About this episode

The episode explores the controversial legacy of George Washington Kirk and his role as a Union soldier during the Civil War.

George Washington Kirk was a carpenter from Greene County, Tennessee. He was also a feared and hated Union soldier/bushwhacker during the Civil War, operating in the mountains along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. Kirk and his band of Unionists known as Kirk's Raiders were hailed as heroes by some and denounced as nothing but savages by others. From the audacious raid on Camp Vance and the brutal Battle of the Bloody Chucky at Red Banks in what’s now Erwin, to his post-war role in the Kirk-Holden War against the Ku Klux Klan, George Kirk’s story is another one of the Stories of Appalachia. If you like our stories, we’d appreciate it if you’d give us a like and a comment; be sure to subscribe, too. Thanks for listening!

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve Gilly, Rod Mullins

Topics covered

• Civil War
• Appalachian history
• Kirk's Raiders
• George Washington Kirk
• Ku Klux Klan
• local conflicts
• historical legacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ku Klux Klan

Places: Greene County, Tennessee, North Carolina, Tennessee, Camp Vance, Battle of the Bloody Chucky, Red Banks, Erwin

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