Emma's War: Teaching the Yankees a lesson

This illustration by Steve Jenkins portrays Emma Rankin grabbing the reins of a Union cavalryman as she protects the Carson House, where she was employed as a teacher. Mary Carson stands defiantly on the porch, and I presume that's her husband Col. Logan Carson on the left, though he stayed in the shadows during most of the four days and three nights that Stoneman's troops looted the plantation. If you've never heard of Miss Emma, you really ought to read her story. If not for her tenacity and courage, the Carson House might not have survived Stoneman's Raid. The 225-year-old house near Marion, N.C., now stands as a museum to antebellum life in the Blue Ridge foothills. Want to visit the Carson House? Tours are Wednesday through Sunday.