Shelton Laurel Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Shelton Laurel Massacre refers to the execution of 13 accused Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 sympathizers on or about January 18, 1863 by a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 regiment in the Shelton Laurel Valley of Madison County, North Carolina
Madison County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,635 people, 8,000 households, and 5,592 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 9,722 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

 at the height of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. The event sparked outrage among North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance and Solicitor Augustus Merrimon (the latter of whom investigated the event), and was published in numerous newspapers in northern states and as far away as Europe. While the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...

 destroyed the military career and reputation of Lieutenant-colonel James A. Keith, the adjunct commander who ordered the executions, he was never brought to justice for the incident.

Background

The events leading up to the massacre began in January 1863 when an armed band of Madison County Unionists ransacked salt stores in Marshall
Marshall, North Carolina
Marshall is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Madison County.Marshall is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Marshall is located at ....

 and looted the home of Confederate Colonel Lawrence Allen, commander of the 64th North Carolina Regiment. In response, General William Davis, stationed at nearby Warm Springs (now Hot Springs
Hot Springs, North Carolina
Hot Springs is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 645 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Hot Springs is located at ....

), dispatched the 64th under Lieutenant-colonel Keith (Allen was ill at the time) to the Shelton Laurel Valley to pursue the looters (Keith, like much of the 64th, was a native Madison Countian). In the skirmish that followed, 12 of the looters were killed and several were captured. Upon hearing of the events, Governor Vance (who grew up in nearby Weaverville
Weaverville, North Carolina
Weaverville is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,646 in 2007. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Weaverville is located at ....

) sent orders not to harm the captured Unionists and dispatched Solicitor Merrimon to monitor the situation.

Massacre

In spite of the governor's orders, Keith, believing a rumor that the Unionist force was much larger than in reality, began frantically combing the valley for Union supporters. Realizing that the locals were unlikely to volunteer information, Keith rounded up several Shelton Laurel women and began torturing them in hopes of forcing them to give up their sons' and husbands' whereabouts. After several days of rounding up alleged supporters, Keith began marching the captives toward East Tennessee, which at the time was occupied by a substantial Confederate army. However, after two of the captives escaped, Keith ordered the remaining 13 captives into the woods, and had them shot execution style. Their bodies were dumped into a nearby trench. Among the executed were three boys, ages 13, 14, and 17.

Merrimon, stunned by the incident, reported it to Governor Vance shortly thereafter. The governor wrote that the affair was “shocking and outrageous in the extreme,” and ordered a full investigation. Family members of the slain (mostly Sheltons) moved the bodies to a new cemetery east of the massacre site and swore revenge against the perpetrators. Keith was ultimately tried for the massacre in civilian court after the war. After spending 2 years in jail awaiting trial, he escaped just days before a state supreme court decision would have provided him with vindication. He was never apprehended, and after two years the state dropped its prosecution.

A North Carolina Highway Historical marker recalling the massacre stands in the vicinity of the massacre site at the modern intersection of state highways 208 and 212. The graves of the slain are in a cemetery just off Highway 212, further up the valley.

Popular culture

Massacre at Shelton Laurel, a short film written and directed by Jay Stone, was shot in the fall of 2001 in Rutherfordton, North Carolina
Rutherfordton, North Carolina
Rutherfordton is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,131 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rutherford County.-Geography:Rutherfordton is located at ....

. The film was selected Best Docudrama at the International Student Film Festival Hollywood in 2004. It was selected to screen at the 2006 Carolina Film & Video Festival, the 2006 Asheville Film Festival, and the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival in March 2006 and at the 2006 Film Celebration at Piedmont Community College in May 2006.

Events of the Shelton Laurel massacre are described in The World Made Straight
The World Made Straight
The World Made Straight is a 2006 novel by Ron Rash.-Plot introduction:In 1970s Western North Carolina, a young man stumbles across a grove of marijuana, sees an opportunity to make some easy money, and steps into the jaws of a bear trap...

, by Ron Rash
Ron Rash
Ron Rash , an American poet, short story writer and novelist, is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. Rash was born in Chester, South Carolina, in 1953, grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Gardner-Webb...

, a fictional book about western North Carolina during the 1970s.
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