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Coordinates: 35°24′34″N 82°51′22″W / 35.40944°N 82.85611°W / 35.40944; -82.85611
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Is this Cold Mountain (North Carolina)? FloridaArmy (talk) 11:17, 12 November 2024 (UTC)

Cold Mountain is a mountain in the western region of North Carolina in the United States.[1] Cold Mountain is one of the Southern Sixers.

Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain in Autumn leaf color as seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Highest point
Elevation6,030 ft (1,840 m)
Prominence990 ft (300 m)
Coordinates35°24′34″N 82°51′22″W / 35.40944°N 82.85611°W / 35.40944; -82.85611
Geography
Map
LocationHaywood County, North Carolina, U.S.
Parent rangeGreat Balsam Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Cruso
Climbing
Easiest routeHike

Historically important sites surrounding the mountain were places of early human habitation, exploration, conquest, conflict, exploitation and tragedy. Indigenous people have inhabited the area for thousands of years. Native Americans were removed from their ancestral land by the Government of the United States and later formed a corporation that legally purchased it back in secret.

In 1946 an airplane crash and the deaths of the crew shook the mountain, surrounding communities and the nation. More recently, Cold Mountain has been the site of numerous forest fires and floods.

A novel and feature film brought international fame to the history of region surrounding Cold Mountain. The works presented a fictional story line that was based on historical events, locations, and people.

Popular culture has increased awareness of the mountain which has in turn brought additional tourism and improved conservation efforts enlarging the protected land surrounding the mountain.

Geography

[edit]

Cold Mountain is one of the Great Balsam Mountains. The Balsams are a subrange of the central Blue Ridge Mountains, which is a physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountain Range.[2] The Blue Ridge Mountains are adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains. Cold Mountain falls inside the Shining Rock Wilderness that is within the Pisgah National Forest.[3][4][5][6][7]

The summit of Cold Mountain rises to an elevation of 6,030 feet (1,840 m) above sea level.[3][5][4][8][9] The mountain first appeared on United States Geological Survey maps in 1875.[10] The U.S. National Geodetic Survey benchmark at the top of Cold Mountain placed in 1934 (station FB3123) should state the surveyed elevation of Cold Mountain's summit.[10] However, peak bagging enthusiasts have documented that the benchmark at the top of Cold Mountain says, "COLD FEET."[2][10] Neither the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, U.S. Geological Survey nor the Tennessee Valley Authority have surveyed the vertical elevation of Cold Mountain. Instead, only the geographical coordinates of the summit were surveyed in 1934.[10] The elevation of the mountain did not appear on a USGS 1935 advance topographical map that showed the benchmark. The elevation of Cold Mountain was first noted on the 1941 Cruso, NC quadrangle. However the elevation measurement was actually a mathematical calculation generated between 1935 and 1940 from an aerial stereo photogrammetric technique. Satellite data and the Global Positioning System have perfected these measurements.[10]

Cold Mountain's summit is approximately 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Asheville.[4][11] The peak is 15 mi (24 km) NW of Brevard, 10 mi (16 km) southeast of Waynesville, and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Canton.[9] The mountain is immediately surrounded by the communities of Bethel township, Cruso, Cecil, and Woodrow.[5] Sunburst and Lake Logan are also nearby. There is no settlement with the name Cold Mountain.[4][5] Cold Mountain is in Haywood County near the Transylvania County line.[3][12] The mountain lies in the region between the East and West Forks of the Pigeon River.[3][9] Specifically, Cold Mountain falls between the East Fork, and the Little East Fork of the Pigeon River. The river was named for the Passenger pigeon, whose migration route once included the Pigeon River Valley surrounding Cold Mountain.[13] The bird was hunted to extinction in 1901.[14]

Geology

[edit]

A ridge formed by several mountains and lesser peaks separates the East and West forks of the Pigeon River. Near Shining Rock, the ridge is called Shining Rock Ledge. At the Southern flank of Shining Rock Ledge is a knife-edge ridge known as the Narrows. The Narrows runs into the southern face of Cold Mountain.[15] Cold Mountain is formed of schist, gneiss, and milky quartz.[15] 

SOURCE: Keith 1906[16] Anchor: [16]
 *Keith, Arthur (July 1906). Description of the Pisgah Quadrangle (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 2022-11-13.{{cite report}}:  CS1 maint: date and year (link)

Ecology

[edit]
SOURCE Chavez 2016 [17]

over logging, blight, rhododendron, and second-growth forests of cherry, birch, beech and maple [4]

Prehistory

[edit]

Western North Carolina has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years as evidenced by the Hardaway Site in Stanly County. The Town Creek Indian Mound in Montgomery County was a site of early mound building. The Mississippian culture was influential in the region from about 1000 CE.[18] During the Pisgah phase of the Woodland period and South Appalachian Mississippian cultures, the Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who were ancestors to the Cherokee, constructed prehistoric platform mounds at several sites in the region.[18] Cherokee legend however, attributes the prehistoric mound construction to the Moon-eyed people. The Garden Creek site, near Canton, demonstrates that the region immediately surrounding Cold Mountain has been inhabited for over 8000 years. Archeological evidence found at the site showed that cultural contact existed between Middle Woodland Connestee phase people living at Garden Creek and the Hopewell culture of Ohio.[19]

History

[edit]

In 1540, an expedition of Conquistador Hernando de Soto reached the region.[citation needed]

The land surrounding Cold Mountain was inhabited by the Cherokee, who became the lands first lawful owners.[3][7][8] 

The Cherokee Nation ...[20]

History of North Carolina, 

Province of Carolina, Province of North Carolina,

Seven Years' War, French and Indian War, Anglo-Cherokee War,

Treaty of Paris (1763),

Royal Proclamation of 1763, Eastern Continental Divide, Indian Reserve (1763),

Treaty of Hard Labour (1768), Treaty of Lochaber (1770), American Revolution,

American Revolutionary War,[citation needed] Rutherford Light Horse expedition,[20][3]

Treaty of Paris, (1783)

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the line separating Cherokee territory was along the spine of Blue Ridge Mountain, now the route of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A 1783 treaty[clarification needed] moved the territorial boundary line to along the Pigeon River, opening the area surrounding Cold Mountain to European settlement.

