The Civil War challenged almost every aspect of life for Confederate North Carolinians. Daily necessities became impossible to find or were outrageously priced, roles within households changed, and Americans died in record numbers. This work revealed that the Civil War affected Tar Heel beliefs about death in a multitude of ways. The ideals of the good death were tested through the carnage war inflicted on soldiers’ bodies. Confederate civilians reconciled their horror at the number of casualties through a belief in eternal life and the rewards that awaited Christian soldiers. Disease ruined the ability of noncombatants in North Carolina to provide proper burials for the dead and brought some of the challenges of combat directly to the home front. Finally, the execution of Confederate deserters invalidated the promises that prompted many to serve.