"War governor of the South" : North Carolina's Zeb Vance in the Confederacy / Joe A. Mobley ; foreword by John David Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mobley, Joe A.

Series:

New perspectives on the history of the South

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vance, Zebulon Baird, 1830-1894.

Vance, Zebulon Baird.

United States. Congress. Senate.

Legislators--United States--Biography.

Legislators.

United States.

United States. Congress. Senate--Biography.

Governors--North Carolina--Biography.

Governors.

North Carolina.

North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

History.

Confederate States of America--Politics and government.

Confederate States of America.

North Carolina--Politics and government--1861-1865.

Politics and government.

North Carolina--Politics and government--1865-1950.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 264 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Gainsville : University Press of Florida, [2005]

Summary:

Zebulon B. Vance, governor of North Carolina during the devastating years of the Civil War, has long sparked controversy and spirited political comment among scholars. He has been portrayed as a loyal Confederate, viciously characterized as one of the principal causes of the Confederate defeat, and called "the Lincoln of the South."

Joe A. Mobley clarifies the nature of Vance's leadership, focusing on the young governor's commitment to Southern independence, his military and administrative decisions, and his personality clashes with President Jefferson Davis.

As a confirmed Unionist before the outbreak of the war, Vance endorsed secession reluctantly. Elected governor in 1862, he managed to hold together the state, which was divided over supporting the war and having a central government in Richmond. Mobley reveals Vance as a man conflicted by his prewar Unionist beliefs and the necessity to lead the North Carolina war effort while contending with widespread fears created by Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and such issues as the role of women in the war, lawlessness and desertion among the troops, the importance of the state's blockade-runners, and the arrival of Sherman's troops. While the governor's temperament and sensitivity to any perceived slight to him or his state made negotiations between Raleigh and Richmond difficult, Mobley shows that in the end Vance fully supported the attempt to achieve Southern independence.

Contents:

1 "My Hand Fell Slowly and Sadly by the Side of a Secessionist" 13

2 "Let Every Patriot in the Land Assist" 36

3 "Humanity Shudders at What May Take Place" 76

4 "To Their Hands I Am Content to Leave It" 99

5 "My Life Popularity and Everything Shall Go into This Contest" 113

6 "Through a Most Rigorous and Dangerous Blockade" 127

7 "Women Has Nerved the Arm of the Stalwart Soldier" 148

8 "I Am Not Out of Heart" 168

9 "All Hell Can't Make Me Do It" 194

Epilogue: "To the Last Gasp with Truth and Loyalty" 214.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [249]-258) and index.

ISBN:

0813028493

OCLC:

60375588