Hundreds of young North Carolina boys joined the Confederate Army. Two who later rose to prominence were Walter Clark, a North Carolina Supreme Court Justice, and William Cain, the longtime head of the math department at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Melungeons, a tri-racial ethnic group comprised of Berbers, Basques, and Jews, might have been the first permanent settlers in North Carolina, preceding the Roanoke colonies by some twenty years.
Spanish captain Francisco de Miranda recorded in his diary his 47-day trip to North Carolina in 1783. His writings give insight into the infant North Carolina communities of the time.
Although considered a significant event in North Carolina's Revolutionary period, many questions still surround Edenton's Tea Party of October 25, 1774. Arthur describes the event and addresses questions concerning its authenticity.
Travelers in 19th-century Western North Carolina were often impeded by drovers with large, noisy herds of hogs, cattle, ducks, and turkeys on their way to market
An attempt by Laurel Park Estates, Incorporated to create a 10,000-acre premier resort area near Hendersonville in the 1920s became one of the biggest flops in state history and ended in financial reverses for such investors as Jack Dempsey.
Two North Carolina soldiers, Nick Warren of Littleton and Bruce Cotten of Wilson, shared in the spoils of a raid on the Chinese Mint in Tientsin by American troops during the Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the century.
Lincoln County's Sam Brown was a notorious robber and opponent of the American Revolution who, with his sister Charity, terrorized counties along the Yadkin River and in South Carolina. He was killed in 1780 by an outraged citizen.
Born in Scotland, Dr. Christian Ben McMillan was the first and only recognized doctor treating Scottish highlanders during the late 1700s. She traveled the wild Sandhills region to reach her patients.
In April, 1865, when he was eight, Paul Barringer defeated the fleeing Jefferson Davis in a chess match when the Confederate president spent the night in Concord. Barringer later earned a medical degree and was a medical pioneer in the New South.
Judge William B. Rodman's anecdote about an Italian officer seeking the Italian Embassy and a confusing travel advertisement in the NEW YORK TIMES are examples of lighter moments that arise when Washington, N.C. is mistaken for Washington, D.C.
In late 1825, during a six-month tour of the U.S., the Marquis de Lafayette visited Murfreesboro, Raleigh, and Fayetteville, the first American town named for him. He was given a hero's welcome for his service during the Revolutionary War.
Franklin County's Abby House, known as Aunt Abby, was defined by a fierce loyalty to the Confederacy during the Civil War and a cantankerous resolve to aid her friends and her kin. Her epitaph reads, \"Angel of Mercy to Confederate Soldiers.\"