The Continental Congress granted land in the area to members of the Continental Army who had served to the end of the war. Those settlers arrived after 1785. In 1796 North Carolina offered land grants.[3] In that year, 250,240 acres (101,270 ha) of what is now Haywood County was granted to a single individual, David Allison.[21] 

 Settlers[20] Scotch Irish?
 1796 state land grant[3]

Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)  lost land rights[citation needed]...

Manifest Destiny

Indian Removal Act, 1830; Indian  removal (policy); native displacement[3], Trail of Tears, Indian Territory

Outline of United States federal Indian law and policy, 

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Qualla Boundary

Eastern band Cherokee SOURCE:[22] https://web.archive.org/web/20150415191656/http://nc-cherokee.com/historyculture/  (+De Soto)

Indian Reorganization Act

American Civil War strife in region.[23]

 Confederate States of America, Conscription Act (of 1862)[23]

 Confederate States Army, Military forces of the Confederate States

 North Carolina in the American Civil War
 
*25th Inf Reg source:https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CNC0025RI

Kirk's Raid[21]  

Battle of Waynesville /Waynesville engagement. last shot James Arwood

White Sulphur Springs, North Carolina

Thomas' Legion

The Confederate Home Guard secured homesteads, livestock, the enslaved, railroad tracks, and mail routes while the male residents were deployed away from home.[23] The home guard pursued deserters, runaway African Americans seeking freedom from slavery, and harassed any who appeared to have insufficient loyalty to the Southern war effort. Haywood County and the area surrounding Cold Mountain was in fact patrolled by “a notorious Home Guard killer.”[23]

William Pinkney Inman, was in life married to Margaret Henson. They had one child, daughter, Willie Ida Inman. [24] William P. Inman fought in the Army of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, including at the Battle of the Crater where he was wounded.[25]

It has been reported that, five members of the Inman family from the foot of Cold Mountain fought with the Confederate States Army and with the 25th North Carolina Infantry Regiment at some of the war's bloodiest battles.[5][24][26][27][page needed] The brothers were sent to the Union prison Camp Douglas, in Chicago where Logan and Joseph reportedly died in the camp. The remaining brothers were likely to have signed the oath of allegiance to the Union to gain their freedom.[23][24][28] William Pinkney Inman, and brother-in-law, John Swanger, traveled to Tennessee in December 1864.[24] Continuing homeward from Tennessee, they were most likely wearing a uniform of the Union Army since they had been prisoners and had no other clothes.[28] Four miles from the completion of their homecoming journey they were shot and killed by home guardsmen at Big Stomp Mountain.[24][28] Inman's father Joshua, brought their remains back to the foot of Cold Mountain and buried them on a hill in Bethel Cemetery.[26][27] Both Cold Mountain and Big Stomp Mountain can be seen from their grave site.[5][28] Clarifying detail of the events is provided by the story that was handed down by Inman descendants which is supported by information gained from genealogy records and family mail correspondence during the war. According to the descendant, in fact, six Inman children fought in the war. William Pinkney, deserted several times up until November 1862. Joshua, died in Virginia from wounds that he suffered in battle. Five Inman brothers: William P., James Anderson, Logan, Hezekiah (Hezzie), and Joseph, were sent to the prison camp. In November 1864, four of the brothers along with John Swanger, signed loyalty oaths to the Union and became U.S. soldiers. Hezzie and James Anderson stayed in the North while William P. and John Swanger walked back to North Carolina from Illinios. Brother Logan refused to take the oath and died in the camp on Christmas day, 1864 of Erysipelas. At approximately the same time, home guardsman led by Teague, killed William P. and John Swanger, leaving the bodies at their post. The home guardsmen's post, as documented by the descendant, also has a view of Cold Mountain and is only 1 mi (1.6 km) from Bethal's Cemetery.[29]

Brother James Anderson Inman remained in Boston throughout the war and worked as a cooper, a contractor.[26] He returned to his wife Mary “Polly” Kirby Inman after the war with $3000 dollars sewn into a Union uniform.[26]

Universalism

[edit]

Bethel township community of Canton at the foot of Cold Mountain slowly became a center of rural Universalism, beginning in the early 1850s.[27] The concept of hell redemtion was a core Universalist belief. The Universalist Church of America supported equality before the law regardless of race, or sex as well as women's suffrage, and women's placement in leadership roles.[28][30] Interest in the Universalist church increased as the Civil War wound down. Benjamin F. Strain was a traveling Universalist minister who converted several of the residents around Cold Mountain in July 1868.[31] A congregation was organized and James Anderson Inman, was soon ordained by Strain. Inman's congregation met in members homes. As the congregation grew, in 1897 the newly formed Universalist State Conference of North Carolina, pledged to construct a chapel in honor of the areas long-serving preacher. The majority of work in raising the chapel was performed by James Inman.[24][26][32] Inman's Chapel was dedicated in 1903.[31][32] The Universalist’s Women’s National Missionary Association (WNMA) sponsored the Inman Chapel after James Inmans death in 1913.[31]

