The Fight For the Old North State: The Civil War in North Carolina, January-May 1864
Hampton Newsome
University Press of Kansas (2019)
WINNER: Richard Barksdale Harwell Award
BOOK OF THE YEAR (2019): Civil War Books and Authors
Review Excerpts:
"Readers appreciative of the high-level research and narrative interpretation skills displayed in Newsome's earlier military study Richmond Must Fall will find the same qualities here . . . In a narrative that details battlefield events and analyzes their military, political, and social contexts in equal measure, The Fight for the Old North State is an excellent history of an understudied late-war offensive that was a rare (though qualified) Confederate success. While racial and political violence were certainly not new to 1864, Newsome's account of the campaign also usefully portrays it as a clear, early demonstration that the coming year's increasingly frequent confrontations between the most volatile combinations of battlefield combatants would be characterized by rising levels of lethal violence. Highly recommended." - Civil War Books and Authors
"... meticulously researched and confidently written new monograph .... [Newsome] places the campaign's military component within a larger political and social context, and he provides astute analytical insights in both his own words and those of contemporaries." - America's Civil War
"... a detailed, fact-filled journey through joint land and water operations by the Federals and Confederates in their struggle for North Carolina during the early part of 1864 ... the social and political climate is expertly relayed ... Hampton Newsome's recommended book tells the chain of events - the highs and lows, the bumbling and the courageous, from January to May, 1864 in the Old North State. It's all here." - Joan Wenner, Civil War News
"Finally, I was able to finish Hampton Newsome's The Fight for the Old North State and oh my, what a terrific book! There is nothing to dislike about this book. It is the most comprehensive thing written on North Carolina during the first half of 1864. Well-researched, well-written, balanced, and well-illustrated, if this book doesn't win some awards, people simply aren't paying attention. The Conclusion alone is the best summary of the topic one could hope to read. It includes the most detailed coverage of the Battle of Plymouth that you will find anywhere. Newsome's understanding of what was going on in North Carolina during this time is second to none and I encourage ANYONE interested in the Civil War, or even simply North Carolina history, to read this book. It will ultimately give you a better understanding of the time." - Civil War Navy, the History Profession, and Other Historical Musings blog
From the Book Jacket:
"In this fascinating new book, Hampton Newsome makes a valuable contribution to Civil War literature, offering a compelling account of Confederate efforts in early 1864 to turn the tide of war in eastern North Carolina. Though these efforts produced decidedly mixed results, the same cannot be said of Newsome's. Well-researched, informative, and unfailingly interesting, this superb study merits the attention of anyone interested in the course and conduct of these operations, their strategic and operational effects, and the challenges leaders on both sides faced as they pursued victory in the Old North State in 1864.”
—Ethan S. Rafuse, author of Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863–1865 and coeditor of Guide to the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign“The Fight for the Old North State carefully reassesses the importance of the Confederate military campaign to retake the North Carolina coast in the spring of 1864. In a lively narrative, Hampton Newsome balances operational military history and a broader overview of the social and political situation on the ground. This work is highly recommended for readers of North Carolina’s Civil War military history.”
—Barton A. Myers, associate professor of Civil War history, Washington and Lee University, and author of Rebels against the Confederacy
“With an excellent eye for detail and a knack for good storytelling, Hampton Newsome skillfully places the military actions in coastal North Carolina within the broader context of the political and social forces at work in the state in 1864. Lucidly written, The Fight for the Old North State inspired me to drive down to North Carolina to see the sites for myself.”
—Jonathan W. White, author of Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War