Browse Items (76 total)

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.

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

As late as 1830, southern whites still sometimes debated whether slavery should, or could, be eliminated. The state of Virginia nearly abolished slavery in 1836, after the terror of Nat Turner’s Rebellion. In North Carolina, people wondered…

TEXAS AND WAR WITH MEXICO

Throughout the 1820s, Americans settled in the vast territory of Texas, often with land grants from the Mexican government. However, their numbers soon alarmed the authorities, who prohibited further immigration in 1830.…

At the Beginning of the Civil War, the Confederate States of America could hardly have foreseen the enormous problem that desertion in its army would have become. Amid the initial enthusiasm following the outbreak of the conflict, the rush of…

That the Confederate soldier has no superior in the annals of war is an article of the American Creed. His accomplishments against overwhelming odds, through four years of heroic suffering, are his monument. Magnificent in his forbearance and his…