The South Fork in the title is the South Fork of the Potomac River. It situates this Civil War history in the general area where West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland converge. “Steve French has mined a trove of fresh primary sources to produce the definitive account of the overlooked but fascinating exploits of Captain John Hansen McNeill’s company of Confederate partisan rangers.” – Robert J. Wynstra.
“Phantoms of the South Fork is a great contribution to a growing body of literature studying so-called “irregular” conflicts in the Civil War. . . . McNeill’s Rangers can be seen here planning raids, kidnapping Union generals, defending mountain gaps, and bushwhacking the Union Army.” – Joseph M. Beilein, Jr. This is the third Civil War book of Steve French, a former middle school history teacher.
Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2017. 294 pages with an Index, Bibliography, Notes, maps and photos. Hardback with dust jacket