Blood on the Blue Ridge: Historic Appalachian True Crime Stories 1808-2004 (2024)

by R. Scott Lunsford, Alfred Dockery

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16	7	1,362,002	(4.29)	1
From an innocent man sent to the gallows in 1808 to the execution of a ruthless and random killer in 2004, this book covers moonshine, murder, and mayhem in the Blue Ridge region of the Appalachian Highlands. Discover the story of Nancy Franklin, a Civil War heroine who, despite multiple tragedies, including the Shelton Laurel massacre, remained defiant. Explore the stories of moonshine outlaws who would rather shoot it out than surrender, including the legendary Lewis Redmond, Moonshine King of the Carolinas. Learn about manhunts filled with racial tensions, murders, and shootouts as we examine the hunt for and killing of Will Harris and Broadus Miller. Ride along with an interstate band of train robbers whose resourcefulness and daring rivaled or surpassed the outlaws of the old west. Delve into the audacious theft of rare books from the Biltmore Estate, a mystery uncovered while filming a comedic mystery film. All this and a murderous hermit, a murder trial that went off the rails, a fugitive who returned for trial 30 years after the crime, a life in liquor and blood, the last hanging in Madison County, a tale of clandestine railroad travel and brutal murder, a robbery where the money itself gave the bandits away, and the dangerous lure of freighthopping.… (more)

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This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Won this through early reviewers.
This was very interesting, short true crime stories set in the Appalachian mountains. Nice succinct little stories reporting the crimes and the consequences. Quick interesting read. (

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hredwards | Dec 23, 2024 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

A compilation of interesting crime cases from the Blue Ridge mountain area, many associated with Ashville, NC. For crime buffs or anyone one with a casual interest in this area a good read filled with mainly news accounts of the crimes and the details of people places and things. It ranges back to the 1800's and covers a wide array of crimes from moonshiners to book thieves and much in between. The topic of crime and the exploits of those who carry it out I find fasinating as there is an endless stream of motives and methods. A good read and in particular those who would be familar with this geopgraphic area. (

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knightlight777 | Sep 28, 2024 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Not just your run of the mill crime anthology, you can tell the writers actually put in effort to research what cases they writing about. (Also as a librarian the numerous sources aired at the back, chefs kiss.)

The tone of the book also seems spot on, where the murders or perpetrators are not glorified; rather the crimes are discussed with truth and straightforwardness, and yes sometimes there are exceptions to past history or circumstances, but no one is getting off easy here.

As a southerner by birth, I appreciate my little piece of the world was noticed for the uniqueness of community, resilience, and methods, like how often bloodhounds are used… that’s not something that here in urban Connecticut many police officers are still utilising.

The book is great. It’s interesting, it’s well researched. For a true crime anything the tone is right. Well done. (

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kristincedar | Sep 11, 2024 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

3.5 to 4.0 stars: I would actually rate this higher than a 3 but less than a 4 (rating shown may differ depending on review site).

I give the authors a lot of credit for attempting to research stories from the 1800s and early 1900s. I can only imagine how hard it is to find credible sources for events that happened that long ago and to try to piece together stories (especially from a time where it was easier to change your identity). Unfortunately, for the earlier chapters, that led to a lot of uncertainty in what happened/what the truth really was, leaving me a bit unsatisfied with the chapter.

My favorite chapter was the one about Biltmore--my mom and I visited there and I don't remember hearing anything about this--but then again, it is a BIG house and I realized early on that if I tried to listen to every recording they offered, we wouldn't make our time goal for travel, so it's possible it is talked about, but I just missed it or it got lost in all the information I was trying to assimilate at the time. (

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JenniferRobb | Sep 7, 2024 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I was impressed with the amount of detail in the book. It was interesting to read about the different crimes, of those who were victims and those who were perpetrators. The chapter about the theft of artifacts from the Biltmore was most interesting as we had visited it in the early 2000's.
Having also been in Law Enforcement for close to 30 years your case studies were unique to that area but similar to other parts of the country. Thanks for taking time to write the book I enjoyed it. (

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Craigeri | Sep 5, 2024 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Lunsford, R. Scott	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Dockery, Alfred	—	main author	all editions	confirmed

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Canonical title

Blood on the Blue Ridge: Historic Appalachian True Crime Stories 1808-2004

Original title

Blood on the Blue Ridge: Historic Appalachian True Crime Stories 1808-2004

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2024

People/Characters

Important places

Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To our spouses, Robin and Barbara, whose patience and understanding allowed us to spend the time necessary to produce a work of this quality and length. Special thanks to Barbara for tirelessly reading every version of each chapter and spotting errors that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. To our children, who remind us that hope and redemption are always possible and sometimes likely. To our parents, who instilled in us the values of hard work, perseverance, and fair play. And to our friends, whose insights, stories, and willingness to share their experiences and knowledge enriched our research and made this book more than just a collection of facts. This book is a testament to the resilience of the Appalachian people, their enduring spirit, and the constant struggle for justice. To those who have been wronged, who have fought for fairness, and who continue to seek a brighter future, we hope this book serves as a reminder of the enduring human spirit and the pursuit of justice.

First words

Never knew what hit them.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Original language

English US

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▾Book descriptions

From an innocent man sent to the gallows in 1808 to the execution of a ruthless and random killer in 2004, this book covers moonshine, murder, and mayhem in the Blue Ridge region of the Appalachian Highlands. Discover the story of Nancy Franklin, a Civil War heroine who, despite multiple tragedies, including the Shelton Laurel massacre, remained defiant. Explore the stories of moonshine outlaws who would rather shoot it out than surrender, including the legendary Lewis Redmond, Moonshine King of the Carolinas. Learn about manhunts filled with racial tensions, murders, and shootouts as we examine the hunt for and killing of Will Harris and Broadus Miller. Ride along with an interstate band of train robbers whose resourcefulness and daring rivaled or surpassed the outlaws of the old west. Delve into the audacious theft of rare books from the Biltmore Estate, a mystery uncovered while filming a comedic mystery film. All this and a murderous hermit, a murder trial that went off the rails, a fugitive who returned for trial 30 years after the crime, a life in liquor and blood, the last hanging in Madison County, a tale of clandestine railroad travel and brutal murder, a robbery where the money itself gave the bandits away, and the dangerous lure of freighthopping.

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