Battle of Blountville Federal Guns on Cemetery Hill - Blountville TN
Posted by: Don.Morfe
N 36° 31.943 W 082° 19.976
17S E 380675 N 4043826
This is where Union forces stood as they attacked Blountville on September 22, 1863, during a campaign to control the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. On the day of the attack, the Confederates occupied Blountville.
Waymark Code: WM1724W
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2022
Views: 0
TEXT ON THE HISTORICAL MARKER
Battle of Blountville Federal Guns on Cemetery Hill
This is where Union forces stood as they attacked Blountville on September 22, 1863, during a campaign to control the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. On the day of the attack, the Confederates occupied Blountville while the Federal forces held the south bank of the Watauga River.
Union Colonel John W. Foster led his cavalry brigade across the river at 9 A.M., drove off pickets from Confederate Col. James E. Carter’s 1st Tennessee Cavalry, and then occupied Cemetery Hill. Foster shelled Carter’s positions in Blountville in front of you, then ordered a charge about sundown that pushed Carter’s regiment from the town.
Foster reported that he suffered six killed and fourteen wounded. The next day, he occupied Carter’s Depot as the Confederates withdrew.
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The cemetery here was created before 1824 on land that later belonged to the adjacent Blountville Presbyterian Church. Although churches typically had their own burying grounds, the local Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist churches, which stood near here, all shared this cemetery.
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Blountville from Cemetery Hill — Copyright Anita B. Long (2002)
Blountville Presbyterian Church, which burned during the war. It was rebuilt later (shown with a red roof in the painting). Photograph ca. 1900 Courtesy Sullivan Co. Archives
Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails
Name of Battle: Battle of Blountville
Name of War: U.S. Civil War
Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 09/22/1863
Entrance Fee: Not Listed
Parking: Not Listed
Date of Battle (End): Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.
In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.