Yadkinville

Yadkinville. Conflicting Loyalties. Secession and war divided Yadkin County residents as well as other western North Carolians, and the neighbor and families quickly came to blows. Confederate conscription acts fostered resistance, the mountains sheltered deserters from both sides, and armed bands settled scores with notable brutality., On June 17, 1861, the Yadkin Gray Eagles, the first Confederate company raised in the county, assembled on the courthouse grounds. In a ceremony held where the present courthouse stands between US. Rte. 601, Elm Main and Jackson Streets, the ladies of Yadkin County presented Capt. John Kerr Connally a flag made from their silk dresses. The Gray Eagles became Co. B, 11th Regiment North Carolina Infantry, later Co. B 21st Regiment, and finally Co. A 1st Battalion Sharpshooters., The attempted enforcement of Confederate conscription (military draft) acts early in 1863 angered many North Carolinians. In February 1863, the shootout at Bond Schoolhouse near Yadkinville occurred when local militiamen attempted to capture Unionist sympathizers there. To support Confederate authorities Gen. Robert F. Hoke and his command, including the 21st Regiment, passed through Yadkin County on September 10, 1863 and rounded up deserters. Then, in July 1864, a Unionist mob stormed the Yadkin County jail (two blocks to your right, on the corner of Cherry and Main Streets) and released three prisoners: William Willard, Horace Allgood, and James Reed. A second mob seized the Home Guard's arms and ammunition. Between 130 and 150 Unionists fled the country and went west; 48 reached Indiana, but most were captured and held at Camp Vance near Morganton., Approximately 1,200 Yadkin COunty men served in the Confederate army, while a much fewer number served in the Union army. Several Yadkin County soldiers were present at Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865., [Inset 1]: , The 1st Battalion North Carolina Sharpshooters participated in major battles in North Carolina and Virginia as part of the Army of Northern Virginia. The battalion surrendered at Appomattox with 3 officers and 65 men. Capt. Reuben E. Wilson, who did not surrender there, was arrested for murder in connection with his role in the execution of deserters and confined until December 1865. Although acquitted, he remained "unreconstructed" for the rest of his life and, when he died, was buried in his Confederate uniform., [Inset 2]: , The Thomas L. Tulbert House, built in 1853, was the first house to be constructed after the town of Yadkinville was established. It was moved in July 1989 to this location from the original site at the corner of Virginia Drive and Van Buren Streets. Tulbert, a saddler, married Luvicy J. Bryant. Their daughter, Laura A. Tulbert, was born in 1855, the first child born in the new town and county seat.