North Carolina Loyalists--Existing Research--Advice?

[dixiecowboy25550]

Everyone,

I'll admit that it has been a few years since I have posted on this esteemed website and apologize in advance if this topic has been recently discussed (I searched here and found little information).

I am entering my senior year at Duke University, where I am majoring in Political Science and History. That being said, I am considering researching Unionist activities in the Tidewater counties of North Carolina. I am familiar with some of the existing research:
Books
Carbone's The Civil War in North Carolina
Croft's Reluctant Confederates
Current's Lincoln's Loyalists
Meekins's Elizabeth City, North Carolina and the Civil War : a history of battle and occupation
Myers's . Executing Daniel Bright : race, loyalty, and guerrilla violence in a coastal Carolina community, 1861-1865

Scholarly Articles
Escott and Crow's "The Social Order and Violent Disorder: An Analysis of North Carolina in the Revolution and the Civil war"
Bearman's "Desertion and Localism: Army Unit Solidarity and Group Norms in the US."

In spite of all of this research, there seems to be little emphasis on why the coastal communities were more prone to loyalist leanings than many other parts of North Carolina or if discussed at all often times citing the typical--elite (plantation owners) v yeomen/lower classes, the 1862 Conscription Act, or slavery-- as the primary reasons that the Union found so many sympathizers among the tidewater counties. Some of these arguments are harder to dismiss, and obviously played a role in the loyalist movement; however, it seems to me that there must be more to explain why here and not as frequently in other places.

Before I begin delving into original documents, I wondered if I potentially missed something. Is there a different take on the subject that I have missed in my preliminary research? Or could it be that there is actually more to the NC tidewater Unionist sentiments? Furthermore, could it be that positive interactions with the US gov’t through public projects like lighthouses and the coast guard (the Banks was considered the graveyard of the Atlantic) made this specific maritime community more accepting of the federal government (thus more likely to remain loyal)?

I apologize for the length of this discussion and hope that I am not beating a dead horse. Also, I appreciate your advice and consideration.

Sincerely,

Andrew Marcum

[Union Navy]

Re: North Carolina Loyalists--Existing Research--Advice?

The first thing that leapt to my mind had to do with their connection to the sea. I'm not sure where that is going, but it could have to do with those who made their living on the water. Further research turned up this:

http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/page/253

So I guess it's back to the drawing board for me. Sorry about the UNC link!

EDIT: After reading more of the online content, maybe I wasn't so far off. Skill on the water, whether with a boat or a sailing ship, takes time and intelligence to acquire. I know that in the desegregated US Navy, black sailors who did their job well were seen, often begrudgingly, as equals by the white sailors, and were sometimes advanced to command over them. Skill as a sailor mattered more than skin color. Maybe some of this was at play in the Tidewater area.

[dixiecowboy25550]

Re: North Carolina Loyalists--Existing Research--Advice?

Bob,

I appreciate the response. And no worries about the UNC link, Dr. Cecelski did his undergraduate work here at Duke. I had him in a discussion seminar my freshman year and wrote a paper similar to this one. It focused more on the actual coastal campaigns and what the soldiers there went through (based off of primary documentation). It seems like, in general, the literature falls short on the coastal campaigns, which arguably were important to the Union cause.

Andrew Marcum

[Union Navy]

Re: North Carolina Loyalists--Existing Research--Advice?

It seems like, in general, the literature falls short on the coastal campaigns, which arguably were important to the Union cause.

Quite true. Both before and after his Fredricksburg problems, Burnside cooperated closely with the Navy. Their work together in the Carolina Sounds shortened the war and provided Union successes when there were not many anywhere else.

[dixiecowboy25550]

Re: North Carolina Loyalists--Existing Research--Advice?

Also, I didn't mean coastguard in the original post. I had meant to say Revenue Cutter Service.


Andrew Marcum