Watauga County, North Carolina in the Civil War
By Michael C. Hardy
Reviewed by J. Keith Jones

Michael Hardy’s treatment of Watauga County’s role in the War Between the States is his usual great effort. In fact this may be one of his best yet. Along with a chapter apiece for each year of the war, there are chapters for Watauga’s Confederates, Reconstruction, Unionists and the traces and historical markers of the war around today.

Hardy does a thorough job and exhibits some of the best writing he has done. He spent the last twenty years assembling the information in this book. Along with the publicly available sources, such as books – both old and not so old – he also brought in information not so easy to come by unless you are very close to the subject. These include pictures, letters and other items held in local and regional museums and even in private collections.

Finally this county rich in an interesting and diverse history for this period has a definitive treatment for its role in the so-called American Civil War.