Mountaineers in gray : the story of the Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, C.S.A.

During the secession crisis, intertwined geographic, economic, political, and ideological factors divided East Tennessee from the rest of the Confederate South. So great were the differences that when the war came, the majority of the region's inhabitants remained loyal to the old Union. Nonetheless, a significant minority of East Tennesseans cast their lot with the fledgling Confederacy and risked their lives and fortunes in pursuit of Southern independence. This study is the story of one group of such Rebels who formed the Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, C.S.A.

A socio-economic analysis of the regiment reveals that many members of the unit belonged to the local elite, consisting of old, established families who were engaged in commercial farming or professional occupations. These East Tennesseans had strong economic, social, and political bonds to the Deep South and hence supported the new Southern republic. The influence of this elite, along with community pressure and patriotism, led the less affluent members of the Nineteenth to join the regiment in defense of the South.

The Nineteenth served from the beginning of the war to its conclusion, marching and fighting throughout the western theater and participating in every major engagement of the Army of Tennessee except Perryville. Such a long and distinguished combat record allows for analysis of combat performance, the effects of disease and wounds, camp conditions, class and rank, prisoner of war conditions, desertion, and morale.

Finally, this work, unlike most regimental studies, explores the post-war experiences of the men of the regiment. The returning veterans of the Nineteenth and other East Tennessee Confederates faced the enmity of their former friends and neighbors. Most had to flee the region to begin new lives elsewhere--only a handful remained clustered in the region's old secessionists' strongholds. The exploits and sacrifices of these men, however, were soon forgotten--eclipsed by East Tennessee's unionist majority.