Historians Michael Birdwell and Calvin Dickinson helped sort truth from fiction in last week's episode of "Heartland," a WBIR-TV documentary series, on Civil War bushwhackers in the Upper Cumberland.

While our region isn't known for major battles during the Civil War, a huge and gruesome mythology has built up around outlaws Tinker Dave Beaty and Champ Ferguson, who used the turmoil of the 1860s to cover their reign of terror from Cookeville through Fentress County and north to southern Kentucky.

"Because of the involvement of our historians, Michael and Calvin, the story was so well-researched that we had the actual 'testimony' of eyewitnesses," says co-producer and host/narrator Bill Landry.

Beaty, a Union sympathizer, and Ferguson, a Confederate, led renegade armies of as many as 100 men who pillaged, tortured and murdered hundreds of Upper Cumberland residents during the Civil War. Ferguson ultimately was charged with war crimes, but Beaty was never punished.

Birdwell, assistant professor of History, and Dickinson, faculty emeritus, boiled down the long and convoluted history of the two bushwhackers for the 30-minute episode, which included Civil War reenactment footage and dramatization. Birdwell and Dickinson's most recent book is Rural Life and Culture in the Upper Cumberland (University Press of Kentucky, 2004).

WBIR, Knoxville's NBC affiliate, created the "Heartland" series in 1984. Since then, the show has produced more than 1,000 features. It airs at 7:30 p.m. every Saturday night. Videotapes of past episodes are available by calling 865-637-1010 or visiting www.wbir.com/heartland/.