madisonman
Private
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2019
- Location
- Western North Carolina
I've seen this event referred to in many threads, so I thought I'd start one on the subject itself. To make a long story short, this was an event where Confederates killed 13 males "suspected of Unionism" in Madison County, NC, in January 1863. Three of my direct ancestors were in the 64th North Carolina Infantry - the unit that reportedly did the killing - and I've been searching a long time now to see if they could have been involved with the killing. No evidence either way thus far. Paludan's Victims, a true story of the Civil War is the most quoted work on the event, which I'm sure many of you have read. I'm working on a manuscript that will expand on the story, using newly discovered papers of one of the officers on the scene. I think Paludan's book is good, but his sources seem to tell just one side of the story. There are usually two sides to every story, and the real truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Primary sources are key, but sometimes they are nowhere close to the truth. What are your thoughts on this incident?