As local interest in the church declined, the WNMA sent preacher Hannah Jewitt Powell, to Haywood County from Maine in 1921. She had received national recognition for educating the children of lighthouse keepers.[30] Upon her arrival to the foot of Cold Mountain she opened a Sunday school and kindergarten in the chapel and went to work expanding the churches programs of education and social service.[24] By 1926 Hannah Powell had a community center named Friendly House constructed adjacent to the Inman Chapel. Powell lived at Friendly House, along with other Universalist missionaries. The missionaries had a strong focus on charity, and community service and distributed food and clothes to the needy.[28] Friendly House provided meeting spaces, a large library, adult education programs, summer school classes, a day care, and the first free health clinic in the state to all in need.[28][30] Hannah Powell retired having taken no vacation since her arrival.[30] After Powell’s retirement, the WNMA announced their plan to discontinue their support of the Inman Chapel. Inman's Chapel finally closed in 1957.[27] The chapel was restored between 2006 and 2008 by James Inman's descendants, and is now only used for family reunions and events.[28][31]

Forestry

[edit]

In 1888 125,000 acres (51,000 ha) was purchased by George Washington Vanderbilt II, who constructed the Biltmore Estate.[3][7] 

Land Revision Act of 1891

The Biltmore Forest School was founded in 1896. It was the first school of forestry in North America. Carl A. Schenck developed a practice of forest management for the production of timber until the school closed in 1913. It is now part of the Pisgah National Forest.[4] 

forestry school[33]
Champion Coated Paper Company[34] 
Champion Fibre Company [35]
Champion Lumber Company[36]

1st Sunburst (Spruce)[37]
2nd Sunburst[36]
bastard sunburst[38]

 Logging community of Sunburst and Lake Logan[39][28] 

 Logging took place on the Mountain...(?)[27][page needed](?)[40]

Organic Act of 1897
Transfer Act of 1905

In 1896(?) much of the area surrounding Cold Mountain was purchased by the Champion Coated Paper Co. Champion logged the region of Cold Mountain until the 1920s.[3] Logging caused old-growth groves of Fraser fir, red spruce, hemlock, and hardwoods in the area to be nearly wiped out.[3] In 1911 Congress passed the Weeks Act which authorized the federal purchase of lands. Shortly afterwards 8,100 acres above Old Fort in McDowell County, North Carolina was purchased.[3] After Vanderbilt's death in 1914, his widow Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, sold 86,000 acres (350 km2) of the land that included Cold Mountain to the Division of Forestry at the price $5 per acre.[7] In 1917, the previous purchase was combined with the large tract from Vanderbilt’s widow to create what is now the Pisgah National Forest.[3][7]

It became one of the first National forests in the eastern United States. 

Rail transport supported logging, brought modern conveniences, passenger service.

(1907?) The Pigeon River Railway Company tracks surrounding Cold Mountain[41] 

1964 Wilderness Act 1964, National Wilderness Preservation System...[42]

1984 North Carolina Wilderness Act[3]

Cold Mountain land conservation

[edit]

Almost 9,000 acres (3,642 ha) acres of conservation wilderness area have been protected for and public use in the land surrounding Cold Mountain.[17] These areas are managed by either The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Southern Appalachian Highland Conservancy (SAHC), or other nonprofit conservation organizations.[17]

In 2016 SAHC purchased the 162 acres (66 ha) "Dix Creek tract" with private funding.[17] The land was transferred to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in late October 2016 and increased the adjoining Cold Mountain Game Lands to 3,500 acres (1,416 ha) in 2017. The tract contained six acres of hemlock forest. The Cold Mountain Game Lands had also been purchased by SAHC.[43]

The "Caldwell tract" purchase in 2015 added a 64 acres (26 ha) of public forest land originally purchased from developers by a private individual in 2013.[17] This land purchase was funded primarily by the Pittman-Robertson wildlife fund and in part by SAHC.[17]

A nonprofit partnership for conservation was formed between Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Highland Brewing Company, a microbrewery in Asheville.[17][when?] The partnership is dubbed "For Love of Beer & Mountains."[44] The partnership was formed to conserve and raise awareness of the areas unique natural features and native species in the Appalachian Mountains.[44][45] The company's products are named for parts of the southern Appalachian landscape which includes a seasonal winter ale bearing Cold Mountain's name.[17][46] A portion of proceeds from sales of the beer are put towards supporting conservation efforts.[44] 

SOURCE: NCWRC Cold Mountain Game Lands plan [47]

Flooding

[edit]

The Upper Pigeon River Valley surrounding Cold Mountain is prone to flash flooding and landslides due to the mountains steep geography.[48] The valleys below the mountain are one of the regions few uncontrolled watersheds.[49] In 1916, eighty people drowned or were swept away when two tropical systems dumped over 20 inches of rain near Asheville.[49]

Flooding from the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 had previously set a high water mark for the river.[48][49][50]

Rainfall and runoff from Tropical Storm Fred over the headwaters of Cold Mountain caused major flooding along the East Fork of the Pigeon River in 2021 that killed six and required nearly 200 swift water rescues. The flooding piled up cars, trees and debris and triggered rockslides and mudslides, sinkholes, and washouts. 500 homes and businesses between Cruso and Clyde were destroyed. 225 of the structures were swept away entirely. Over ten bridges were demolished. The worst destruction was in Cruso, though damage was substantial in Clyde, Bethel, Canton, and Dutch Cove.[48][49][50] 

In 2024 Tropical Storm Helene

Wildfires

[edit]

In the early part of the twentieth-century, forest fires that consumed over 100,000 acres that created meadows on the mountain, called balds. Fires were accidentally ignited by locomotives or were purposely set to clear land for agriculture.[3] 

A  1925 forest fire...[39][40]
1943 fire

A 2019 wildfire on Cold Mountain was nationally reported.[51][52] The forest fire burned for two weeks and destroyed 220 acres (89 ha) of woodland. It was first contained and then extinguished by rain. The 2019 fire was reported to have been caused by arson.[53] The "Camp Daniel Boone Fire" was a smaller brush fire on Cold Mountain that occurred in 2016 near a campground owned by the Boy Scouts. The 2016 fire burned approximately 35 acres (14 ha) and was found to have started on private property.[54]

