Contested Borderland

A "compelling" study of impact of the Civil War in Appalachia that "adeptly juggles the military, social, and political complexities of this border war" (American Historical Review).

During the four years of the Civil War, the border between eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia was highly contested territory, alternately occupied by both the Confederacy and the Union. Though sparsely populated, the geography of the region made it a desirable stronghold for future tactical maneuvers. In Contested Borderland , Brian D. McKnight's unprecedented geographical analysis of military tactics and civilian involvement provides a new and valuable dimension to the story of a region facing the turmoil of war.


Winner of the James I. Robertson Literary Prize


"A very valuable study." —Appalachian Journal

"Engaging and eminently readable. . . . A compelling account of an isolated world turned upside down by a war fought over issues few of its residents understood or cared much about." —Civil War Times

"A revealing and richly diverse account of the war in this too-neglected pocket of the South." —Daniel E. Sutherland, editor of Guerrillas, Unionists, and Violence on the Confederate Home Front

"Recommend[ed] for all serious Civil War scholars and enthusiasts." —Journal of American History

"McKnight's work has much to offer in covering the war in the Central Appalachian Divide." —Journal of East Tennessee History

"An enjoyable and informational read." —Journal of Military History

"Essential for all Appalachian regional and Civil War collections." —Journal of Southern History

"The author's analysis of military tactics, political realities, and genuine hardship, is first rate." —West Virginia History