Will Carry
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2015
- Location
- The Tar Heel State.
One of the rivers we enjoy kayaking is Big Laurel Creek on the Spine of the Appalachians. When I heard of the memorial at Shelton Laurel I had to see it. The memorial is on private land and you must get permission to go up there. The memorial is for the 13 boys and men that were massacred by Confederate troops. The feud started when the people in Marshall refused to sell the mountain folk salt because they would not join the Confederate Army. The mountain folk were thought of badly by the people of Marshall. Every time they would go to town, boys would kick their dog around. Well...if the mountain folk didn't get salt they would not be able to preserve their meats and would starve over the winter so they went to town. This time, they were armed. They took what salt they needed and nobody kicked their dog again. This started a feud and vicious guerilla fighting. The Rebs would get sniped at from long range and the mountain men would have their wives tortured in reprisal. It ended with the massacre. The governor of North Carolina was going to try the Confederate officer in court for war crimes but the war ended and it never happened.
This tail is but one story of the War in the Appalachians. There must be more. I have read a book about the Shelton Laurel Massacre and a book about the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. Could anyone recommend another?
This tail is but one story of the War in the Appalachians. There must be more. I have read a book about the Shelton Laurel Massacre and a book about the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. Could anyone recommend another?