Customer Reviews

Mountain Myth: Unionism in Western North Carolina

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I really enjoyed this book and felt it presents a fact based response to the long held belief that Western North Carolina was seething with Unionism. The actual numbers presented show 1835 Union soldiers versus 26,000 for the Confederacy. I don't expect a wide audience for this book but those interested in North Carolina history especially regarding the Civil War will enjoy it.

'Mountain Myth's greatest accomplishment is the author's examination of a variety of motivations that have been previously grouped together and mislabeled as "Unionism" among western North Carolinians during the Civil War. Like mountain folk in most Southern states, western North Carolinians were the least likely to support the concept of a strong national government. They were also the most likely to feel abused by any such government that took drastic wartime measures. Most western North Carolina men volunteered for the Confederate army when the war began or, later, reported for duty when conscripted. Others, having neither great loyalty to the United States nor great enthusiasm for the Confederacy, felt they had to choose between several unattractive alternatives: draft-dodging, half-hearted service in the army, or desertion. Terrell Garren's painstaking research indicates that many western North Carolinians agonized over their circumstances and chose what they felt was the least of several evils. In so doing, the author has given us a much more accurate view of these men and the times in which they lived.