Guerrilla war in eastern middle Tennessee

[28TN]

I am trying to gather some info on the Confederate Guerrilla operations in the mountains/hills of eastern middle Tennessee.It seems though the federals controlled Nashville,the CSA partisans maintained de facto control of all the N.E. counties of this part of Tennessee.From what I have read,seems it was almost impossible for a unionist or a federal to draw a beath without getting shot.O.P. Hamilton and Champ Ferguson appear to have been the most sucsessful comanders,anybody got any info? Thanks!

[larry_cockerham]

I am trying to gather some info on the Confederate Guerrilla operations in the mountains/hills of eastern middle Tennessee.It seems though the federals controlled Nashville,the CSA partisans maintained de facto control of all the N.E. counties of this part of Tennessee.From what I have read,seems it was almost impossible for a unionist or a federal to draw a beath without getting shot.O.P. Hamilton and Champ Ferguson appear to have been the most sucsessful comanders,anybody got any info? Thanks!

You are somehow implying (I think?) that these folks were somehow sanctioned by the CSA. I rather doubt that was the case. There have been lots of books published on Ferguson and some of this cohorts. I would suggest delving into county histories in that area or contacting a local SCV camp. The guys at the camp in Livingston, TN seem to know their stuff. Go to TNSCV.org.

[28TN]

You are somehow implying (I think?) that these folks were somehow sanctioned by the CSA. I rather doubt that was the case. There have been lots of books published on Ferguson and some of this cohorts. I would suggest delving into county histories in that area or contacting a local SCV camp. The guys at the camp in Livingston, TN seem to know their stuff. Go to TNSCV.org.

Larry,thanks for responding! I am sure Hamilton was and Ferguson raided under Morgan a couple times I think.Did Ferguson get the pardon like the others then got bushwacked by Thomas? I think he surrendered because he stated he was a CSA soldier and that was acceped by the federals then they double crossed him?

[TerryB]

Ed Brady, an ancestor of mine from White/Putnam County was in the 28th Tenn. Two of his sisters are said to have been secret couriers for Champ Ferguson. My reading of the guerrilla war was that it swung back and forth. Tinker Dave Beatty pretty much did what he wanted and never got caught, and Stokes's cavalry, though little better than undisciplined bushwhackers sure gave my ancestors hell. By war's end, if they weren't in POW camps, they were laying low or had given their parole.

[TerryB]

Ferguson was told that his men would be paroled but not him. He was then told that he would have to go to Nashville to get his case reviewed. Somehow or other he was disarmed by some sort of trickery then taken to Nashville to stand trial for murder. Most of the charges were trumped up, but he was guilty of some of them. Wheeler testified that Ferguson held a commission as captain due to the Partisan Act of 1863, but no paperwork could be produced to prove that.

[larry_cockerham]

Most of the charges were trumped up, but he was guilty of some of them.

That's the part that cooked his goose and stretched his neck.

[TerryB]

That's the part that cooked his goose and stretched his neck.

I only wish I could say the same thing about Milroy.

[28TN]

I only wish I could say the same thing about Milroy.

Yep,Milroy needed a good hemp stretching.

[larry_cockerham]

Yep,Milroy needed a good hemp stretching.

Gen. Robert Milroy was my farrier gg grandpa's commander for a while along the railroad in the vicinity of Tullahoma in early 1864. I thank an unruly horse for extracting gg Grandpa from this cruel maniacal soldier's grasp. A few broken ribs caused gg Grandpa to be hauled to Pulaski for more humane supervison. The South owes Milroy no favors. Sometimes power corrupts. I think he was already there.

[Nathanb1]

Tell more about Milroy, please. That's someone I've seen mentioned but don't know much about...

[larry_cockerham]

Tell more about Milroy, please. That's someone I've seen mentioned but don't know much about...

Here's an excerpt from my "book" with just a brief reference to Gen. Milroy. The good general was provost marshall in the area along the Nashville-Chattanooga Railroad in 1864. As such, he had the power of life and death over local citizens and utilized that power in some rather dispicable ways. Dr. Michael Bradley has reported on these disgraces for years. Gen Milroy probably reached the height of his usefulness when he, along with Gen. Rousseau defended Fortress Rosecrans in Murfreesboro against Forrest and Bates on December 7, 1864. I'm sure he's well covered in Wikipedia and many other places. Milroy finally received a field command at Winchester, VA in 1863 and blew his big chance. His reward was duty in remote TN.

