Guerilla fighting in Appalachia.

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?
 
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?

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781625858467
 
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?



Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers

The book has gotten rather pricey over the years but should be available through inter-library loan.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0685473856/?tag=civilwartalkc-20
 
Thank you for your kind replies. I was unable to find the book I read on the Shelton Laurel massacre, on the internet. I have it in my library at home, I will try to find it. All of the books you'uns recommended have been saved and will be on my list.
I have spent so many years exploring the creeks and rivers of the Aplalchains from North Alabama to Pennsylvania, driving for hours, camping, dragging my kayak and camping gear for miles through Rhododendron Hell. It was great! In the process I have made it a point to talk with the locals and my paddling buddies would roll their eyes every time we passed an old cemetery. I would have to stop.
 
Countless times. The Slamin' Nanny is a great run and the perfect river for novices. The Ocoee is the next step up. Then there is the Watauga, the Russel Fork and the Upper Gauley. I got in to creek boating and began running steep creeks in remote areas. I have never run the Narrows of the Green but I have run the Lower Meadow...or at least part of it. I dislocated my shoulder and fractured my Glenoid running a rapid called "Coming Home Sweet Jesus". I came as close to drowning as I ever want to. My face was inches from the surface but I couldn't get a breath of air. That river beat me down.
I had three surgeries and retired from hair boating. Now I am canoeing these beautiful peaceful rivers I thumbed my nose at when I was young. My Avatar is me standing beneath Lamance Falls in Tennessee. I do apologize for being completely off topic.

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So much history and so little time. I am looking forward to reading more on the Appalachians during the Civil War. I like the music and the tails the mountain folk can tell. I could tell you some stories but this is not the place.
 
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