Cumberland County was divided in the Civil War. It has been said that brother even fought against brother and neighbor against neighbor as members of the same family and neighborhood fought for the Confederate and Union sides.
No figures exist to show how many people in Cumberland County supported the Confederate or Union side.
UNION SOLDIERS
The Crossville Times on March 21, 1889 discusses the organizational meeting of the Grand Army of the Republic John R. Swan Post No. 55. These individuals were men who fought for the Union in the Civil War. The charter members were: J.H Beadle, John B. Haley, Azariah Dorton, Walter Dickson, M.L. Mitchell, J.W. Lowe, Wm. Whitlock, I.N. Watson, James Miller, B.T. Monday, Philip Beyer, R.C. Swan, A.B. Lowe, W.C. Campbell, James Music, J.P. Anderson, and W.C. Hogue. The second meeting admitted the following men: Calvin Kearley, Benj. F. Kearley, E.P. Akin, S.H. Hall, John J. Brewer,and G.W. Weaver.
Please note: These people listed below may have received pensions from earlier wars such as the War of 1812, Indian Wars, etc. Some may have received pensions for service in the Civil War as well.
On November 7, 1889 the Crossville Times identifies the following partial list of those receiving pensions in Cumberland County:Eliza R. Lisk, Walter Dickson, Richard R. Miller, Orion N. Wilcox, Martin L. Mitchell, Eunice C. Winnie, William C. Barron, Joseph Stevens, Cyntha Woody, Mary Renfro, Philip Beyer, J.H. Beadle,Joseph Fitzgibbons, Robert C. Swan, James Mitchell, Edward Good, John Hedgecoth, W.C. Campbell, John Brewer, Benjamin Brewer, and James McCullough.
CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS
The following names were taken from the Index to Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications. It lists individuals from Cumberland County filing a Confederate pension application. It gives their names, pension application number and regiment. The applications are on file at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville.
| Name | Pension # | Regiment |
| Brown, J.S. | 11730 | 1st TN Cav. Co. D |
| Brown, L.B. | 5625 | 28th Inf. |
| Chastain, L.B. | 2584 | 2nd Ga. Inf. |
| Cox, David | 13365 | 45th Inf. |
| Cox, Hardie | 9910 | 16th Bn (Neal’s) Cav. |
| Dixon, Daniel H. | 12945 | 4th (Murray’s) Cav. |
| Elmore, Alfred | 13310 | 28th Inf. |
| Frost, White | 2305 | 28th Inf. |
| Glass, Alexander | 748 | 22nd N.C. Inf. |
| Graham, William | 4510 | 40th Ala. Inf. |
| Hamby, William A. | 12074 | 28th Inf. |
| Harris, W.H.H. | 8991 | 1st (Carter’s) Cav. |
| Horn, Sherard | 8503 | 28th Inf. |
| Hughes, J.B. | 7978 | 12th Bn. Cav |
| Hyder, Jasper | 2573 | 16th Bn. (Neal’s)Cav. |
| Jones, B.F.M. | 2125 | 28th Inf. |
| Knox, Arch | 9651 | 8th (Dibrell’s) Cav. |
| Linder, George W. | 2861 | 4th Cav. |
| Loden, James | 10107 | 16th Cav. |
| Matthews, James W. | 2129 | 1st Cav. |
| Myatt, J.C. | 1099 | 28th Inf. |
| Parson, W.F. | 15218 | 37th N.C. Inf. |
| Smith, Alexander | 13844 | 16th Bn. (Neal’s) Cav. |
| Sparks, Nicholas | 3853 | 25th Inf. |
| Woody, Alexander | 2312 | 16th Bn. Cav. |
| Woody, Harrison | 16285 | 28th Inf. |
In 1891 the state of Tennessee passed legislation to establish a Board of Pension Examiners. This board had the authority to decide if a Confederate Veteran applying for a pension was incapable of “making a support” and if his service was honorable. Veterans must have been a resident of Tennessee for one year before making application. Pension applications contain information related to soldier’s descendants, veterans place of enlistment, unit, period of service, battles participated in, and whether he was wounded or place of capturing. It also gives birth, number of children, and value of personal and real property owned by the veteran. Pensions for Soldiers’ widows were first issued in 1905. Their applications show place of birth for both widow and husband and names and ages of children. Some marriage certificates may also found in widow applications.
The following were taken from the indexes of Confederate Pension Applications of Soldiers’ Widows in Cumberland County:
| Widow: | Pension#: | Husband’s Name: |
| Adams, Nancy | 11024 | R. Thomas Adams |
| Agee, Francis | 8062 | I.N. Agee |
| Baker, Mary E. | 1102 | Samuel Baker |
| Bandy, Margaret | 2465 | T.E. Bandy |
| Brady, Ellen | 4129 | S.H. Brady |
| Brown, Abbie | 4175 | Jackson VanBuren Brown |
| Copeland, Sarah A. | 3658 | S.A. Copeland |
| Cox, Mary Ann | 8627 | David Cox |
| Eldridge, Francis | 4622 | John Eldridge |
| Gist, Nancy | 1944 | John Gist |
| Hamby, Nancy F. | 7221 | William Hamby Anderson |
| Hyder, Martha | 4151 | Jasper Hyder |
| Jones, Mary A. | 4926 | B.F.M. Jones |
| Linder, Mary L. | 5956 | George Washington Linder |
| Myatt, Elizabeth | 1346 | John C. Myatt |
| Rains, Mary Ann | 8112 | James M. Rains |
| Turner, Armilda | 3032 | D.C. Turner |
| Woody, Polly Ann | 2134 | Preston Alexander Woody |
Information provided by Beverly Aytes-Bowhall indicates the following Cumberland County individuals were also in the civil war:
Aytes, Alfred C. – Capt. E Co., 1st Inf.; Federal
Aytes, Julius – Capt. E Co., 1st Inf.’ Federal
Aytes, Hugh – Pvt. E. Co., 1st Inf.; Federal
(Source: Tennesseans in the Civil War, Published by the Civil War Centennial Commission, Nashville, Tennessee)