Maj. Gen. Wurtsmith B-25 crash

[edit]

A 1946 aviation accident at the summit of Cold Mountain and the death of the high-ranking aircrew thrust Cold Mountain into national recognition and left an indelible mark on the fledgling United States Air Force, as well as the affected people and communities.[5][55][56][57][page needed] It was found that the crash had several contributing factors leading up to the accident but the primary cause was pilot error.[58][page needed]

Major General Paul Wurtsmith was killed on Cold Mountain, September 13, 1946

Background: Post-war USAAF

[edit]

Demobilization following the conclusion of World War II, marked a period of reorganization of the United States Armed Forces. In particular, the immediate post-war was a time of rapid organizational change for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).[12] The United States Department of the Air Force had been formed on July 26, 1947 under the National Military Establishment with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. On September 18, 1947, the act both established the United States Air Force and abolished the Army Air Forces, placing them under the control of the Secretary of Defense. However, personnel and assets of the Army Air Forces would be not be transferred to the new U.S. Air Force until September 26, 1947.

Serving in the Army Air Forces as the youngest general in the Army, Major General Paul Wurtsmith, had resigned as the commander of the Thirteenth Air Force six months earlier and had been reassigned to the newly created Strategic Air Command (SAC).[59] Wurtsmith had recently returned to the U.S. after observing the atomic weapons testing of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll.[60] In early September 1946, Maj. Gen. Wurtsmith received new orders assigning him as the Commander of the Eighth Air Force.[6][12][55][61] The General was quartered at MacDill Field in Tampa, Florida, one of eight Continental Air Forces airbases then in the process of being transferred to Strategic Air Command.[62]

SAC meeting in D.C.

[edit]

Major General Wurtsmith was called to a meeting at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command, to conduct business related to MacDill Field's transference to SAC.[63] At the time, Strategic Air Command was headquartered at Bolling Field in Washington D.C. and was utilizing the Continental Air Forces Headquarters. The formal demobilization of the USAAF and SACs reorganization under the Department of the Air Force, as well as Wurtsmith's new command of the 8th Air Force, was to occur one week after the meeting with the transfer of Army air assets to the USAF planned to occur later in the month.[62]

Wurtsmith flew to Bolling from MacDill Field on a twin-engine bomber that was reconfigured for transportation and training flights. The aircraft, a TB-25J Mitchell (c/n 44-30227), using the radio call sign "Army '227," (or "R227"), was assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force, 326th Army Air Forces Base Unit.[64] The 326th AAFBU was an Army Air Forces separation station unit newly created to process military demobilization after the war.

After completion of the SAC-related business in Washington, Wurtsmith continued onto the next leg of his trip as Army 227 flew northward to southeast Michigan, where Maj. Gen. Wurtsmith visited his mother near Detroit.[65] On Friday, September 13, 1946, Army 227 took off from Selfridge Field, to return to Florida.[12][55][61]

Last contact

[edit]
A B-25 Mitchell Bomber in flight
During the return flight South to MacDill...[55][66]

The plane first contacted Huntington, West Virginia control at 10:24am.[67] 

(IFR or CFR?)

Next, Army '227 last contacted air traffic control in Tri-Cities, Tennessee.[6][9][55][59] A transcript of the last transmission stated that R227 said they were currently flying under instrument flight rules (IFR), at 6,000 feet (1,800 m) altitude.[68] The air traffic controller advised R227 that during instrument meteorological conditions, 6000 feet was the below minimum altitude in the region and offered R227 a higher altitude.[68] The Tri-Cities controller then contacted Atlanta, who determined that an IFR flight plan had not been submitted for R227 and that it had already had a CFR flight plan.[68] When informed of this, the pilot then requested to continue under Contact Flight Rules.[68] Contact flight rules or CFR were the 1940s equivalent of visual flight rules (VFR) that are used under visual meteorological conditions, when the pilot has visibility with the ground and horizon. The Tri-Cities controller provided R227 with the weather reports for Asheville, Charlotte, and Spartanburg, South Carolina.[68] R227 was allowed to continue to its destination under CFR without further air traffic control direction. The last radio contact from the plane was reported to have been at 11:57 am.[12] However, official transcripts show R-277's last radio contact was initiated at 10:57 am.[69] The last reported location of the plane was corrected to 10 miles (16 km) West of Tri-Cities airport.[69]

Crash

[edit]

Army 277 was flying almost due South on a heading of 190 degrees and a ground speed of at least 230 miles per hour (370 km/h).[6][9][12][70] Shortly after the last communication, at an altitude of 5,800 feet (1,800 m) the General's plane cut through a swath of treetops and collided with a 60-degree-angle rock face near the peak of Cold Mountain.[55][61][70][71] The aircraft impacted approximately 200 feet (61 m) below the north-facing summit of Cold Mountain.[6][9][61] The nose and cockpit portion of the aircraft forward of the wings disintegrated, ejecting the five occupants, spilling the plane's high-octane gasoline, which ignited and burned.[6][70][71] The rear fuselage came to rest upside-down above the point of impact and wreckage littered an area estimated to be 700 by 300 feet (213 m × 91 m) with some pieces being thrown onto the other side of the ridge. A large section of burned and broken trees spread through the site.[6][9][70][67]

The crew of five perished instantly.[12] The men killed in the crash were pilot in command, Maj. Gen Wurtsmith; flight instructor pilot, Lieutenant Colonel F. L. Trickey (flying as copilot), copilot Lt. Col. P. R. Okerbloom (flying as a passenger); radio operator, Master sergeant Hosey W. Merritt; and flight engineer, Staff sergeant Hoyt W. Crump.[6][9][59] 

The sound of the crash was heard...[59]
[edit]

Army '227, was overdue in landing at MacDill Field, Florida. The plane was declared missing at 3:30 pm.[6][55][59] Airfields along the the plane's intended flight path were checked and search and rescue flights were dispatched from both South Carolina and Florida. Over 50 aircraft participated in the search from the air.[12][59] 

local civilian searchers...

