The Civil War is presented here through a family-centered, biographical lens, exploring the lived experiences and evolving roles of several generations of the Robertson family, highlighting how the war and its aftermath shaped their identities, values, and public service.

The book details how T. R. Robertson and his family navigated the challenges of Reconstruction, with a particular focus on T.R.’s contributions to post-war civic order. As Adjutant General of North Carolina, he played a key role in using military resources to prevent lynchings and maintain the rule of law. This linkage demonstrates how the unresolved tensions of the Civil War era continued to shape Southern society for decades. The author portrays the Civil War as a catalyst for both trauma and transformation, leading to new forms of leadership and community rebuilding. T.R.’s wife, Cora Johnston Robertson, is noted for her efforts to help establish the predecessors of Queens University and the Carolinas Medical Center, two of Charlotte's enduring institutions. Cora's and T.R.'s children provided leadership in the military and in local and state historical and literary associations, and they co-developed large-scale commercial projects in uptown Charlotte. 

Two earlier members of the Fairfield County, SC, Robertson clan are also introduced. T.R.'s father, Judge William Ross Robertson, was a Confederate leader. Thomas James Robertson, his presumed cousin, became a Union leader, abolitionist, two-term U.S. Senator, and a major figure in rebuilding Columbia, SC, after the war. By presenting these contrasting allegiances, the author underscores the complexity of Southern loyalties and the personal and ideological divisions existing within a single family.

Christopher Hunt Robertson presents the Civil War as a complex, deeply personal event with long-lasting effects on families and communities. By weaving together stories of both Confederate and Union sympathizers within the same family, and by emphasizing the transformative power of Reconstruction and civic engagement, he offers a nuanced, humanized perspective on the war and its aftermath. 

(Recipient of a 2023 Award of Excellence from the North Carolina Society of Historians)