Suffering and Survival - You Are Here - Kingsport, TN
Posted by: 
bluesnote
Assisted by: 
Hobo Larry
N 36° 28.980 W 082° 32.940
17S E 361243 N 4038637
Union and Confederate forces in Sullivan County battled to control the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and Holston River, strategically vital transportation routes for moving soldiers and supplies.
Waymark Code: WM12QBE
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2020
Views: 3
Created From:
Suffering and Survival - Kingsport, TN - posted by
Hobo Larry
Union and Confederate forces in Sullivan County battled to control the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and Holston River, strategically vital transportation routes for moving soldiers and supplies. The county supported secession while mt uther East Tennessee counties remained loyal to the Union. Confederate Col. George Brent wrote of the Confederate army's forging parties, which plundered local secessionist as well as Unionists, The complaints of the citizens of Sullivan County, Tenn. are well founded... Robberies by soldiers in small parties have been frequent...
No receipts were given, no money paid,and no form of law observed.
Determined to control the railroad Union forces attacked the county seat, Blountville, on September 22 1663. Col. John W Foster shelled the town for four hours, burning the courthouse and forcing a Confederate retreat as terrified residents fled.
The Battle of Kingsport erupted on December 13, 1864 when Gens Stephen G. Burbridge's and Alvan C. Gillem's forces struck Confederate Col Richard Morgan's troops at the Holston River. Morgan believed that a damaged bridge would prevent an attack, but a surprise Federlassult caused 100 Confederate casualties.
Some local Unionists found a haven on Bays Mountain. Federal chaplain William S. DePew, 8th Tennessee Calvary, preached for decades after the war at Depew Chapel United Methodist Church, where his comrade Benjamin F. Hood served a minister and trustee. Jerome Pierce, former slave who fled to serve with the Union army, both land on Bays Mountain and built a log house that still stands today.
Location Name: Kingsport
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