Cherokee County's Civil War Lawlessness and Depredations

Captain Nathaniel Green Philips of Valley Town, Cherokee County, North Carolina, in a letter to Colonel Cathey dated December 24, 1863, describes the lawlessness and depredations in Western North Carolina. (Philips was commonly spelled both Phillips and Philips in the census records.)

In the letter, Philips writes that wartime conditions in Cherokee County have made it unbearable for the Philips' family, and seeks Cathey’s assistance in relocating his family to another area before he has to return to military service. Nathaniel Green Philips of Cherokee County, North Carolina, initially enlisted in Company D, 25th North Carolina Infantry Regiment* in June, 1861, and on July 24, 1862, he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in Company I, Thomas Legion. Thomas' Legion was North Carolina's sole Civil War legion and it recruited Cherokee Indians and Highlanders. Original spelling is intact:

Valley Town, [Cherokee County] NC
Dec 24 1863

Col Cathey sir the condi
tion of this county renders
it untenable the yankies
and Bushwhackers have
Ruined it, & I will have
to move my family out
& as I will soon have
to Return to the army
I want to move them
in to your county
& my Father is a good
miller & if you have
a good mill he will take
it, & he can bring as good
a Recommendation as you
may desire. I want a house &
8 or ten acres of land

for my family & my
father & mother want
to ____ go with me
I hope you will try
to help me I have been
in the Service nearly three
years & my family has not
got provisions to Do them
a month & the frost &
the Bushwhackers &
Yankies has Ruined this
County so it is impossible
for them to stay here
Let me hear from
you by the first mail
as what I do I must
do promptly Direct your
letters to
Valley Town
North Carolina
Yous Best
N.G. Philips

Credit: Courtesy of Hunter Library, Western Carolina University; North Carolina Troops, vol. 7, p. 396.

Notes: The real Private W. P. Inman, portrayed by Jude Law in the movie Cold Mountain, was a Haywood County highlander that served in Company F, Twenty-fifth North Carolina Infantry Regiment.