When the Civil War Came to Watauga County North Carolina

My Dad's family was from Ashe County, NC with many family connections to next door Watauga County. Dad's great-great-grandfather was hung along with three sons and a nephew on the courthouse lawn in Jefferson for being Union sympathizers. One son, Moses, survived the hanging, left for West Virginia, and fought for the Union.

My maternal great-great grandfatherJesse Alson Ballard came from North Carolina after the war lhe ived in Indiana where he remarried after his first wife had passed away afterwards moved out to Kansas

We learned never to call it by that name. The senators said their goodbyes without turmoil.

It's CAValry. Not calvary.

Civil War is very bad. Likely, we might experience it again. We have had it pretty good as standards of living go. However, that is about to change. Saudi Arabia has thrown out the dollar in favor of a new currency that our enemies created — Bricx (so. wrong). This is all because of Biden and Obama policies. That and the environmental push to reduce consumption even if it means drastic results for our country. Our modern people are clueless to what this will mean. I am clueless to know how bad things might get. However, it won’t be just a bump in the road I fear. I pray there is not civil war. Yet, we have such craziness I fear the worst might occur. I pray I am wrong.

Thank you for your time and effort put in to research this little known bit of history!! 👍👍

In 1998 I was hiking with my kids along the Watauga river at Bethel Road near 321 and found about 30 Civil War era cannon balls. We took several home and I asked around if they were worth anything and was told they were not. So we didn't go back for the rest and when we moved we left then at the old house. I've been told since that they were worth some money, I wish I'd kept them all now, either way.

Theres a good book called The Ghost Riders by Sharon McCrumb about this subject

I just went out to Boone. It's a great place

I had three Great Uncles from Yancey County, outside of Burnsville, who enlisted and fought with the 29th North Carolina Infantry, C.S.A. According to Census records, no one in my family owned any slaves. So, it has always been a great mystery to me as to why they joined the Confederacy. Could it have been that they feared the bush wakers coming across the border from Tennessee? They lived only 12 miles from the Tennessee border. I may never know what caused my family’s loyalties during the War. Certainly, the Institution of slavery was not one of them.

Very interesting! Thanks!

In the late 1980s i went to college in NC, workd for a big roofing company out of Durham. We worked on the roof of a house near Boone that held a lot of significance for the confederate army during the civil war. Was a cool old house in very good shape. There were a few bullet holes in the exterior supposedly from that era. The owner said at one time Daniel Boone spent some time there as well. All the plumbing was external, added in later years. The owner said they did that to protect the integrity and historical history of the home when his father bought it. Lots of gravel pull offs with markers designating battles on the roads in that area at that time, hopefully they havent taken them down.

Interesting. Especially about the Pastor removed for not praying from the pulpit for the Confederacy. 💯👊👍

Were there many slaves and slave owners in this part of NC?

Some records state 750,000 died during Lincoln's War of 1861 to 1865.

Enjoyed it, Chad! Thank you - I always learn a lot from your videos.

I would have fought with the Confederacy,still will.

If I was alive then I'd fight for the Union.

History repeats itself. I had to leave my bride and two year old son to go to a war in South East Asia in 1968.

I have a question for Civil War Historians: It is my position that the Southern States, by Secession from the Union Vacated the Ratification votes of the original Constitution. As we all should know, there were 13 States at the time and in order to Ratify the Constitution, there had to be 9 States in order to Ratify. Three of the nine States were in the South. Also, this was NOT a Civil War; it was a shooting war between two Nations. The eleven Southern States formed their own central government exactly like the USA and named this entity, CSA. In Dec. 1965, the US Congress refused to Seat Reps from ten Southern States thereby nullifying the Constitution. To compound this, the North busted up the South into five Military Districts literally at the point of a gun. What kind of Republic allows for that? Then the 14th Amendment, the DC Act of 1871 which incorporated the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the 16th and 17th Amendments (taking the Senate away from the States and Federal Income Tax) and then Congress punting their power to Mint the Money and declare the value Thereof to the Federal Reserve which is no more Federal than Federal Express. Game, set, match. No Republic. Now, who wants to prove me wrong?

My great-great grandparents had a farm and lived west of Gettysburg during the 1863 battle. My grandfather mentioned to me years ago when he was a boy around 1910 his family visited the grandparents and the conversation was about the Civil War. The grandparents stated that during and after the battle the atmosphere was overcast followed by a lot of rain.

Very interesting program. I'm from Fairmont, Marion County, WV which experienced an attack by CSA generals Jones and Imboden in 1863. Marion County probably provided an equal number of soldiers to each side. This raid might be a good topic for a new video.

I recently discovered that I am related to the Lewis's from Edgecomb, North Carolina, specifically Brigadier General William Gaston Lewis(CSA), Captain Exum Lewis(CSA), Dr. Joel Battle Lewis(CSA), and more from my paternal grandmother's side. I live in Chesterfield, Virginia, and grew up just minutes from Drewry's Bluff Fort Darling on the James River.

