By: Landon Benfield, January 19, 2026 Zebulon B. Vance Zebulon Baird Vance was a 30-year-old U.S. Representative with a bright political future ahead of him when he reluctantly decided to become a Confederate soldier in 1861. Vance, a native of Buncombe County, had served in Congress since 1858 after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill six years earlier. A conditional unionist, Vance initially advised against secession writing that “[w]e have everything to gain...

By: Ethan Tomlinson, January 1, 2025 [Some additional materials and assistance provided by Judkin Browning] Declarations of war often...

By Judkin Browning, August 17, 2024 The 26th North Carolina, a legendary regiment in the Army of Northern Virginia, claims the...