemed to me that the outcome of the Civil War was being re-litigated by some, I recommend this book.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Trotter's trilogy on the Civil War in North Carolina is a fine series that both serious students of the Civil War and casual readers will enjoy. Trotter is a novelist as well as an historian, and his writing is entertaining and well as informational. As a Southerner, Trotter has a very good feel for hist portrayal of the South, and yet he does not whitewash anything. He tells the good, the bad, and the ugly. I was ridiculed on a Civil War Reenactor's forum because I cited "Bushwackers". I had dared criticize the Confederacy, and some of my fellow reenactors sneered that this book must be one of Trotter's works of fiction. But when I countered with supporting sources such as the renowned historian John G. Barrett, there was sudden silence from the peanut gallery. Trotter may not be 100 percent correct. (Who is?) But when I cross checked several dozen of his references, I did not find a single error in context or data. His citations were accurate. I highly recommend "Bushwackers" as well the other two books in the trilogy to anyone interested in Civil War or North Carolina history.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bushwhackers: The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains by William R. Trotter (John F. Blair Publishers 1988) (973.74756). This is part of a nonfictional trilogy on the Civil War from William R. Trotter. This volume details the movements and skirmishes along the North Carolina highlands and contains a fine retelling of how “Bloody Madison” earned its name when the Madison County Confederate forces executed thirteen prisoners of war or Union sympathizers from the remote Shelton Laurel region of Madison County who supported the Union. My sympathies (and my forebears) lie with the Confederates, but this is a shameful episode. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 3/16/15.

[Robert]

I got this book originally from a bibliography at the end of Sharon McCrumb's Ghost Riders. This is part of a three volume work by William Trotter detailing the Civil War in North Carolina. This particular volume covers the war in the mountains in the western part of the state. A lot of the anecdotal material here is reflected in the Cold Mountain movie and the book by Charles Frazier. Also, much of the material about William Thomas and the Cherokees forms a foundation for Charles Frazier's book Thirteen Moons.

[Victor Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are maybe 3 or 4 chapters worth reading in this book. My favorites were those detailing some of the half-legendary "mountain lore" raiding and getaway stories. I am especially interested in JV Hadley and Albert D Richardson, two (separate) detailed accounts of northerners who escaped confederate prisons and made their way to friendly territory in Knoxville. There were so many Unionists in North Carolina they'd formed an "Underground Railway" for escaped prisoners.

Most of this book though is a recap of the war in the mountains: Thomas' Legion, Burnside, Stoneman's Raid, etc.

[Greg Parrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 of the Trotter series... this one on the war in the mountain region. I have always assumed that NC was an all-in Confederate state, but the more I read the more Union sympathizers I see. Don't get me wrong; slavery of any kind, now, then, ancient times is wrong. But as I've started digging into the history, the more I find out that things aren't as they seem or have been told very one-sided. I recommend this book and the previous volume to any who live in the Old North State and learn about our not so distant past. Ready to tackle the Coastal Plains volume now.

[Charles Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Trotter's third book on NC in the ACW (although it was the first one published) reviews the war in the mountains (western) of NC. The mountains had the highest rates of unionism in the state. This, along with other issues, led to partisan attacks of a very brutal nature, including non-combatants. Interestingly, many Unionist from this part of the state would take the journey to eastern TN or KY to sign up with the Union. Again, Trotter's writing on the subject is excellent.

[Hunter Johnson]

Bushwhackers: The Civil War in North Carolina - The Mountains by William R. Trotter. The middle volume of a non-fiction trilogy, it stands perfectly well on its own. An excellent look at the personal effects of the American Civil War.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far a very accurate and detailed account of Bushwhackers in the North Carolina mountains....