This collection of primary source material chronicles the Civil War experiences of North Carolinians from the secession crisis to the Confederate surrender at Bennett Place. In contrast to other works on the Civil War, this book focuses not on military events but on the larger issue of the societal costs of such conflicts. Through selections from diaries, newspapers, letters, official records, and other documentary sources, it offers a sober account of the intense human and economic suffering endured by the state and illustrates the complicated political realities of wartime North Carolina.