Editing Caswell County, North Carolina (section)

===Civil War period===
In May 1861, North Carolina, albeit with some reluctance, joined [[Confederate States of America|the Confederacy]], which by then was at war with [[Union (American Civil War)|the Union]].<ref name="Civil War"/><ref>{{cite web| title=Secession| url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/secession/| access-date=August 20, 2021}}</ref> Caswell County provided troops, clothing, food, and tobacco in support of the war effort. Companies A, C, and D of the North Carolina Thirteenth Regiment consisted almost entirely of county enlistments. The area's soldiers fought in every major Civil War battle and there were many casualties.<ref name="auto7"/><ref name="auto6"/>

In Caswell County in January 1862, a significant number of African Americans [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|fled slavery]]. Seven [[slave patrol|patrol squads]] comprising 34 individuals were dispatched to [[Yanceyville, North Carolina|Yanceyville]] in search of them.<ref name="auto7">{{cite web| title=   	Civil War (1861–1865)| url=https://ncccha.org/memoranda/civilwar/civilwar.html| publisher=NCCCHA.org|access-date=August 8, 2021}}</ref> It is unknown if any were able to find safe haven behind Union lines.

In the spring of 1862, salt used for meat preservation was rationed, which was a statewide measure. As the war raged on, the county's inhabitants faced food shortages. Daily necessities were in short supply. [[Speculation|Speculators]] benefitted while most remained in need.<ref name="auto7"/>

The minutes of the Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions from January 1863 to July 1866 were either lost or destroyed. Consequently, it is difficult for researchers to ascertain what was occurring in the county's court system during this period.<ref name="auto7" />

At the [[1860 United States census|1860 U.S. census]], 58.7 percent of Caswell County's population was enslaved.<ref>{{cite web| title=Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States. Compiled from the census of 1860 | website=[[Library of Congress]] | url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3861e.cw0013200/?r=0.684,0.158,0.255,0.121,0|access-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref> Due to the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] in January 1863, enslaved African Americans in Confederate territory were recognized as free individuals by the executive branch of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]. They gained military protection upon crossing into Union-controlled areas or through the advance of federal troops.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Emancipation Proclamation| date=October 6, 2015| url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation| access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref>

Many African Americans likely either fled or attempted to flee the area between 1863 and the war's end. Most remained confined behind Confederate lines until Union forces occupied much of the state during the [[Carolinas campaign]] in 1865.<ref name="Civil War">{{cite web| title=North Carolina in the Civil War| url=https://www.ncpedia.org/history/cw-1900/civil-war| publisher=NCPedia.org|access-date=August 7, 2021}}</ref>