The Swamp Dragons operated in the South Branch Valley of the Potomac River. These men were part of the WV Home Guard and were significant in turning the war effort and aiding the Union cause. In opposition to the Swamp Dragons were the McNeill Rangers. One of the tasks of the Swamp Dragons was escorting any regular Union regiment from infantry, cavalry, to artillery through the valley. They  also escorted supply trains from places like New Creek Station through the valley. As the war came to the end, the Swamp Dragons had to deal with the discharged confederate forces in the valley. A great deal of emphasis and scholarship has been directed toward the McNeill Rangers, without giving proper consideration to the significance of the Swamp Dragon Home Guard. This program will explore the contribution of these West Virginia soldiers at home who aided in the union cause during the Civil War and will touch on the devastation that came to mountain people during the war that played a significant part in the violence and poverty that was associated with the region.

Cameron Mallow is from Hardy & Grant counites in West Virginia and currently lives in Gettysburg, Pa. He graduated from Shepherd University in 2018 with a BA in American History in the study of the American Civil War and a minor in West Virginia history. In 2020 Cameron started working for the National Park Service at Gettysburg on the maintenance crew. From there he was assigned to several historic sites as an interpreter including the National Mall in Washington, DC, Fort Union Trading Post, Fort McHenry and Monocacy National Battlefield.

Cameron is about to start his 6th season with the National Park Service at the Allegheny Portage Railroad as an Interpretive Park Ranger. Between NPS jobs he works for Eastern National Book Store, is a substitute school teacher, volunteers at camps and is also a writer with his first book now in editing.