David, interesting anecdote about Semore York. What's surprising is the fact that he went from almost hanged to "here's your property back, have a nice day" in one easy lesson. Would love to have heard how he pulled that one off. Perhaps a "pitch for the angels," to borrow an old Twilight Zone title.

Although the movie "The Patriot" may have overstated the excesses in that area for the sake of drama, the first civil war in the South was especially unneigborly with both sides perp'ing atrocities against men, women and children that would make al-qaeda look like a bunch of left coast pansies.

Considering the Southern mountain oral traditions, it wouldn't surprise me if some of those old hatreds were carried forth into the WBTS era, which was only 2-3 generations later, well within the living memory of some folks.