Cape Fear Confederates

The 18th North Carolina Regiment has the dubious distinction of firing the volley at Chancellorsville, Virginia, that mortally wounded General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. This tragic accident has overshadowed the regiment's otherwise valiant service during the Civil War. One of Robert E. Lee's "fighting regiments," the 18th North Carolina was a part of two famous Confederate military machines, A.P. Hill's Light Division and Jackson's foot cavalry. This revealing history chronicles the regiment's exploits from its origins through combat with the Army of Northern Virginia at Hanover Court House, the Seven Days' Battles, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and other battles to its surrender at Appomattox Court House as a battered, much smaller shell of its former self. A roster of those surrendering officers and enlisted men and brief biographical sketches of those who fought with the regiment for most of the war complete this enlightening account.

Story of blockade runners, the captains, the crews, the cargoes, the opponents, and the unbelievable escapes.

Although rarely discussed by historians, events on North Carolina's southeastern coast during the months of January to April 1861 challenge the popular narrative that the Civil War began with President Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers following the attack on Fort Sumter. Treason on the Cape Fear demonstrates that hostilities were already in progress well before Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861. Shortly after South Carolina's secession on December 20, 1860, President James Buchanan announced his intention to strengthen southern coastal forts. This agitated North Carolina's southeastern coastal residents' already tense mood, with fears of imminent invasion. However, when the Wilmington Journal falsely reported that Buchanan had sent two U.S. steamers carrying heavy artillery and soldiers to secure Fort Caswell, located south of the port city on the Cape Fear River, tensions escalated to the point of no return. On January 10, 1861, Wilmington city leaders ordered three hundred local militia deemed "The Cape Fear Minutemen" to capture Fort Caswell and Fort Johnston, without authorization from the Federal government, a blatant act of treason. Despite this, no legal action was taken as North Carolina Governor John W. Ellis simply apologized to President Buchanan and ordered the militia to immediately surrender the forts. Following the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, however, Ellis ordered the militia to recapture the forts, and this time no apology was given.

Nestled on the banks of the Cape Fear River, Wilmington, North Carolina, remains famous as a blockade-running port during the Civil War. Not as renowned is the city's equally vital role during the Revolution. Through the port came news, essential supplies, and critical materials for the Continental Army. Both sides contended for the city and both sides occupied it at different times. Its merchant-based economy created a hotbed of dissension over issues of trade and taxes before the Revolution, and the presence of numerous Loyalists among Whigs vying for independence generated considerable tension among civilians. Based on more than 100 eyewitness accounts and other primary sources, this volume chronicles the fascinating story of Wilmington and the Lower Cape Fear during the Revolution.

Civil War scholar Michael Hardy delves into the story of North Carolina's Confederate past, from civilians to soldiers, as these Tar Heels proved they were a force to be reckoned with. "First at Bethel, farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga and last at Appomattox" is a phrase that is often used to encapsulate the role of North Carolina's Confederate soldiers. Tar Heels witnessed the pitched battles of New Bern, Averysboro and Bentonville, as well as incursions like Sherman's March and Stoneman's Raid. The state was one of the last to leave the Union but contributed more men and sustained more dead than any other Southern state. This inclusive history of the Old North State is a must-read for any Civil War buff!

To understand the long march of events in North Carolina from secession to surrender is to understand the entire Civil War--a personal war waged by Confederates and Unionists, free blacks and the enslaved, farm women and plantation belles, Cherokees and mountaineers, conscripts and volunteers, gentleman officers and poor privates. In the state's complex loyalties, its sprawling and diverse geography, and its dual role as a home front and a battlefield, North Carolina embodies the essence of the whole epic struggle in all its terrible glory. Philip Gerard presents this dramatic convergence of events through the stories of the individuals who endured them--reporting the war as if it were happening in the present rather than with settled hindsight--to capture the dreadful suspense of lives caught up in a conflict whose ending had not yet been written. As Gerard reveals, whatever the grand political causes for war, whatever great battles decided its outcome, and however abstract it might seem to readers a century and a half later, the war was always personal.