Confederate Outlaw: Champ Ferguson and the Civil War in Appalachia

281 Pages·2011·4.31 MB·English

by  Brian D. Mcknight

confederate outlaw
Conflicting Worlds:
New Dimensions of the American Civil War
T. Michael Parrish, Series Editor
CONNNNNNNNFEDDDERAAATTTE
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champ ferguson
and
civil war appalachia
the in
BRIAN D. MCKNIGHT
Louisiana State University Press
Baton Rouge
Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright © 2011 by Louisiana State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing
Designer: Michelle A. Neustrom
Typeface: Minion Pro
Printer: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc.
Binder: Dekker Bookbinding
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKnight, Brian Dallas.
Confederate outlaw : Champ Ferguson and the Civil War in Appalachia / Brian D. McKnight.
p. cm. — (Conflicting worlds : new dimensions of the American Civil War)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-3769-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Ferguson, Champ, 1821–1865. 2. Guerrillas—Confederate States of America—Biography. 3. Out-
laws—Confederate States of America—Biography. 4. Tennessee—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—
Underground movements. 5. Kentucky—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Underground movements.
6. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Underground movements. I. Title.
E470.45.F4M4 2011
973.7’8—dc22
[B]
2010038289
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Pro-
duction Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. (cid:2)(cid:2)
For Pam and Devin, my little family
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The powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must.
—Thucydides,The History of the Peloponnesian War
We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
—Elie Wiesel,Night
A very thin membrane separates the sanctioned rancor of war from sheer
barbarism.
—Rick Atkinson,An Army at Dawn
The guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it
does not win.
—Henry Kissinger
The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea.
—Mao Tse-tung
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 The “Natural Man” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 Exiled to Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3 Fight on the Cumberland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4 The Tensions of the Borderland . . . . . . . . . . 66
5 Stability and Partition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
6 Lessons of Perseverance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
7 The Borderland Guerrilla Lifestyle . . . . . . . . 123
8 A Terrible Career’s Grand Climax . . . . . . . . 142
9 Revelation of a Clear Conscience . . . . . . . . . 156
10 Quiet Resurrections of an Unlikely Hero . . . . 179
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Illustrations follow page 106.