Civil Air Patrol

Search crews were already out looking for a different missing plane, a UC-78 "Bamboo Bomber" that was lost on January 31, 1944, with Army personnel and civilians aboard including an Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist. The on-going search for that plane had just been suspended due to bad weather when the B-25 crashed. As of 2021, the location of the UC-78 and its occupants have never been discovered.[55][57][page needed]

At 7:10 am on Sunday, September 15, the wreck of the B-25 was spotted by a search airplane from MacDill. Ground crews, led by locals and guided from the air, had to cut a new trail up the mountain and reached the wreck site at three o'clock in the afternoon.[12][61] Some trees at the site of the crash were still burning when rescuers arrived.[6][9][55][59]

Aftermath

[edit]

Fifty Army personnel were sent by convoy from Greenville Field, South Carolina to Cold Mountain to perform the recovery.[12] The remains of the airmen were brought down the mountain and taken to a funeral home in Greenville, South Carolina.[6][9] Major General Wurtsmith was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[72]

The site of airplane crash near the peak of Cold Mountain has been searched for and visited by hikers, juvenile souvenir collectors, hunters, and wreck chasers ever since the days immediately following the discovery of the wreck.[55][56][71][73][74] Following the discovery, the majority of male youths in the area had hiked up the mountain to the site and brought home pieces of the plane.[55][61][74][75][76] The U.S. Army had the tasks of securing the remote site, recovering the human remains, locating Gen. Wurtsmith's briefcase, which likely contained military secrets, and investigating the cause of the accident. The Army faced criticism that souvenir hunters had "raided" the site of important evidence but called such reports "exaggerated," and argued that their task was completed "as thoroughly as possible.”[55] To avoid the expense of removing the plane, it was decided that the wreckage of the B-25 was to remain on Cold Mountain. Large yellow crosses were painted onto the wings and fuselage of the aircraft in the event that the wreckage was spotted from the air by a future search and rescue team.[9][55]

Investigation

[edit]

At the crash site, a crewman's watch had stopped at 11:30 a.m. This strongly indicated the precise time of the crash.[70] According to the investigation, it was determined that Maj. Gen. Wurtsmith was operating the aircraft at the time of the accident and Lt. Col. Trickey was in the copilot seat. This determination was based in part on evidence provided by eyewitnesses at Selfridge Airfield.[67] Trickey, had filed a CFR flight plan.[77] According to the witnesses, Trickey appeared to be in a hurry and during a brief discussion about the weather, he ended the conversation abruptly and left when he learned that there were instrument flight conditions on the route.[77][page needed]

Limited visibility and poor weather conditions over the North Carolina mountains at that time consisted of low clouds, rain and fog.[6][12][55][61][78] The Civil Aeronautics Board defined the CFR minimum threshold as a cloud ceiling of 2,000 feet (610 m) with minimum visibility of 6 miles (9.7 km). 

 (was this an ARMY REGULATION?)

Mountain weather is typically unpredictable however the weather forecast at Selfridge clearly indicated that CFR threshold limits would be exceeded on the flight. Specifically, it stated that there was fog in low areas with visibility of only 3 miles (4.8 km), there was a low cloud ceiling of 1,500 feet (460 m) approaching the mountains, and zero cloud ceiling in higher elevations and in the mountains near Asheville.[77] However, the investigation found that the pilots did not make any attempt to receive the weather briefing at Selridge nor did they ever enter the base weather building prior to the flight.[67] 

The pilot lowered the plane's altitude likely in order to maintain CFR navigation.[6][9][12][59][55]
(STATED the INTENT TO descend?)

The investigators found that angle of the broken trees at the crash site showed the plane was in normal flight but descending in the attempt maintain a visual reference with the ground when it stuck the mountain.[79] This type of accident is now known as controlled flight into terrain.

The radio transcript showed that the pilot mistakenly believed he was on an instrument flight plan and was told they were flying below the safe minimum altitude for the mountains in instrument or semi-instrument weather."[70]

According to local reporting, "a miscalculation of altitude" was the cause of the accident.[6][80] Ironically, The United States Army Air Forces crash investigation report itself incorrectly miscalculates the elevation of Cold Mountain's peak at 6,275 feet (1,913 m), showing the crash 500 feet (150 m) below it.[81] In reality, the accident investigation overstates the elevation of the peak and therefore both the altitude that the plane was flying when it stuck the mountain as well as the distance between the summit and the accident site by some 245 feet (75 m).

After SAC rejected the initial findings of the investigation, the base operations officer at Selridge field was faulted for allowing a CFR flight plan to be approved for a flight that required instrument flying for nearly the entire trip and for allowing Lt. Col. Trickey to sign the CFR flight plan for the General.[82]

In 1946, the U.S. air forces were continuing a movement towards having an all-weather capability.[83] During the 1940s the lack of IFR training, limited experience, and obsolete instrumentation continued to be a major cause of loss of men and aircraft when flying in weather or low-visibility conditions.[84][page needed] 

war time IFR training (USAAF pp=33-34)

A two-tiered rating system was created that was based on a pilot's flying experience and training. A white rating was for less experienced pilots while the less-restrictive green rating was for more experienced pilots who were allowed to fly in worse weather conditions.[85] Wartime instrument-flying training was rushed and a majority of pilots were uncomfortable flying in weather. Despite incorporating technological improvements such as the gyroscopic horizon and radio navigation, IFR flying was still a mostly unfamiliar experience and the new instrumentation was not well maintained and not trusted.[86][page needed]

