Visiting The Past: Cold Mountain unearths truths about Civil War including W.P. Inman and others

Belle Montgomery

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ee2-432d-bdde-034dffdfab8e-Farm_with_Cold_Mountain.jpg

View of Cold Mountain. Photo by Henry Neufeld. (Photo: Courtesy of Rob Neufeld)

William Pingree Inman, the real-life soldier on whom Charles Frazier based his Civil War novel, “Cold Mountain,” had been a Confederate soldier.

Although Union sentiment had been strong in the mountains up to the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln’s call for troops to fight the Confederacy in April 1861 had made mountain men, already made wary of Northern domination, choose to side with their Southern kin. The declaration of war had swept up such men as Inman of Haywood County in a wave of homeland security and family honor. Although politically controlling slavocrats engineered the war, most soldiers enlisted because of history and propaganda relating to an invasion. In 1861 and 1862, over 95 percent of enlistments were in the Confederate Army, as rigorously documented by Terrell Garren in his book, “Mountain Myth: Unionism in Western North Carolina.”

Western North Carolina’s contribution to the Confederate army, as measured by percentage of the population, exceeded all other states. Once involved in the fighting, the soldiers discovered some disquieting realities. Officers, generally of a higher class, were allowed to go home when they wanted. The Confederacy initiated conscription and executed deserters. Slaughters in battle seemed endless. The South’s invasion of Maryland in 1862 belied its defensive mission.

Inman had fought for two years beyond his one-year hitch before deserting. He then returned to battle, suffered an injury and deserted again. By the time he’d walked home from a hospital in Raleigh, desertion had become...
Rest of Article: https://www.citizen-times.com/story...ountain-unearths-truths-civil-war/1433894001/
 
Haven’t read Garren’s book. His analysis is different than most. Not saying he is wrong.

Vance was a Officer in the Confederacy, before he was Governor. He approved of the execution of 12 or so Tarheels at Dalton in early 64 for Desertion. So, Vance was in favor of the Cause. A big part of the Cause was to keep the Yankees out of N C.

That part of N.C. was used as a place for Deserters from ANV to hide during the War. I have seen where my home Mountain County was 4 out of 5 against Secession, Before Lincoln’s call up of Troops. Haywood would of been, no different. Cold Mountain was a long way from State Government.

Kephart has a Mountain named after him, in the Smokies. He hid from his Wife and Kids for several years. Ended up dying in a car wreck. Hired someone to take him to get bootleg Whiskey. Never lived to tell the tale. He wrote about the Mountain People. Pretty much used the typical stereotypes n his writings. Did help build consensus to make the GSMNP, so we will thank him for that.

Old adage, First God Made the Mountains, and then He Made the Mountain People. Little biased, however, sounds about Right.
 
Haven’t read Garren’s book. His analysis is different than most. Not saying he is wrong.

Vance was a Officer in the Confederacy, before he was Governor. He approved of the execution of 12 or so Tarheels at Dalton in early 64 for Desertion. So, Vance was in favor of the Cause. A big part of the Cause was to keep the Yankees out of N C.

That part of N.C. was used as a place for Deserters from ANV to hide during the War. I have seen where my home Mountain County was 4 out of 5 against Secession, Before Lincoln’s call up of Troops. Haywood would of been, no different. Cold Mountain was a long way from State Government.

Kephart has a Mountain named after him, in the Smokies. He hid from his Wife and Kids for several years. Ended up dying in a car wreck. Hired someone to take him to get bootleg Whiskey. Never lived to tell the tale. He wrote about the Mountain People. Pretty much used the typical stereotypes n his writings. Did help build consensus to make the GSMNP, so we will thank him for that.

Old adage, First God Made the Mountains, and then He Made the Mountain People. Little biased, however, sounds about Right.
Thank you! Nice to know!
 
View attachment 312086
View of Cold Mountain. Photo by Henry Neufeld. (Photo: Courtesy of Rob Neufeld)

William Pingree Inman, the real-life soldier on whom Charles Frazier based his Civil War novel, “Cold Mountain,” had been a Confederate soldier.

Although Union sentiment had been strong in the mountains up to the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln’s call for troops to fight the Confederacy in April 1861 had made mountain men, already made wary of Northern domination, choose to side with their Southern kin. The declaration of war had swept up such men as Inman of Haywood County in a wave of homeland security and family honor. Although politically controlling slavocrats engineered the war, most soldiers enlisted because of history and propaganda relating to an invasion. In 1861 and 1862, over 95 percent of enlistments were in the Confederate Army, as rigorously documented by Terrell Garren in his book, “Mountain Myth: Unionism in Western North Carolina.”

Western North Carolina’s contribution to the Confederate army, as measured by percentage of the population, exceeded all other states. Once involved in the fighting, the soldiers discovered some disquieting realities. Officers, generally of a higher class, were allowed to go home when they wanted. The Confederacy initiated conscription and executed deserters. Slaughters in battle seemed endless. The South’s invasion of Maryland in 1862 belied its defensive mission.

Inman had fought for two years beyond his one-year hitch before deserting. He then returned to battle, suffered an injury and deserted again. By the time he’d walked home from a hospital in Raleigh, desertion had become...
Rest of Article: https://www.citizen-times.com/story...ountain-unearths-truths-civil-war/1433894001/

Great post! I love the mountain photo!

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/re...s-in-the-civil-war.129343/page-2#post-1481773

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133863037/willie-ida-davis

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8255462/william-pinkney-inman
 
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Thank you. Great extra info. I pray someday they'll make another new movie about the Civil War like the amazing "Cold Mountain" to keep reminding the others who aren't that interested in the ACW to always remember.
 
I’m going to Hike Cold Mountain some day. It is 5 or 6miles to the top of it. The pic may very well be where Inman was from. Most of the settlement would of been on the lower slopes. All of it is part of the Piegan National Forest. So, it is pretty much undisturbed. Dirt roads and hiking trails.
 
Haven’t read Garren’s book. His analysis is different than most. Not saying he is wrong.

Vance was a Officer in the Confederacy, before he was Governor. He approved of the execution of 12 or so Tarheels at Dalton in early 64 for Desertion. So, Vance was in favor of the Cause. A big part of the Cause was to keep the Yankees out of N C.

That part of N.C. was used as a place for Deserters from ANV to hide during the War. I have seen where my home Mountain County was 4 out of 5 against Secession, Before Lincoln’s call up of Troops. Haywood would of been, no different. Cold Mountain was a long way from State Government.

Kephart has a Mountain named after him, in the Smokies. He hid from his Wife and Kids for several years. Ended up dying in a car wreck. Hired someone to take him to get bootleg Whiskey. Never lived to tell the tale. He wrote about the Mountain People. Pretty much used the typical stereotypes n his writings. Did help build consensus to make the GSMNP, so we will thank him for that.

Old adage, First God Made the Mountains, and then He Made the Mountain People. Little biased, however, sounds about Right.

I highly recommend Garren's book, it short but chocked full of useful information.
 
Dirt roads and hiking trails.

It is, but it’s a reclaimed wilderness. About the time you think you’re someplace untouched, you find a piece of cable from an old logging operation. Still a very nice and rugged area though.
 
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