author
John Wetmore Hinsdale
1843–1921
A North Carolina lawyer, Civil War officer, and prolific historical writer, he helped preserve firsthand accounts of the Confederacy and the state’s legal past. His books and papers remain valuable sources for readers interested in nineteenth-century North Carolina.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Buffalo, New York, on February 4, 1843, he moved to Raleigh as an infant and spent most of his life in North Carolina. He served in the Confederate army during the Civil War and later became a prominent attorney, eventually serving as president of the North Carolina Bar Association.
He also wrote extensively about history. He is especially remembered for works such as History of the Seventy-Second Regiment of the North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States and for preserving documents, recollections, and biographical material connected to North Carolina’s Civil War era.
John Wetmore Hinsdale died in Raleigh on September 15, 1921. Beyond his legal career, his lasting significance comes from the way he documented people, events, and institutions that might otherwise have been forgotten.