In 1944, all pilots holding a green rating had their pilot ratings cancelled or suspended until they were formally retrained in IFR.[87] However, retraining in IFR was not required for command pilots, who were completely exempted from the recertification.[88] Maj. Gen. Wurtsmith received his flight training in 1928. Until 1940, he was an instructor pilot for fighter aircraft that traditionally flew only under CFR in clear weather.[64] In the previous five years, the general had only flown on instruments for about 45 minutes per year.[89] Wurtsmith was a command pilot and therefore automatically held a green rating despite his lack of training and experience in flying on instruments.[64]

The General had never piloted a B-25 and requested an instructor pilot to accompany him on the trip. Assigned to the flight, Lt. Col. Trickey, was a senior pilot who had over 414 hours of instrument flying experience and held a white IFR rating. Nevertheless, the investigation found that Lt. Col. Trickey remained extremely nervous about flying in actual IFR conditions.[90] 

despite lack of IFR experience, flight used the General's green authorization...[page needed]

The crash investigation recommended that...[91]

Memorials

[edit]

Major General Wurtsmith's sudden death on the summit of Cold Mountain created national and international news headlines in 1946.[92] Subsequently, Wurtsmith Air Force Base was renamed in Paul Wurtsmith's honor by The United States Air Force in 1953.[93] A painting of Major General Wurtsmith was unveiled by his nephew at the 1953 renaming ceremony of Wurtsmith Air Force Base.[93]

In 1989 a small volunteer group of history-minded personnel stationed at Wurtsmith AFB was dubbed, "Project Warrior." The group was intent on utilizing the aircraft engines left on Cold Mountain to create a memorial for Gen. Wurtsmith and the crewmen who were killed in the 1946 crash.[61][94] The volunteers were able to locate both of the B-25s damaged Wright R-2600-92 Twin Cyclone supercharged 14-cylinder radial engines and propeller hubs at the bomber's crash site.[61] In April 1989 the engines were airlifted off of the peak of Cold Mountain using a U.S. Army National Guard-operated Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter based in Raleigh.[55][56][61] The engines were then taken by an Air Force truck to rural farm in Alcona County near Lincoln, Michigan, for cleaning and partial restoration.[61][95]

It was planned that at least one of the B-25's recovered engines would be placed at the Circle of Flags at Constitution Park near the front gate of Wurtsmith Air Force Base as a memorial to the five men who died on Cold Mountain.[61][96] However, the vision of the base volunteers in utilizing the engines was never realized.[97] The planned memorial never came to fruition due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances that included the poor condition of the recovered engines, prioritizing the memorization of an October 11, 1988, fatal runway excursion of a KC-135 (c/n 60-0317) at Wurtsmith AFB that killed six and injured ten, the transfer or military discharge of the volunteers from the base, the 1990-1991 Gulf War, and the 1991 announcement of the planned 1993 base realignment and closure of Wurtsmith AFB.[98] The private farm near the base where the B-25's battered engines were being stored was eventually sold. Plans to relocate the engines fell through, unintentionally abandoning the bomber's recovered engines, which were subsequently removed for scrap metal.

In 2006, the Veteran Memorial Park of Northeast Michigan expanded the pre-existing Constitution Park and the Circle of Flags on the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base property.[99] The former base and runways now serve as the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport.[97]

Artifacts

[edit]

Several museums and private properties hold fragments of the crashed bomber.[66][97][100] A portion of engine ignition wiring and other miscellaneous parts were brought to Michigan and placed into the Wurtsmith AFB extension of the Yankee Air Museum.[74][97] The portrait of Major General Wurtsmith that was unveiled by his nephew in 1953 at the Wurtsmith AFB renaming ceremony is now displayed above an encased piece of recovered wreckage from his plane at the Wurtsmith Air Museum.[101]

Near Cold Mountain, museum-held artifacts include a propeller blade that was recovered by a local Boy Scout troop. The blade was mounted on a pedestal and placed for decades in the basement of a church.[56][102] It is now displayed at the Canton Historical Museum.[100][55] The wheels and tires from bomber's landing gear were rolled down the mountain after the crash by kids and were kept at various residences at the bottom of the mountain over the last 75 years.[74][103] One of the plane's damaged wheels had been repurposed as a flowerpot. It was moved to the Canton Historical Museum in 2018.[100] The plane's other wheel and tire are displayed at a private home at the base of Cold Mountain.[55][74]

Wreck site today

[edit]

The taking of souvenirs from the site over nearly eight decades and the well-intentioned removal of the B-25's engines and propellers from the area has left little visible evidence of an aviation wreck site.[61][76][104] Visitors who were able to locate the site of the incident have reported that it is nearly impossible to find and that there are very few parts of the aircraft that are still present on Cold Mountain.[100][105] The scarce remnant pieces of wreckage still at the site were well hidden under leaves or vegetation.[76][106] A hiker documented his visit to the site in 2012 and photographed some of the remaining aircraft wreckage.[106] The removal of artifacts from the site is now unlawful as is the erection of a memorial monument on the federally managed protected public land of Cold Mountain.[107]

Book written

[edit]

A book about the Cold Mountain B-25 bomber crash was published in 2005.[108] The book won a Parker Peace History Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians. An updated follow-up edition of the book was published in 2011 with an additional 40 pages of the author's research.[109]

In addition, a folk music artist who grew up at the base of Cold Mountain could once see the planes wreckage from his residence when the sun reflected off of it.[110] He later wrote a folk song about the B-25 crash.[111]

Other

[edit]

Legends, Tales, & History of Cold Mountain (Volumes I–VI) is a six-volume series of The Pigeon Valley Heritage Collection that details the early history of the area around Cold Mountain. The books are authored by Evelyn M. Coltman and are distributed by the Bethel Rural Community Organization. In 2010, the six volumes were awarded the Barringer Award of Excellence by the North Carolina Society of Historians.[28][112] 

