East Tennessee Roots
Major
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2010
- Location
- Kingsport, Tennessee
"In the South, most of the people who opposed the war effort were those people who lived in regions where slavery was not an important part of their society and the economy: Western Virginia, which actually detached itself from the rest of Virginia and became the new state of West Virginia in the middle of the war; eastern Tennessee, which was mostly small farmers without slaves; western North Carolina, the Ozark plateau in Arkansas, and other parts of the South. These areas, if not Unionist, were for the most part reluctant supporters of the Confederacy. There was opposition to the draft and to other measures in these regions, and a lot of Unionism that manifested itself in overt antiwar acts-sabotage, resistance, and so on".
James McPherson (from an interview)
The Palmer Brothers of Knoxville grace the cover of Tod Groce's book on east Tennessee Confederates.
CONFEDERATE TENNESSEE TROOPS
Kain's Company, Tennessee Light Artillery (Mabry Light Artillery)
Mabry Light Artillery was organized in January, 1862, and mustered into Confederate service at Knoxville in May. The unit moved to Cumberland Gap, 33 men were detached, and a section was attached to Gracie's Brigade. A number of men were captured on September 9, 1863, and the few remaining served as guards at Wytheville, Virginia. Later they were with General Breckinridge's Reserves and probably disbanded during the early spring of 1865. Captain W.C. Kain was in command.
Sergeant Samuel B. Palmer enlisted for one year, March 1,1862, in Kain's Company, Tennessee Light Artillery at Knoxville, Tennessee. On October 1, 1862 he was promoted to 5th Sergeant. promoted again to 4th Sergeant, March 1, 1863. In June, 1863, he furnished a substitute and was discharged from the Confederate Army. While home and unattached to the rebel army, he was taken prisoner, September 3, 1863 and held at Camp Douglass, Illinois till March 13, 1865.
Samuel's younger brother, John enlisted on the same day and in the same unit. He served till January, 1863, when he was discharged for being "under-age", since the passage of the conscription act. John was captured at home on September 4, and was also sent to Camp Douglass. After the war, the brothers relocated with their family to Georgia. They were the sons of an Irish immigrant tailor and merchant in Knoxville. During his time in the Army, Samuel kept journals, and often made sketches. While at Camp Douglass, he drew from memory, two recruiting rallies held at different ends of Knoxville's Gay Street, on April 27, 1861. Two flags - one representing the United States, the other, the new southern Confederacy - flew near each other on Knoxville's Gay Street for months in 1861. The flags can be seen in a penciled sketch of an April 27, 1861, Gay Street rally that almost became a violent confrontation between Confederate soldiers and Union supporters.
James McPherson (from an interview)
The Palmer Brothers of Knoxville grace the cover of Tod Groce's book on east Tennessee Confederates.
CONFEDERATE TENNESSEE TROOPS
Kain's Company, Tennessee Light Artillery (Mabry Light Artillery)
Mabry Light Artillery was organized in January, 1862, and mustered into Confederate service at Knoxville in May. The unit moved to Cumberland Gap, 33 men were detached, and a section was attached to Gracie's Brigade. A number of men were captured on September 9, 1863, and the few remaining served as guards at Wytheville, Virginia. Later they were with General Breckinridge's Reserves and probably disbanded during the early spring of 1865. Captain W.C. Kain was in command.
Sergeant Samuel B. Palmer enlisted for one year, March 1,1862, in Kain's Company, Tennessee Light Artillery at Knoxville, Tennessee. On October 1, 1862 he was promoted to 5th Sergeant. promoted again to 4th Sergeant, March 1, 1863. In June, 1863, he furnished a substitute and was discharged from the Confederate Army. While home and unattached to the rebel army, he was taken prisoner, September 3, 1863 and held at Camp Douglass, Illinois till March 13, 1865.
Samuel's younger brother, John enlisted on the same day and in the same unit. He served till January, 1863, when he was discharged for being "under-age", since the passage of the conscription act. John was captured at home on September 4, and was also sent to Camp Douglass. After the war, the brothers relocated with their family to Georgia. They were the sons of an Irish immigrant tailor and merchant in Knoxville. During his time in the Army, Samuel kept journals, and often made sketches. While at Camp Douglass, he drew from memory, two recruiting rallies held at different ends of Knoxville's Gay Street, on April 27, 1861. Two flags - one representing the United States, the other, the new southern Confederacy - flew near each other on Knoxville's Gay Street for months in 1861. The flags can be seen in a penciled sketch of an April 27, 1861, Gay Street rally that almost became a violent confrontation between Confederate soldiers and Union supporters.
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