Browse Items (76 total)

In this chapter from Social Science History, the author discusses the personal and political reasons for desertion in the Confederate Army of North Carolina. Giuffre's main thesis states that desertion was used as a form of resistance by small…

Discussions between governor Zeb Vance, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis on the impact that desertion made on the Confederate effort during the Civil War. This article points out that popular support for the Confederacy was never "robust" in the…

For four years, Fort Fisher was the Achilles' heel of the Union blockade. As long as it stood, Wilmington would remain open. The odds were overwhelmingly in favor of the blockade-runners that came and went virtually on schedule, openly defying the…

This document describes numerous situations that Western North Carolina Confederate soldiers were put through, which lead to their decision to desert from the army. Questions such as "Is my loyalty worth it if my family is starving?" and "What good…

Recognizing the importance of Wilmington, Union blockaders sought to prevent ships from reaching the port since the summer of 1861, though to no avail. The first Federal ship, the Daylight, arrived in July 1861. This tiny vessel was soon disabled,…

William A. Link’s book provided basic background information on North Carolina before the Civil War and secession. I used this book to gain general knowledge on the subject in order to figure out which way to direct my research.

The men who composed the small remnants of Rebel commands brought together in an effort to stop Sherman's Savannah and Carolinas campaign realized the futility of their assignment; they knew that without help from other quarters Confederate…

Sherman's movements through South and North Carolina were bold, imaginative strokes, masterfully executed. One historian has rightly characterized the Carolinas campaign as "a triumph of physical endurance and mechanical skill on the part of the army…