Western North Carolina during the Civil War

The mountain counties of western North Carolina did not respond uniformly to secession. Confederate supporters, Unionists and families attempting to avoid both sides lived within closely connected communities, and conscription intensified local resentment as the war continued.

Deserters and men avoiding military service hid in remote country while Confederate Home Guard units searched for them and punished suspected supporters. Food shortages, requisitioning and the absence or death of working-age men placed additional burdens on women, children, enslaved people and subsistence farms.

It is the principal home-front setting of Cold Mountain.