SOURCE:[113]
*Coltman, Evelyn M. (2007). Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain. Vol. I–VI. Bethel Rural Community Organization. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Novel and film

[edit]
Main articles: Cold Mountain (novel) and Cold Mountain (film)
See also: Cold Mountain (opera)

Cold Mountain and the township Community of Bethel and the area outside of Canton near the base of the mountain gained notoriety as the story setting of the 1997 historical novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.[3][5] The story was an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey by way of the the author's distant ancestor W.P. Inman, and a return to Cold Mountain after his desertion.[23][114] Frazier was also influenced by the Chinese poetry of Hanshan, which means “Cold Mountain.”[28] The book reached the No. 1 position on the New York Times best-seller list, where it remained for 61 weeks. It was awarded the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.[5][114] It also received the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction from the Historical Book Club of North Carolina.[citation needed] A major motion picture based on the novel was distributed by Miramax Films in 2003. The motion picture was actually filmed in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. A Miramax spokesperson cited higher production costs however director Anthony Minghella had said that the lack of old-growth forests and period buildings as well as the lack of dependable snowfall were the primary reasons he chose not to film in Western North Carolina.[4][115] A 2015 opera production followed that was composed by Jennifer Higdon.[116] The works have brought Cold Mountain-themed tourism to the area which is specifically marketed as such.[4][28] Contrary to the story, there has never been a town, village, nor settlement called "Cold Mountain" nor a place called "Black Cove," near the real North Carolina mountain.[4][5]

View and access

[edit]

Cold mountain is the most famous the and most viewed mountain in the Appalachians. However, the mountain has one of the ranges most infrequently visited summits.[3]

So-called "leaf peeping" or foliage tourism brings thousands of visitors to view the autumn leaf color of the mountains of Western North Carolina[4] Tourism has increased dramatically since the release of the Cold Mountain novel and the subsequent Holywood film.[5] Frazier's story could almost be used as a guide to navigating the area surrounding Cold Mountain.[117] Cold Mountain can be viewed from a seasonal scenic overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 412 (411.9).[4] Cold Mountain can also also be viewed from Mount Pisgah (at milepost 407).[11] The Cold Mountain overlooks are accessible from an exchange on U.S. 276.[11] A 1.5 miles (2.4 km) round trip hike to the Fryingpan Mountain lookout tower provides a vista of Cold Mountain.[11]

The summit of Cold Mountain is only accessible via hiking an extremely strenuous branch of the Art Loeb Trail with a round trip of 10.6 miles (17.1 km) and an elevation change of 2,800 feet (850 m).[117][11] Maps, a compass, drinking water, and bear spray are necessary to hike to the top of Cold Mountain as well as protective clothing and shelter from the sudden changes in weather conditions such as rain, wind, and cold temperature.

It is very easy to get lost on the mountain where mobile phones only have spotty coverage, the trail is steep and rocky, and is entirely unmarked except at the trailhead.[4] When the B-25 crashed into Cold Mountain's peak in 1946, several Army recovery personnel and photographers became lost and had to spend a cold night on the mountain.[6] They were found the next day.[9] Navigating Cold Mountain's terrain is sometimes even difficult for forest rangers.[5] Tourists drawn to the mountain by the popular cultural story, frequently get lost and often need to be rescued.[4][42] Mirrors and other signalling devices are also recommended. In 2020 a family with a small child became lost on the mountain while searching for waterfalls and did not return. Fifty searchers from multiple counties in small teams searched for the family throughout the night. The search began at 9 pm and the family was located after 16 hours of searching. They were found because they carried with them a whistle which their rescuers heard.[118]

$ crash notes

[edit]
A: name="Search 1946"
Search efforts...
planes searched, 2 B-29;

B: name="High 1946"
Search team (photographers, soldier) lost
Site: Debris remained, search team found, (photo of crash site)
B-25 crashed
wurt temp comm, wurt bio
wreckage spotted 7:10 AM sunday
rescue party reached 3PM sun still on fire
heavy woods cove
200 feet from summit
20 mi from brevard, 15-20 from waynesville, six mi from pisgagh hiway
trail cut from crawfords rd 3 mi
smashed to pieces
bodies mangled
tops of trees
sighted by names in AT-11 from MacDIll
ground party names
convoy of 50 ,men greenville
230 MPH
search party lost
taken to greenville funeral home

name="Crosses 1946" C: [9]
yellow crosses
found sunday
remote
demolished
wont remove it
bodies to greenville funeral
names
from to
tri-city
coming down
contact fly
1100 sq feet
party found
200 feet down 6030 summit
9.5 mi SE of waynesville
12.5 mi NW of brevard
5 3/4 mi from Mt pisgah
5 mi w-sw of the point crawford creek road cross the pigeon river
between e and W  forks of Pigeon

Deaths announced
instantly killed, during reorg of the air corps, search, found, radioed position, "Friday, the 13th of September,...at 11:57 A. M., ..."reported position  10 miles west(?) of the Kingsport, Bristol, and Johnson City Airport", ..."pilot said he was going to lower altitude because of bad weather."...230 miles per hour, ...too low, fog and rain ....difficult to see... the mountains.

