Author Philip Gerard has spent years unearthing the lesser-known stories of the Civil War. In order to better document the history beyond the grand military strategies and exalted generals, Gerard dug deep into the archives, reading first-person testimonies, searching through hand-written letters, and speaking with a range of experts, from historians to longtime civil war reenactors. In his new book, “ The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina ,” (UNC Press/ 2019) Gerard