The subtitle tells it all, as the author considers how the shifting boundaries between areas of Confederate and Union control led to the grinding down of the population caught in the political void. While the raid was the more predominant form of warfare, ranging from small parties of bushwhackers to the occasional brigade-sized force of regulars, McKnight does show how such strategic points as the Cumberland Gap, the route of the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, and the salt works at Saltville attracted operational action. Much attention is also given to the flavor of antebellum politics, as positions of command were dominated for much of the war by those who had been prewar local worthies. ( )