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I don't think it corrected anything you said, just added some additional facts. The Tar River was the conduit for all the tar based products of the day....... hence, the nickname was probably derived from all of the associated namesakes.
The term Tar Heel is derivative of the term Rosin Heel, which use predates the Civil War by decades. It was basically a pejorative to describe low class people and comes from the tar resin in the NC pine forests. Here is a scholarly article that delves into the etymology of Tar Heels and has examples from as early as 1820. So while it was almost certainly used during the Civil War, I don't think it's accurate to describe it as having come from that era or as having anything to do with the institution of slavery.
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