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In North Carolina after the bloodiest war in our nation’s history, the hardest task laid ahead. That task would be reconstructing a country that had been ripped apart by war. One of the key components during the reconstruction era was the…

Many southerners called the Civil War "a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight." The Confederacy instituted a military draft in 1862, but included many exemptions that allowed the wealthy to avoid service. By 1864, however, the…

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,…

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…

While Vance was willing to aid the Confederate government by enrolling conscripts and returning deserters, he was insistent, nevertheless, that the Richmond authorities should exert their war power with due regard for the rights of North Carolina…

Just before Christmas, 1870, the House of Representatives drew up eight charges against the governor. The first two charges were that he had acted unlawfully by raising troops and sending them into Caswell and Alamance counties when there was no…

A major problem that faced both armies during the Civil war was desertion. As the conflict dragged on into a protracted war of attrition, the loss of men through absenteeism struck hardest at the South. Before the end of 1861 it had become a problem…

This is a cross section of the Endor Iron Furnace showing how the furnace operated as well as how it was loaded. It was taken from Robert A. Wiesner's The Men of Endor: Their Works and Times, 1861-1876.

This diagram taken fromThe Men of Endor: Their Works and Times, 1861-1876 by Robert A. Wiesner, shows what he believes the Endor ironworks looked like while in operation. The furnace, foundations of some of the buildings, and the stone wall still…