The following units were made up mostly, or partially at least, of men from Bedford County.

COLONEL THOMAS BENTON

DESIGNATION: 2nd Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry

DATES: December 1812 – April 1813

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Williamson, Rutherford, White, Bedford, Davidson, Franklin, Lincoln, and Maury Counties

CAPTAINS: Robert Cannon, George Caperton, George Gibbs, Benjamin Hewett, James McEwen, James McFerrin, William Moore, Isiah Renshaw, Benjamin Reynolds, William J. Smith, Thomas Williamson

BRIEF HISTORY:

This regiment, along with Colonel William Hall’s First Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry and Colonel John Coffee’s Volunteer Cavalry, comprised the army under Andrew Jackson that undertook the expedition to Natchez in late 1812. Many of these men reenlisted in September 1813 and were then put under the command of Colonel William Pillow, maintaining the same designation of the Second Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. See the entry under Colonel William Pillow for further information.

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COLONEL NEWTON CANNON

DESIGNATION: 2nd Regiment of Volunteer Mounted Riflemen

DATES: September 1813 – December 1813

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Bedford, Rutherford, Smith, Dickson, Franklin, Lincoln, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson Counties

CAPTAINS: Robert Allen, George Brandon, Ota Cantrell, John B. Demsey, William Edwards, John Hanby, John Harpole, David Hogan, Francis Jones, William Martin, Andrew Patterson, James Walton, Isaac Williams, Thomas Yardley

BRIEF HISTORY:

Along with Colonel John Alcorn’s regiment, this unit was part of General John Coffee’s brigade that conducted the first campaign into the Creek Nation. Marching from Fayetteville, they went through Huntsville; crossed the Tennessee River at Ditto’s Landing (mid-October 1813); stopped at Fort Strother; and fought in the battles at Tallushatchee and Talladega (3 November and 9 November 1813). Muster rolls show that just about every company in this regiment suffered casualties in these battles.

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COLONEL STEPHEN COPELAND

DESIGNATION: 3rd Regiment of Tennessee Militia

DATES: January 1814 – May 1814

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Overton, Smith, Wilson, Franklin, Warren, Bedford, and Lincoln Counties

CAPTAINS: John Biler(Byler), John Dawson, William Douglass, William Evans, Solomon George, William Hodges, John Holshouser, Alexander Provine, Richard Sharp, George W. Still, James Tait, Moses Thompson, Allen Wilkinson, David Williams.

BRIEF HISTORY:

There were approximately 660 men in this regiment. They were part of a brigade led by General Thomas Johnson (the other regiment of Johnson’s brigade was led by Colonel R. C. Napier). Jackson’s report of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814) mentions that Copeland’s regiment was held in reserve during this engagement. But a part of the regiment saw action, as muster rolls show casualties from this battle in the companies of Captains Moses Thompson and Allen Wilkinson. Their line of march took them from Fayetteville (where they were mustered into service), through Fort Deposit, Fort Strother, and finally to Fort Williams.

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COLONEL ROBERT DYER

DESIGNATION: Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Gunmen or Cavalry

DATES: September 1813 – May 1814 (some enlisted in January 1814)

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson, Dickson, Giles, Overton, Robertson, Stewart, and Sumner Counties

CAPTAINS: (Lt.) James Berry, Samuel Crawford, Nathan Farmer, James Haggard, Charles Kavanaugh, Archibald McKenney, John Miller, William Mitchell, Michael Molton, Edwin G. Moore, David Smith, George Smith, James Terrill

BRIEF HISTORY:

One of two regiments which Dyer commanded at different times of the war, this regiment was part of General John Coffee’s cavalry brigade throughout most of the Creek War. The unit participated in most of the battles of the war, including Talladega (9 November 1813), where they formed the reserves, and Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814). There were several companies of “spies” in the regiment: companies of cavalry that were sent on reconnaissance patrols and usually took the lead in the line of march for Jackson’s army.

DESIGNATION: 1st Regiment of West Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Gunmen

DATES: September 1814 – March 1815

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Davidson, Dickson, Williamson, Bedford, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Smith, and Stewart Counties

CAPTAINS: Bethel Allen, Ephraim D. Dickson, Robert Edmonston, Robert Evans, Cuthbert Hudson, Thomas Jones, James McMahon, Glen Owen, Thomas White, Joseph Williams, James Wyatt

BRIEF HISTORY:

Part of Coffee’s brigade at New Orleans, most of this regiment took part in the night battle of 23 December 1814. Most of the company muster rolls show casualties from this engagement. Portions of this regiment also participated in the capture of Pensacola from the Spanish in West Florida (7 November 1814). The initial rendezvous point for this unit was Fayetteville, Tennessee. From there they passed through Fort Hampton, to Baton Rouge, and finally to New Orleans.