"Little Jim, so named to distinguish him from his father and to bring attention to his diminutive stature, found himself in Tullahoma, Tennessee by June 1, 1864. Tullahoma was a community starting to grow around a construction site of the Nashville-Chattanooga Railroad being built to link those two cities. The US Army considered this a crucial lifeline for supplies shipped from the river port at Nashville to the Army in Georgia. In mid-summer 1864 the 10th TN was under the command of Gen. Robert H. Milroy who had been blessed with service in remote Tennessee because of his general dislike for “West Pointers”. He was charged with defense of the railroad that ran south from Nashville through Murfreesboro and Tullahoma on its route to the half-mile long tunnel near Cowan, Tennessee. From Cowan, the railroad, still in use today, heads under Cumberland Mountain and into Stevenson, Alabama before turning northeast along the Tennessee River towards Chattanooga. "

[Will Posey]

Stokes's cavalry, though little better than undisciplined bushwhackers sure gave my ancestors hell.

Stoke's troopers were vicious and indiscriminant. They brutalized my family in Overton county.

Will

[28TN]

Tell more about Milroy, please. That's someone I've seen mentioned but don't know much about...

Here, This should do.This was his direction for actions against Middle Tennesseans.


"You are to burn their houses, seize all their property and shoot them. You will be sure that you strictly carry out this order. You will inform the inhabitants for ten or fifteen miles around your camp, on all the roads approaching the town upon which the enemy may approach, that they must dash in and give you notice, and upon any one failing to do so, you will burn their houses and shoot the men." ~ Official Records

- Lincoln's Brigadier General R. H. MILROY

[TerryB]

Stoke's troopers were vicious and indiscriminant. They brutalized my family in Overton county.

Will

My Overton County ancestors, the Officer family, were surpirsed one morning at breakfast by 200 of Stokes men. Seven Confederate cavalry troopers were having breakfast in the house when the Stokes men stormed it. Five were killed in the house, one hid out in a loft, and Lt. Bob Davis was taken out and stood against a gatepost and shot execution style. A slave hid John H. Officer in the loft, then helped talk the Stokes men out of burning down the house. JH escaped to tell the tale. It was his home, and his mother was wounded in the arm during the shooting in the house. John rejoined Dibrell and fought during the rest of the war. The slave's story was written down in 1922 and it agreed very closely with the family story. He buried the bodies and now they have markers from the VA. Stokes had been chasing Champ Ferguson who had been wounded and hiding out at his wife's place. He just barely escaped the sweep. The date was March 12, 1864. A couple of weeks later all the men in White County were rounded up and one of my ancestors gave his parole, which I have a photocopy of. The Stokes raids of Feb-Mar 1864 are written up in the OR.

[TerryB]

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnnews/hc001.htm this is a link to the officer story as reported recently in a Putnam County newspaper.

[Will Posey]

My Overton County ancestors, the Officer family, were surpirsed one morning at breakfast by 200 of Stokes men.

I could have written that. This incident is the event to which I was referring in my previous post. William Alexander Officer was my great-great grandfather. His wife, Cynthia (my great-great grandmother), was the lady shot and wounded by Stokes' troopers in her home during the massacre of the Confederate soldiers.

Appears that TerryB and I may be cousins.

Will

[TerryB]

I could have written that. This incident is the event to which I was referring in my previous post. William Alexander Officer was my great-great grandfather. His wife, Cynthia (my great-great grandmother), was the lady shot and wounded by Stokes' troopers in her home during the massacre of the Confederate soldiers.

Appears that TerryB and I may be cousins.

Will

Awesome Will! John H. was Katy Officer's cousin. She married Ed Brady after he got home from 10 months in Camp Chase. That's my line.

BTW, do you have any of the Dale Welch columns from the 1980s? He wrote at least one about the Stokes men showing up at Ferguson's home and encountering his wife. Someone sent me a very poor scan of it, but couldn't understand why I had a problem reading it. So she never sent me a good scan. I know that the Zeke Bass who decided not to burn the Officer house, after some back and forth on the subject, had to be Captain Ezekiel Bass, Co I, 5th Tenn Cav US. (Stokes)

[28TN]

Does anybody know where I should look for information reguarding the union army activity in Jackson County Tn between 1863 and 1865? All my folks got caught up in the sweep of 64, they got them whether they were still inlisted in the CSA or not, all were sent to prisons and 1 just dissappers after he is arrested.

[TerryB]

I came across the records of a J Haile or Hale who was said to operate a depot for stolen goods and whose house was said to be a guerrilla HQ. He had a son by the same name. The father spent time in Camp Chase, then took the oath so he could get out early. He lived in Jackson County. I have notes on these people somewhere. Pension apps of everyone who knew your ancestors can be a gold mine, as I found out while trying to find out who the J.H. Hale was who vouched for the Brady brothers. There was even a J. Hale of the 25th Tenn Inf who was listed as a "free Negro."