I couldn't wait to get home and read it. My mother's family line was from the Western NC Appalachian Mountains, the earliest of the settlers. Being an amateur genealogist who has worked for about 15 years on following family lines, both my families and Stan's families, I was particularly interested in what happened during the Civil War in the Western NC mountains of Madison County. There is family story.

The timeline or chronology of events was a little scattered in the writing . One chapter would take you to 1864 and then the next would back track and you would be back in 1863. But, other than that, it was a fascinating read. It's a specialty book, for a niche. There might not be many people outside the area who would be interested in the Civil War in the Western NC mountain counties. But I'm one who is and was really glad Trotter wrote about it. I recognized so many of the names and places that he mentions. I've been up there doing genealogy research at the Madison County Courthouse in Marshall, taken the hike on Max Patch, eaten in Hot Springs, been cemetery hunting and my parents have a camper in the Meadowfork Campground in Joe, NC that we get to visit each summer. It's truly a beautiful place, but Trotter shows the dark side too. Because of the family story and my genealogy research, I knew a little bit about it, but wasn't prepared for the totality of it. No one remained untouched during the War, and that was especially true in those mountains. You might have thought they could sort of hide out and evade the War in those mountains but you would be wrong! I also did not know about the Cherokee Indians who served in Thomas's Highland Legion. I did know about the Salt Raid and the Shelton Laurel Massacre.

If you have read this far, I hope I've whetted your appetite and you will purchase this book and read it. It's a real slice of life! ( )