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COLONEL WILLIAM METCALF

DESIGNATION: 1st Regiment West Tennessee Militia

DATES: November 1814 – May 1815

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Davidson, Bedford, Franklin, Lincoln, Maury, Warren, and Giles Counties

CAPTAINS: John Barnhart, Daniel M. Bradford, Barbe Collins, John Cunningham, Lewis Dillahunty, Alexander Hill, Bird S. Hurt, John Jackson, Thomas Marks, William Mullen, Andrew Patterson, William Sitton, Obidiah Waller

BRIEF HISTORY:

Part of the division under Major General William Carroll’s at New Orleans, this regiment comprised the right section of Carroll’s line at the breastworks at Chalmette. Muster rolls show casualties in the engagements of December 1814 and January 1815. Lieutenant Colonel James Henderson was killed in the skirmish of 28 December 1814. Captain Daniel Bradford led the elite corps known as “Carroll’s Life Guard.” The division reached New Orleans in mid-December 1814 after an excursion down the Mississippi River.

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MAJOR WILLIAM RUSSELL

DESIGNATION: Separate Battalion of Volunteer Mounted Gunmen

DATES: September 1814 – March 1815

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Franklin, Bedford, Blount, Madison (Ala.), Rutherford, Warren, and Wilson Counties

CAPTAINS: William Chism, John Cowan, Fleman Hodges, George Mitchie, William Russell, John Trimble, Isaac Williams

BRIEF HISTORY:

Along with a battalion commanded by Major Chiles, this unit served in the Pensacola/Mobile region and was a part of Major Uriah Blue’s expedition that roamed along the Escambia River in Florida in search of renegade Creeks toward the end of the war. Approximately 500 men served in this battalion, one of whom was David Crockett, a sergeant in Capt. John Conway’s company.

From Fayetteville, where the battalion was mustered in, they traveled to Fort Stephens (crossing the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals); leaving their horses behind, the battalion marched to Pensacola (via Fort Montgomery) where they participated in the battle of 7 November 1814; and returned to Fort Montgomery. At Fort Montgomery they were put under the command of Major Uriah Blue.

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COLONEL ROBERT STEELE

DESIGNATION: 4th Regiment West Tennessee Militia Infantry

DATES: January 1814 – May 1814

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Jackson, White, Bedford, Giles, Lincoln, and Maury Counties

CAPTAINS: James Bennett, Robert Campbell, John Chitwood, Samuel Maxwell, James Randals, Richard Ratton, James Shinault

BRIEF HISTORY:

Part of the brigade led by General Thomas Johnson, this regiment was composed of about 450 men. Colonel Steele and his men were left at Fort Strother while Jackson marched the rest of his army to Horseshoe Bend where the climactic battle of the Creek War was fought (27 March 1814). Steele’s regiment served as wagon guards for supplies from Fort Deposit and built boats to transport supplies down the Coosa River to Fort Williams. From Camp Blount at Fayetteville, the regiment took the much-traveled route through Huntsville, Fort Deposit, and Fort Strother.

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COLONEL THOMAS WILLIAMSON

DESIGNATION: 2nd Regiment West Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Gunmen

DATES: September 1814 – April 1815

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Bedford, Davidson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, Wilson, Giles, and Smith Counties

CAPTAINS: Giles Burdett, James Cook, John Crane, John Doak, John Dobbins, John Hutchings, William Martin, Anthony Metcalf, Robert Moore, James Nealy, James Pace, Thomas Porter, Thomas Scurry, Robert Steele, Richard Tate, Beverly Williams

BRIEF HISTORY:

Along with Colonel Robert Dyer’s unit, this regiment was part of General John Coffee’s brigade that fought at Pensacola and New Orleans. Marching from Fayetteville to Camp Gaines (30 miles from Fort Montgomery), they helped Jackson take the port of Pensacola from the Spanish on 7 November 1814. Williamson’s men then participated in all of the engagements at New Orleans, where they were part of the left line of Jackson’s breastworks. In March 1815 they returned to Tennessee via the Natchez Trace.

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COLONEL JOHN K. WYNN

DESIGNATION: 1st Regiment West Tennessee Militia

DATES: October 1813 – January 1814

MEN MOSTLY FROM: Wilson, Jackson, Robertson, Bedford, Lincoln, Montgomery, Robertson, Sumner, and White Counties

CAPTAINS: Bailey Butler, Robert Braden, William Carothers, James Cole, James Holleman, William McCall, Bayless E. Prince, John Porter, John Spinks, William Wilson

BRIEF HISTORY:

Along with Colonel McCrory’s regiment, this unit was part of the brigade commanded by General Isaac Roberts. Wynn’s regiment totaled approximately 417 men. They participated in Jackson’s first campaign into Creek territory where they fought at the Battle of Talladega (9 November 1813). At this battle the regiment sustained heavy casualties, especially in Captain John Porter’s company, where the captain himself was among the wounded.

Colonel Wynn was a planter and politician from Wilson County who was serving as state senator at the time of the outbreak of the Creek War. His regiment was mustered in at Fayetteville in early October 1813 and mustered out in early January 1814.

Regimental histories prepared by Tom Kanon, Tennessee State Library and Archives. We thank him!