Sisson's Kingdom - Dotson Rand

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Résumé :
Like most Southern counties, Floyd County, Virginia, enthusiastically supported the Confederacy at the outset of the Civil War. But by the end of the war, more than 25% of the Floyd County soldiers had deserted, a number that was more than twice the national average. However, what really set Floyd apart from the rest of the South was its inhabitants' willingness to hide and protect deserters, even those who hailed from outside of their county. In the fall of 1864, a regiment of Confederate reserves marched into Floyd County, under orders to capture or drive away as many deserters as it could. By then, hundreds of local soldiers had run away from their units and returned home. Confederate officials believed that most of the county's residents had joined a secret Unionist peace society called the Heroes of America. Guerrilla warfare between Confederate sympathizers, Unionists, and deserters had plunged the county into near anarchy. The district was widely known as Sisson's Kingdom in recognition of the two brothers who commanded its largest deserter gang. Meticulously researched and masterfully written. Rand Dotson gives us a fascinating glimpse into the unusual history of Floyd County, Virginia. Rand Dotson is editor in chief at LSU Press and the author of Roanoke, Virginia, 1882-1912: Magic City of the New South.

Biographie:
Rand Dotson is a historian of the American South whose work focuses on regional identity, community history, and the social dimensions of the Civil War. His scholarship examines how national conflicts were experienced at the local level, particularly within Appalachian communities. Through archival research and regional documentation, Dotson seeks to illuminate the lived realities of ordinary citizens during periods of historical upheaval....

Sommaire:
A carefully researched study of the Civil War as experienced within a single Appalachian community. In Sisson's Kingdom, historian Rand Dotson examines the American Civil War not from the vantage of generals and grand campaigns, but from the lived reality of Floyd County, Virginia. By narrowing the focus to one mountainous region, Dotson reveals the complexity, division, and endurance that characterised the war at the local level. Floyd County-sometimes referred to as Sisson's Kingdom-occupied a precarious position between competing loyalties, economic pressures, and military demands. Families were divided, allegiances were tested, and the war's burdens fell unevenly across the community. Drawing upon archival records, letters, and regional accounts, Dotson reconstructs a portrait of daily life shaped by scarcity, uncertainty, and shifting political conviction.Rather than presenting a simplified narrative of Union versus Confederacy, this study illuminates the nuanced realities of Appalachia during the conflict. The result is a valuable contribution to regional history and to the broader understanding of how national upheaval was experienced at the county level....