Blood and War at my Doorstep

About the Book

Continuing from Volume I, Volume II intersperses numerous soldiers’ letters with those from home. The issue of slavery from both the owners and individuals is brought forth. Did colored men really serve as Confederate soldiers? Did free black men? Union soldiers described southern women as defi ant, beautiful, crude, and pitiful. Read of women aboard blockade-runners, the fall of Wilmington, Sherman’s march, Stoneman’s western raiders, and the end of the war. Did any civilians die due to these raids? Did they idly sit by as their lives and homes were destroyed? The war did come to their doorstep during the second half of the confl ict. Both Volume I and II tell something from each of the state’s 87 counties. Perhaps you may fi nd information about your ancestor among these pages. Information from period newspapers, as well as mostly unpublished letters, tell their stories.

About the Author

Brenda Chambers McKean has been an independent researcher and collector of ante-bellum and Civil War history for twenty-five years. This book is a compilation of ten years work. Ms. McKean is a retired nurse anesthetist, a graduate of Duke University. She currently lives in Raleigh, N.C.