SOURCES:
Book published. (photo of engines)[71]



 (crash article clipping in book) p.129: Source: Five Killed when Bomber Crashed on Cold Mountain in Pisgah Area Friday; Bodies recovered from wreckage Sunday. Canton Enterprise newspaper of September 19, 1946. p.1[119]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ USGNIS 1980.
  2. ^ a b Peakbagger 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Osment 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Associated Press 2004a.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Horwitz 1998.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Asheville Citizen-Times 1946b.
  7. ^ a b c d e Asheville Citizen-Times 2008, pp. 78.
  8. ^ a b Haywood County 2022a.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Asheville Citizen-Times 1946c.
  10. ^ a b c d e NGS 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e Romantic Asheville 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Mountaineer 1946.
  13. ^ Burnette 2008.
  14. ^ Greenfieldboyce 2017.
  15. ^ a b Sullivan 2017, p. 1.
  16. ^ a b Keith 1906, p. 1.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Chávez 2016.
  18. ^ a b Steere 2015.
  19. ^ NCDCR 2011.
  20. ^ a b c Jones 2019.
  21. ^ a b Haywood County 2022b.
  22. ^ {{cite web}}: Empty citation (help)
  23. ^ a b c d e f Hardin 2016.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Martin 2011.
  25. ^ Associated Press 2004b.
  26. ^ a b c d e Neufeld 2016.
  27. ^ a b c d e Barnett 2008.[page needed]
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Beadle 2009.
  29. ^ Faye 2007.
  30. ^ a b c d Ross 2022.
  31. ^ a b c d NCDCR 2016.
  32. ^ a b HDSL 2022.
  33. ^ Sullivan 2017, pp. 16, 18, .
  34. ^ Sullivan 2017, pp. 3–4.
  35. ^ Sullivan 2017, pp. 8–10.
  36. ^ a b Sullivan 2017, pp. 24–32.
  37. ^ Sullivan 2017, pp. 17–23.
  38. ^ Sullivan 2017, p. 24.
  39. ^ a b Jones 2022.
  40. ^ a b Sullivan 2017[page needed]
  41. ^ Sullivan 2017, pp. 10–15.
  42. ^ a b Sullivan 2017, p. 118.
  43. ^ Smoky Mountain News 2016.
  44. ^ a b c SAHC 2016.
  45. ^ FLBM 2014.
  46. ^ Glenn 2012.
  47. ^ NCWRC 2017.
  48. ^ a b c Vaillancourt et al. 2021.
  49. ^ a b c d Graham 2021.
  50. ^ a b Hyatt 2021.
  51. ^ Associated Press 2019.
  52. ^ Sorace 2019.
  53. ^ Price 2019.
  54. ^ The Mountaineer 2020.
  55. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Ross 2021.
  56. ^ a b c d Associated Press 1989.
  57. ^ a b Cannon 2005.
  58. ^ USAAF 1946.
  59. ^ a b c d e f g h Asheville Citizen-Times 1946a.
  60. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 38
  61. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Asheville Citizen-Times 1989.
  62. ^ a b USAAF 1946, p. 42.
  63. ^ USAAF 1946, p. 18.
  64. ^ a b c USAAF 1946, p. 1.
  65. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 36.
  66. ^ a b Griffin 2004, p. 127
  67. ^ a b c d USAAF 1946, p. 50.
  68. ^ a b c d e USAAF 1946, pp. 15–17.
  69. ^ a b USAAF 1946, p. 14.
  70. ^ a b c d e f USAAF 1946, p. 4.
  71. ^ a b c d Neufeld 2010, pp. 10–11.
  72. ^ WAFBHS 2022.
  73. ^ Cannon 2005, pp. 18–19, 21–22, 24–27.
  74. ^ a b c d e Leavenworth 1989.
  75. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 26.
  76. ^ a b c Griffin 2004, p. 128.
  77. ^ a b c USAAF 1946, p. 13
  78. ^ USAAF 1946.
  79. ^ USAAF 1946, p. 20.
  80. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 19.
  81. ^ USAAF 1946, p. 19.
  82. ^ USAAF 1946, p. 3.
  83. ^ McIntosh 1988, p. 39.
  84. ^ McIntosh 1988.
  85. ^ McIntosh 1988, p. 36.
  86. ^ McIntosh 1988.
  87. ^ McIntosh 1988, p. 37.
  88. ^ McIntosh 1988, p. 38.
  89. ^ USAAF 1946, p. 53.
  90. ^ USAAF 1946, p. 60.
  91. ^ USAAF 1946, pp. 62–63.
  92. ^ Cannon 2005[page needed].
  93. ^ a b USAF 1953.
  94. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 187.
  95. ^ Cannon 2005[page needed].
  96. ^ Cannon 2011, p. 214-254.
  97. ^ a b c d Cannon 2005, p. 202.
  98. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 201-202.
  99. ^ Ogden 2022.
  100. ^ a b c d The Mountaineer 2018.
  101. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 203.
  102. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 26.
  103. ^ Cannon 2005, pp. 24–25, 181–184.
  104. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 197.
  105. ^ Cannon 2005, p. 208.
  106. ^ a b Scott 2012.
  107. ^ USFS 2022.
  108. ^ Asheville Citizen-Times 2007.
  109. ^ The Mountaineer 2011.
  110. ^ Hurley 2021.
  111. ^ VNCS 2022.
  112. ^ BRCO 2014.
  113. ^ Coltman 2007.
  114. ^ a b Gussow 1997.
  115. ^ Bixler 2003.
  116. ^ Hudson 2017.
  117. ^ a b Bernstein 2006.
  118. ^ Chávez 2020.
  119. ^ Griffin 2004, p. 129.

References

[edit]
  • Cannon, Doris Rollins; et al. (Roy Moody) (2011). Cold Mountain Bomber Crash : The Enduring Legacy (paperback) (updated ed.). Smithfield, N.C.: Katydid Chorus Books. pp. 215–254. OCLC 876135804.
  • Leavenworth, Don (April 15, 1989). "Final Chapter Closed on 4-decade-old plane Crash". The Mountaineer (newspaper). pp. 1, 3B. (Photo of recovered engines).{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • NCDCR (August 10, 2011). "Garden Creek (P-83)". Office of Archives & History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  • Osment, Timothy N. (2008). "Cold Mountain". Digital Heritage. Western Carolina University. Retrieved 2022-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  • Scott, David J. (March 22, 2012). "Cold Mountain B-25". Go Smokies Knox News (tourism blog). Retrieved 2022-10-25.
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