TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

What do you do when you don’t have any Confederates to protest? You obviously make do with what you have. Two in the crosshairs are Teddy Roosevelt and of course Christopher Columbus. “For too long, they have generated harm and offense as expressions of white supremacy,” reads the petition, in a city which “preaches tolerance […]

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They still probably won’t take your Confederate money, but Richmond seems to be on the rise again, this time as “Startup South” and perhaps the next silicon valley. In hearing from dozens of Richmond startups, two institutions stick out as important nodes in the local innovation system. The first is Virginia Commonwealth University. As Richard […]

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First we had Vance the governor, now it’s Vance the play. For a man who’s been dead 117 years, Zebulon Vance continues to cast a long shadow on Western North Carolina. The Civil War hero and lawmaker’s name is all over the place, on a big monument in downtown Asheville, at his old home place […]

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Rebel or loyalist? Sometimes it was hard to tell. On the surface, wealthy Lincolnton businessman and slaveholder John Phifer may have appeared loyal to Dixie. His textile mill on the South Fork River cranked out products much needed in the embattled South. His three sons were officers in the Confederate Army, and two died fighting […]

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The militia is gathering here in NC. No, it’s not those weird guys in camo, it’s a group reenacting the historic North Carolina militia. The Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace State Historic Site is hosting the annual fall militia encampment Saturday and Sunday. The event, which has happened in one form or another at the site […]

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Rob Neufeld has posted the third part of the series on the Tom Dula saga, detailing the role of his chief defense council, former NC governor Zebulon Vance. Neufeld begins by stating that Vance himself had run afoul of the Yankee government. On May 13, 1865, Federal General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick had Vance arrested at […]

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Asheville newspaperman Rob Neufeld has a two part series on Tom Dula, better known (and pronounced) as Tom Dooley. If you’re from my generation you can remember the Kingston Trio singing the sad ballad, which became a huge national hit and is credited with launching the folk revival of the early 60s. Hang down your […]

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