"First deployed from Union County, S.C., to bolster the burgeoning wartime efforts, the seasoned Macbeth contingent was sent to Asheville, N.C. in 1864. Initially, the weary warriors looked forward to the change, but soon found the high mountain terrain daunting, with its potential for surprise attacks, difficult transport, and the raids of lawless deserters hiding in crags and hollows. One of the worst enemies they encountered was notorious "Yankee raider" George Kirk, a Tennessean who left the Confederates to join the ...
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"First deployed from Union County, S.C., to bolster the burgeoning wartime efforts, the seasoned Macbeth contingent was sent to Asheville, N.C. in 1864. Initially, the weary warriors looked forward to the change, but soon found the high mountain terrain daunting, with its potential for surprise attacks, difficult transport, and the raids of lawless deserters hiding in crags and hollows. One of the worst enemies they encountered was notorious "Yankee raider" George Kirk, a Tennessean who left the Confederates to join the Union cause, becoming a hated adversary whose brutal tactics were feared. The Macbeth participated in the struggle for control of Saltville, Virginia, a natural salt marsh. Salt was crucial to the survival of rural people and armies, as salt-preserved foods could mean the difference between life and death. The Macbeth also engaged in the lengthy defense of Asheville, a mountain town strategically located along one of the region's few highways."--
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