East Tennessee Roots
Major
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2010
- Location
- Kingsport, Tennessee
Brigadier-General John Crawford Vaughn was born in Grayson county,
Va., February 24, 1824. His family soon after moved to
Tennessee and settled in Monroe county, where his youth and
early manhood were passed. As soon as he was old enough to be
elected to an office, he was chosen to a position of
importance in his county.
Although that section of the State has been noted for heated
political strife, the people of Monroe county always stood by
him. When the United States became involved in war with
Mexico, young Vaughn entered the Fifth Tennessee volunteers as
a captain and served throughout the war.
At its close he returned to his home in east Tennessee and
became a merchant in the little village of Sweetwater. He was
frequently placed in responsible positions by his fellow
citizens. He was in Charleston, S. C., at the commencement of
the Confederate war, and participated in the opening of the
bloodiest drama of modern times.
Returning to east Tennessee, after the capture of Fort Sumter,
he raised a company in Monroe county and aided in the
organization of a regiment in Knoxville, of which he was
elected colonel. It is said that this was really the first
Tennessee regiment raised, but that the colonels of two other
regiments reached Richmond first and offered their commands to
the Confederate government. Thus Colonel Vaughn's regiment
was numbered the Third Tennessee.
The State of Tennessee having not yet seceded, Colonel Vaughn
took his men to Lynchburg, Va., where they were mustered into
the Confederate service on the 6th of June, and ordered to
report to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, then at Harper's Ferry.
His command was stationed for a time at Romney. With a
detachment of his own regiment and two companies of the
Thirteenth Virginia, Colonel Vaughn dispersed a body of the
enemy at New Creek bridge, on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad,
and captured two pieces of artillery, the first taken by the
Confederates in the field.
The regiment was subsequently attached to Kirby Smith's
brigade and participated in the first battle of Manassas. In
the spring of 1862 Colonel Vaughn was ordered to east
Tennessee. On September 20, 1862, he was commissioned
brigadier-general, and in the winter following was sent with
his brigade of East Tennesseeans to Vicksburg, where he
assisted in repelling Sherman's attack in December.
During the long and tedious siege of that important post in
1863, Vaughn was in command of the upper defenses of the city.
At last, worn out and decimated, his brigade was surrendered
with the rest of Pemberton's army, July 4, 1863. General
Vaughn was soon exchanged, and sent with a brigade of mounted
men to operate in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.
Artist Don Troiani’s 2013 painting of John C. Vaughn titled “General of the Confederacy”
When General Hunter began his march against Lee's
communications in 1864, Vaughn assisted in repelling his
advance. In the performance of this duty he was engaged in
the battle of Piedmont, and after the death of General Jones
assumed command and brought off the shattered forces
successfully.
He was with Early in his successful campaign against Hunter,
and in the last advance in Maryland and the valley of
Virginia. Being wounded near Martinsburg, he was furloughed
and returned to Bristol, Tenn. After the death of Gen. John
H. Morgan, he took command of the forces in east Tennessee.
When Lee surrendered, Vaughn's command was at Christianburg
confronting Stoneman. On hearing the news he formed his war-
worn Confederates in line and told them that the army of
Northern Virginia had surrendered, but that if they would
follow him, he would join Joe Johnston in North Carolina.
The men who had followed their leader through four weary
years, once more turned their backs upon their homes, cut down
their artillery, destroyed their baggage wagons and marched
into North Carolina. After the surrender of Joe Johnston,
General Vaughn's troops formed part of the escort of President
Davis in his attempt to make his way to the Trans-Mississippi
department, and at Abbeville, S. C., Vaughn was one of the
five brigade commanders who took part in the last council of
war held by President Davis.
At the close of the war General Vaughn went to south Georgia.
He afterward returned to Tennessee and was elected to the
State senate, of which he was made presiding officer. At the
close of his term he returned to south Georgia, where he
remained until his death, being engaged either as a merchant
at Thomasville or in planting.
He died at his residence in Brooks county, Ga., August 10,
1875.
Source: Confederate Military History, vol. X, p. 339
John Crawford Vaughn and the death of "home- grown Yankee", Joe Devine :
Joseph M. Divine
"Affiliation: UnionUnit: Third Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment Rank: Deputy Provost Marshal
During 1864, Confederate guerilla raids threatened Federal control in East Tennessee. Federals appointed a provost marshal and deputies and formed a regiment to contain Confederate action. Divine served as a deputy provost marshal and organized the Third Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment, carrying out strict Federal policies in dealing with Confederate sympathizers. Those who denied allegiance to the Union or gave aid or information to Confederate troops or bushwhackers faced arrest or deportation. Orders came in June 1864 for the deportation of the family of Confederate Gen. John C. Vaughn, setting the stage for vengeful retaliation. Though evidence implicating Divine as the cause of the family’s deportation either doesn’t exist or is yet undiscovered, Vaughn placed blame squarely on Divine, referring to him as “my personal enemy for many years.” Confederate forces in East Tennessee harassed Divine and burned his house. Allegations that Divine used his power to influence court decisions and intimidate citizens made him an unlikable character for Confederates in East Tennessee. This tension continued after Divine and his men mustered out and Federal occupational forces withdrew from Monroe County. A Confederate guerrilla force operated well into 1865, exacting revenge. After the murder of a fellow deputy provost in January 1865, Divine hid in the cellar of Dr. Joseph Upton’s house in Madisonville. A detachment of 20 to 30 guerrillas arrived looking for Divine, found his hiding place, and demanded his surrender. Divine killed a man sent to bring him out, and the detachment threatened to burn the house. Upton pleaded with Divine to surrender, promising that Divine would be treated as a prisoner of war, and Divine surrendered. Despite the promise of fair treatment, Divine was forced to run between two horses with ropes around his neck from Madisonville to Good Springs, approximately 20 miles, struck by bayonets and pistols all along the way. As his captors camped, Divine escaped. Five men captured him, beat him to death, and dumped his body in a field. The murder of Joseph Divine is a seminal example of the unmitigated violence and vengeful retaliation in East Tennessee during the war".
John C. Vaughn was reportedly born in the Upton house, where Devine was captured. I had several ancestor/ relatives, including the father of my maternal great-grandmother, that served in the Union 3rd TN Mounted Infantry. Most were rebel deserters.
I also had Confederate ancestor/relatives that served under General Vaughn.
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