Most people on both sides had expected a quick war, but by 1862 it was clear the war would continue for years and take a terrible cost. The entire Confederacy, as well as Maryland and Pennsylvania, saw bloody battles. In North Carolina, a battalion of Cherokees served the Confederacy, while in the east, enslaved African Americans escaped to Union lines, were freed, and joined the U.S. Army. Blockade runners dodged Union ships to bring needed supplies and luxury items to the port of Wilmington. In this chapter, we’ll follow the middle years of the war through the experiences of North Carolinians of all backgrounds.

Section Contents

• North Carolina as a Civil War Battlefield, May 1862–November 1864
• The Raleigh Standard Protests Conscription
• Running the Blockade
• Cargo Manifests of Confederate Blockade Runners
• Freed People at New Bern
• The Emancipation Proclamation
• Iowa Royster on the March into Pennsylvania
• African American Soldiers
• The Thomas Legion
• The Capture of Plymouth
• Civil War Casualties