Wow! What an insightful video. Thank you.
It wasn’t a “black & white” war. Many shades of Gray. (No pun intended)

Do one about the civil war in summers county West Virginia

My family was just to the southeast of Watauga in Alexander County. I was told as a child about some blood feuds that were a direct result of the Civil War and how I could not visit so and so or play with their kids and to stay away from certain areas because I wouldn't be welcomed.... Nobody holds on to a blood feud like mountain folks. Hopefully in a couple of years I'll be able to move back to those mountains that I so dearly love. They call to me every day. I enjoyed your presentation. BTW... I had family in the 38th NC Infantry, 2nd NC Cavalry and the 22nd NC Infantry. My 3rd Great Grandfather died of his wounds incurred at the 2nd Battle of Manassas and is buried in Lynchburg, Virginia. His war was short. Enlisted in August of 62 and died December 23rd of 62.

I was born in Boone in 1950! Iremember Mast General Store and I had a school teacher named Mr Bingham!😀


M

I remember

My third G Grandfather was a captain of the home guard here in WV, he was captured and spent the rest of the war at camp chase OH. He was all but starved to death when he was set free.

I lived in Boone for two years getting a Masters degree at Appalachian State, and no one ever discussed this fascinating history

Interesting history. I was born, raised and still live in Missouri. A lot of your county’s history is similar to what my ancestors experienced during the civil war. None of my ancestors were in the US before the 1840s. My mom’s mother’s side came over from the Germanic states (there was no country of “Germany” for close to another 30 years). They founded the town of Hermann, Missouri and the surrounding area. Central Missouri and the Hill Country of Texas were settled by some of the same such people at this time. Anyway, my grandmother’s grandmother told her about homesteading, working hard to clear the land, build their house, barns and other outbuildings. She told my grandmother how difficult it was for them during the Civil War. One side would come on their land and take whatever it was that they wanted. Then shortly afterward the other side would come around and do the same thing. For Missouri and Kansas, the war started about 1855, or only 7 years after my ancestors arrived. Neighboring Kansas Territory was getting flooded by both pro- & anti-slavery supporters, but the anti-slavery people were most radical and violent (look up John Brown, who later traveled back east to VA and ironically was captured by Robert E. Lee well before the war). The Jayhawkers of Kansas would ride into Missouri, often under cover of night, burst into homes and take out the men and older boys and kill them and burn the houses and barns. They did this to prevent pro-slavery Missourians from influencing Kansas. The Missouri Bushwackers would return the favor with Kansans. One of the Missouri militias was called the Tigers. It’s why for well over a century one of the biggest collegiate athletic rivalries was the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks.

Missouri was interesting in that it was a slave state that history books will tell you “stayed loyal”. But Missouri validly voted for a pro-secession governor. Lincoln had federal troops seize our capital of Jefferson City and installed a governor and other state legislators loyal to the federal government. For the duration of the war, Missouri had two governments: the one installed by Lincoln and the Governor and his followers that operated out of the southwest of the state.

I spoke to an older person recently that was from Gasconade County where my grandparents were from and my ancestors settled. He said “We never trusted anyone from the north end of the county - they were Yankees during the war.” Which is interesting. My mom’s folks were from up there - Germanic and overall were anti-slavery. My dad’s folks settled on the far south end of the county and were Irish/English.

Michael C Hardy's books are awesome

Thank you for this excellent educational video! I did not know any of these facts.

Love these videos. I’m proud of my Appalachian heritage. I am pure Appalachian. My ancestors were some of the over the mountain man. These man went through the area on their way to Kings Mountain. Several of them settled in the Toe River Valley. I am proud to come from such strong, dedicated and talented people.

Watauga county born and raised!! Thank you for posting

Listening to this while I work at my office in Boone right now. haha. So glad there are videos on our area. Keep putting out great content!!

Never forget your history ..

There were a lot of Union people in Western North Carolina. They were pro Lincoln. My great great grandfather fought for the Union in a Calvary unit made up of people from counties around Asheville and East Tennessee.

Very well done, very accurate.

Fort Sumter. Sump.tor

This has been an excellent video. Thank you for focusing on the hardships of the women left behind during the civil war. We erect monuments in memory of civil war soldiers. But fail to recognize the sacrifices that the women and children made. In my opinion there probably wasn't peace in the southeastern states until World War 1. People had axes to grind and scores to settle.

My great great grandfather fought for the south at fort Macon.

The south was invaded and raped over taxes

We have lived in the High Country since 2012, so glad I discovered this channel, appreciate your time and energy synthesizing this information

I was just at Henson Chapel today for a family reunion.

As a Watauga county native I found this most interesting

Thanks for the history

My great-great grandfather, Jonathan Israel Wilson, tried to avoid service in the Civil War by hiding out with a Stansberry cousin. They were found out when someone saw a family member bringing them food. Jonathan had to serve, even though he had a club foot which must’ve made marching agony. He served as a nurse/orderly in East Tennessee until he was able to desert. He wasn’t caught this time and went onto marry his sweetheart, Myra Brown, and father five daughters.

North Carolina and here in Missouri share a lot of reactions or sentiments and subsequently skirmishes concerning the Cival War. 😢

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