Ambush at Meadorville Conflict in Macon County - Lafayette TN - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

During the Civil War, Macon County experienced internal strife as did many other areas of Tennessee. In the spring of 1863, a Confederate partisan band established itself in this part of the county, where it harassed Federal units and threatened local Unionists.

This rural hamlet experienced a serious firefight between Union cavalry and infantry and the Confederate irregulars on May 2, 1863. Confederate guerillas hidden in the brush of Goose Creek ambushed Union Cos. D and E, 11th Kentucky Infantry, and Co. I, 8th Kentucky Cavalry. The Confederate bullets found only one victim—a Federal cavalryman’s horse—while the Union troopers killed one guerrilla, captured another, and took five Confederate horses.

The guerillas fled toward the town of Hartsville, with the Federal forces in pursuit. The fight continued for about ten miles. Two more Confederates were killed, and ten captured. The Union soldiers suffered no casualties although they lost eight horses, two having been shot out from under them and six that perished due to "exhaustion and sore feet."

Col. S. Pallance Love, commander of the 11th Kentucky Infantry, thought little of his adversaries, onsidering them little more than "citizens banded together for plunder and robbery." On May 6 he reported: "That whole country is infested with the thieving party. They have nearly devastated that country, and stolen nearly all the good horses from the citizens."

(captions)
Guerrillas stealing horses, Harper's Weekly, Dec. 24, 1864
Confederate guerrilla Courtesy Library of Congress
Confederate guerrilla attack on Union wagon train, Harper's Weekly, Sept 5, 1863

Type of site: Battlefield Address: intersection of Ferguson Hill Road and Hartsville Road (Tennessee Route 10) on the grounds of the Meadorville Missionary Baptist Church Lafayette, TN USA 37083 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/06/2021 Don.Morfe visited it