Historical true crimes from U.S. Civil war to WWII in the Blue Ridge Mountain Region including but not limited to moonshining, murder, robbery, fraud, and rape. We reserve the right to go outside these confines but only for a really good story.
In part one, we met Garrett Hedden and his brothers, Bill, Joe, and Riley. All of them were moonshiners who followed in the footsteps of their father, John. Garrett had killed multiple men, including his brother, Bill, in 1898, and in 1900, he fought a party of seven revenue agents to a standstill in a […]
The Meanest Moonshiner in Tennessee Part 2 Read More »
In 1900, Garrett Hedden was the most feared man in mountainous Polk County, Tennessee, a rural district in the southeast corner of the state. He was a well-known moonshiner who the local newspapers labeled a desperado and credited with killing eight men. One killing, in particular, made citizens, marshals, and revenue men reluctant to cross
The Meanest Moonshiner in Tennessee Read More »
Picture it like the movie Ocean’s Eleven went country: A down-to-earth, Southern-style heist. Instead of Danny Ocean and his crew of con men, explosive and electronics specialists, and an acrobat, we have David Ghantt, his married girlfriend, her petty criminal friend from high school, that guy’s cousin, one of his high school buddies, and a
The Gang that Couldn’t Think Straight Read More »
Before Bonnie and Clyde, there was Irene and Glen. On Friday, December 27, 1929, Corporal Brady Paul and Patrolman Ernest Moore of the Pennsylvania Highway Patrol left New Castle, PA, heading east on Butler Road. Paul operated the SHP motorcycle, and Moore rode in the sidecar. Walter “Glenn” Dague, Irene Schroeder, her brother, Tom Crawford,
Iron Irene’s Bold Heists and Daring Escapes Read More »
On December 9, 1921, John W. Oliver, a farmer, mail carrier, and Primitive Baptist preacher in Cades Cove, Tennessee, had finished supper and was getting ready for bed when he looked out the window and discovered his barn was on fire. There were five horses in there. Oliver swiftly rescued three of the horses from
Moonshiner’s December 1921 Cades Cove Crime Spree Read More »
An unknown NC moonshiner became the subject of books, manhunts, and buckshot battles. “Major” Lewis Redmond had many titles: moonshiner, bootlegger, killer, and most impressively, King of the Moonshiners. Playwright Gary Carden may have given Redmond his most colorful moniker, the Prince of Dark Corners, which is the title of his play based on the
How Lewis Redmond Became the Moonshine King of the Carolinas Read More »
A disastrous break-in and shoot-out in a small town leads to a daring escape attempt from “The Rock.” John “Paul” Scott shocked prison authorities and perhaps the entire world on Sunday, December 16, 1962, when he became as Rich Jordan writing for the San Francisco Examiner put it “the only man known for certain to
Kentucky Bank Robber Becomes First Alcatraz Inmate to Reach Shore Read More »
