When Violence Came to the Mountains

Violence came and was afoot in the mountains of east Tennessee and western North Carolina. The year was late 1864 and the war had been raging for some time, but elsewhere. While it touched the lives of the families who sent husbands and sons off to battle in far flung places like Shiloh or Gettysburg, the reality of war on their doorstep had not occurred. That was about to change, bringing hardships from far away home to many. Two regiments of the Federal Army were raised in the mountains of western North Carolina and Tennessee: the 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (2NCMI) and the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (3NCMI). Their purpose was primarily to defend the mountain passes of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. There was a brash young officer in the 2nd NCMI, who had risen through the ranks that was making a name for himself, George Washington Kirk. G.W. Kirk was hated and feared by many but praised by his superiors, who needed leaders with mettle. The story of the 3rd NCMI is intertwined with his story for one couldn't be told without the other. While the 2nd NCMI played a large part of the war in the mountains, the 3rd NCMI, under Kirk, would bring a whole new aspect to the people living there.