The North Carolina Gazetteer first appeared to wide acclaim in 1968 and has remained an essential reference for anyone with a serious interest in the Tar Heel State, from historians to journalists, from creative writers to urban planners, from backpackers to armchair travelers. This revised and expanded edition adds approximately 1,200 new entries, bringing to nearly 21,000 the number of North Carolina cities, towns, crossroads, waterways, mountains, and other places identified here. The stories attached to place names are at the core of the book and the reason why it has stood the test of time. Some recall faraway places: Bombay, Shanghai, Moscow, Berlin. Others paint the locality as a little piece of heaven on earth: Bliss, Splendor, Sweet Home. In many cases the name derivations are unusual, sometimes wildly so: Cat Square, Huggins Hell, Tater Hill, Whynot. Telling us much about our own history in these snapshot histories of particular locales, The North Carolina Gazetteer provides an engaging, authoritative, and fully updated reference to place names from all corners of the Tar Heel State.

North Carolina Gazetteer, 2nd Ed: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places and Their History

Richard Caswell emerged during the Revolution as a vital leader of the Patriot cause. Though he was a loyal British subject who fought against the backcountry Regulator rebellion, he embraced America's revolutionary fervor. He represented North Carolina at the Continental Congress and bravely commanded troops at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge. He supervised the writing of North Carolina's constitution and was elected the Old North State's first governor. After the Revolution, he again served as governor and became a leading spokesman for the ratification of the United States Constitution. Author and historian Joe Mobley chronicles the life of a man devoted to the public service of North Carolina and a new nation.

How do towns come into existence? What circumstances determine whether they succeed or fail? In The Colonial Towns of Piedmont North Carolina, author Christopher E. Hendricks looks at one region in eighteenth-century America to explore answers to these questions. He examines the establishment and development of eleven towns in the Piedmont, classifying them into three types: county towns formed by the establishment of government institutions, such as a courthouse; trade towns formed around commercial opportunities; and religious towns such as the three towns developed in Wachovia, a region where Moravians settled. He uses these classifications to tell the stories of how these towns came into being, and how, in their development, they struggled against economic, cultural, and political challenges. Ultimately, The Colonial Towns of Piedmont North Carolina deepens our understanding of the influence that American towns had on the settlement of the backcountry. Hendricks tells the poignant story of the Moravians’ struggle to maintain their neutral stance during the Revolutionary War, surviving exploitation and brutality from both the Continental Army and the British. The author also integrates the history of Native Americans into this mix of competing forces and shows how they were challenged by—and resisted—the newcomers. He emphasizes the role of individual initiative as well as the impetus of government, specifically courthouses, in establishing towns. By utilizing a variety of rarely examined primary sources, methodological approaches ranging from geographic theory to material culture studies, and a deep examination of local history, Hendricks provides a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of these towns on the frontier.

This account of the first president’s trip to unite a young America “follows Washington’s travels day-by-day with detailed information about each stop” (Daily Herald). Newly elected president George Washington set out to visit the new nation aware that he was the singular unifying figure in America. The journey’s finale was the Southern Tour, begun in March 1791. The long and arduous trek from the capital, Philadelphia, passed through seven states and the future Washington, DC. But the focus was on Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The president kept a rigorous schedule, enduring rugged roads and hazardous water crossings. His highly anticipated arrival in each destination was a community celebration with countless teas, parades, dinners, and dances. Author Warren Bingham reveals the history and lore of the most beloved American president and his survey of the newly formed southern United States. Includes photos

Historian Joe A. Mobley recounts events in the Carolinas from prehistory and the first settlement by colonists through North Carolina's emergence as a state in a new, democratic nation. The history of North Carolina began before the first European explorers gazed upon its shores. Its Native inhabitants had long dominated the land and waterways. Before the colonial era ended vast numbers of English, Scottish, Swiss, Germans, French, Welsh and Africans had immigrated to North Carolina, pushing Native Americans to the margins and leaving their mark on the culture of the colony. In some ways, colonial North Carolina was unique in the early American experience. The peculiar configuration of the Outer Banks limited its commercial opportunities, but the colony was very much a part of the Atlantic world.

The Spurgin family of North Carolina experienced the cataclysm of the American Revolution in the most dramatic ways—and from different sides. This engrossing book tells the story of Jane Welborn Spurgin, a patriot who welcomed General Nathanael Greene to her home and aided Continental forces while her loyalist husband was fighting for the king as an officer in the Tory militia. By focusing on the wife of a middling backcountry farmer, esteemed historian Cynthia Kierner shows how the Revolution not only toppled long-established political hierarchies but also strained family ties and drew women into the public sphere to claim both citizenship and rights—as Jane Spurgin did with a dramatic series of petitions to the North Carolina state legislature when she fought to reclaim her family’s lost property after the war was over. While providing readers with stories of battles, horse-stealing, bigamy, and exile that bring the Revolutionary era vividly to life, this book also serves as an invaluable examination of the potentially transformative effects of war and revolution, both personally and politically.

Edward Wild, the controversial Union general who headed the all-black African Brigade in the Civil War, was one of the most loved and most hated figures of the 19th century. The man was neither understood nor appreciated by military or civilian, black or white, Northerner or Southerner. After enlisting at the outbreak of the war, Wild was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in charge of the United States Colored Troops. In fulfilling his assignment to free slaves and gain recruits, he took three women as hostages and ordered a great deal of property destruction. He freed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of slaves and settled them safely on Roanoke Island. Wild then not only recruited the newly freed blacks but trained them and gave them the opportunity to prove their worth in battle. Nobody, it seems, was happy about serving with them, but the African Brigade performed courageously in several battles. Wild did some inexplicable things. Were his actions typical of the 19th century or did he act outside the norm? Was the criticism he suffered from his fellow Union officers valid--or was it due to personality conflicts? Did he deserve to be arrested, court-martialed, and even wiped from the history books--or was he the victim of discrimination? This work draws its answers from extensive research and includes many rare letters to and from Wild, including one from one of the North Carolinian hostages.

This book sheds light on the role of religion in the American Revolution and surveys an important facet of the intellectual history of the early Republic.

About a third of Mr. Gold's account deals with the general history of the county, with the balance devoted to the Civil War. The author provides an overview of the various troop movements throughout the county during the war, such as those under the command of Confederate General Jubal Early. The bulk of the volume examines the roles of Clarke County natives in the conflict.