Driven from Home, written by David Silkenat, is a book that studies North Carolina's refugee crisis throughout the Civil War. This refugee crisis, occurring in the American Civil War period, was prominent among many peoples, including African Americans and poor whites, both of which were affected by the occurring war. In his introduction, Silkenat stresses the idea of continuing to gain knowledge on historical events, noting historians such as Leslie Schwalm, Yael Sternhell, and Jim Downs, all of whom have helped deepen the understanding of the refugee crisis itself. This book is no exception, allowing for and building off of the new information that has been recently researched and discovered, creating a deeper explanation of the topic for …show more content…
Silknet concludes that the Piedmont region saw numbers of refugees in the tens of thousands. This, in turn, led to the refugees facing problems, much like those who escaped behind Union lines. These problems included food shortages and overcrowding among the refugees. To further put a strain on the incoming refugees, Silkenat notes that because of the incoming influx, prices of food and clothing surged. This also created food shortages and shortages of necessities for the refugees in the area. Additionally, Silkenat adds that many of the refugees themselves realized that they could not return to their homes until after the war had …show more content…
In much of this chapter, Silkenat uses evidence mostly about refugees which could be found in the southwest of the state. More specifically, refugees who were in the vicinity of Flat Rock, which was near Hendersonville and Mount Airy. The author explains that the refugees that could be found in this area found hardships that were different from those in Piedmont. Because of the area, fewer refugees did not face overcrowding and famine as others did. Instead, they found difficulty with the local population within the mountains. Murder was also a threat that refugee planters of the North Carolina mountains faced (Page