This series is dedicated to the publication of works on the history and culture of the Mountain State and its region. We anticipate that by publishing the best of a new generation of scholarship we can integrate the historical and cultural experience of West Virginia and Appalachia into their comparative regional, national, and international contexts. The editors feel that West Virginia University Press is the ideal location for such a series, considering the state's critical position in the region's and the nation's history. From its vital importance as a borderland between empires in the 18th century and between warring sections in the Civil War era to its vital role in America's industrialization and even its "culture wars," the story of West Virginia and Appalachia is an essential part of the story of America.

West Virginia University Press is proud to add Kevin Barksdale to the editors of its book series, West Virginia and Appalachia. Barksdale, a specialist on the early American southern frontier, is an Assistant Professor of History at Marshall University and the author of The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession (2009) and numerous articles.