Blount County TNGenWeb

In this chapter we commence at the beginning of the war between the states, and continue through those troublous days, and on through what is known in history as the “Reconstruction Period”.After the war, the writer will have to depend almost solely upon himself for the information he wishes to pass on to others, as there is no data to draw from and very few older people than himself, yet iving, who might be of help to the work. The reader will remember that the last chapter ended in 1859, when the in corporation of the town seemingly came to an end and the war began. This leaves a period of about two years that we are utterly unable to give the reader any information, whatever, concerning.

The cause and the beginning of the war is a matter of history, and we will not touch on either, but our whole southern country was involved and Louisville had to carry her part of the burdens of the useless and cruel conflict. All able-bodied men were called to the front from our town and vicinity, some to the Federal Army and some to the Confederate, being pretty well divided. The old men, women, and children were left at home to hold things together as best they could. Four long years of nerve wracking anxiety, sorrow, and pri vations. Anxiety for the loved ones at the battlefronts; anxiety as to where the sustenance was to come from to sustain the lives of the helpless ones at home; sorrows for those who had fallen in battle, or were prisoners in the enemy’s camp. We will undertake to tell something of these privations and troubles as the chapter grows.

The people of Louisville had no easy time, I will assure you, during these four years of strife. Sometimes hardly knowing what they would have to eat on the morrow, or where their shoes and clothes would come from to protect them when winter was at hand. But brave hearts and willing hands surmounted all these troubles, and in the end were ready to receive the Dove with the Olive Branches.

The sustenance proposition was not so acute in the first year or two, as it became later on when the armies commenced marching through. They drew on the country for all surplus supplies that had been stored away, and there being no producers left at home to plant and reap, conditions became very serious indeed during the last two years of the war.

There are only six other persons besides the writer, as far as he knows, that were living in and near Louisville during these trying times. They are Mrs. Emma Johnston, James L. Smith, John Smith, Mr. and Mrs. David Finger, and R. L. Cox. Of course, there are other older people living here today, then the ones mentioned, but they were not living in Louisville at the time we are writing of.

David Finger is the son of Henry Finger, deceased, who was one of the old-time citizens of our town. Henry was killed by a heavy timber falling on him, while repairing the mill race that carried the water of Lackey’s Creek to the old mill, about one hundred yards down the creek from where the present mill now stands. Henry Finger was a hard working, good citizen, and his untimely death Page 18 was mourned by all his friends. The wife of David Finger was the daughter of John Tallent (Honest John). John Tallent spent his life in and around Louisville and had no enemies. In his old days his nseperable friend was his dog, “White Doy”, by name and you would never see one with out the other. John and Jim Smith were the sons of Joseph Smith, another old timer. Joseph Smith was foully murdered by a band of raiders who claimed to affiliate with the southern army, but the fact is they belonged to no army, they were simply “Renegades” that followed in the wake of the regular armies to loot and murder. John Gourley was murdered in his own home by just such a gang, claiming to be with the union forces. A man by the name of Jeff Hinton killed John Gourley in cold blood, but was never punished for it.

I have wandered off a little in search of witnesses to bear me out in what I may tell of those troublesome days. We will now return and take up first, the sustenance item. Corn bread, corn mush, corn batter cake, lye hominy and hoe cakes. Yes, corn was King, and the meal barrell in the kitchen corner with the old time meal sifter was very much in evidence in all homes. There were probably a favored few who had some flour hidden away up in the attic or somewhere, but not many. And fortunate, indeed, were those who could have hot biscuits for Sunday dinner. There was little wheat to be had at any price. Wheat was used in another way that may seem odd today. It was parched brown and ground in the coffee mills and used in the place of coffee. Sweet potatoes were also used for home made coffee, and if one felt that they must have their coffee sweetened, they reached over and got the home made molasses. What do you suppose we would do today, if we had to resort to such things? My, wouldn’t we fuss?

Then another article that was absolutely necessary in all our cooking gave out, and none to be had, for love or money. Salt, just common salt, and to overcome this serious condition the people who had smokehouses -do you know any thing about the old time smoke houses? Well, when days were good, the people, after salting their meat down for while would take it out of the salt, and hand it up in the smokehouse to further cure it. They would build a fire on the dirt floor in the center of the smokehouse and keep it burning for days and days and the salty grease would drop from the meat down on the dirt floor. This operation had been going.on for ;many years and the smoke house floors were thoroughly saturated with the salty drip • from the meat above. Now, to obtain salt, these smoke house floors were dug up and the dirt boiled down in kettles the salty water drawn off and again boiled down til all the salt water was extracted. It wasn’t a very nice thing to look at, but it was salt and served to fill the place of the better article. Another common article of diet in war times was homemade cheese, and it was fine eating, too.

You never see it anymore, but for several years after the war it was quite an article of commerce, and could be bought at any of the stores doing business in the town. A cheese press was no unusual. sight at almost any of the country houses. Some maple sugar could be had during the sugar season, but not enough to solve the sugar problem. And after the war was over, it also became an article of barter. But now the sugar groves are a thing of the past. How clothes and shoes had to be supplied. There were no stores or factories running, and the old spinning wheels and looms were resorted to. Home made jeans and cotton chocks were all the go. Aunt Nancy Brown, out in Long Hollow, with her dye pots, logwood, madras, and indigo furnished the colorings and Mrs. Charles Spillman (the mother of our old friend. Bud Spillman) did a fine business in cutt ing and making men’s clothes. They didn’t fit so very well, but they were warm. And for shoes and boots one had to get the leather as best they could. The tan yard on the branch running from the town spring was in operation a part of the time and furnished all the leather possible, to supply the shoes.

Bart Milligan, out near Middlesettlement, did the rest. Bart was a kind, genial, old gentle man, and was a good citizen. But all the worries griefs, and privations were bravely met by a brace people and the burdens were mostly on the women on both sides of the question, and we pay tribute to the southern women, who wore the homespun dress. But the troubles I have been telling you about were not all we had, by all means. The war was taken advantage of by unlawful people, who terrorized over, and mistreated and stole from the good people and made their lives unhappy, indeed, with the threats of violence and sometimes putting it into effect. The writer saw two old defenseless men brutally beaten and kicked about on the streets by ruffians and it might have turned out badly with another one if a good-hearted old negro hadn’t come to his assistance. Smokehouses, barns, and chicken coops were broken into nightly. They were not afraid to do these things for there was no law to punish them, and the better citizens had to submit or take it worse.

There was one family that I want, especially, to mention. I don’t remember their names or where they came from. But they lived in the Jim Timple house that stood near where the parsonage now stands. They sure did give the people a lot of trouble. There were two or three men in the group and they got their living by stealing at night. The smokehouses and chicken coops suffered, also the woodpiles. But this wood stealing came to an abrupt ending.

They got hold of a stick of wood that had been loaded for them, and the next morning, while getting breakfast, this stick started bombarding them and threw the mush pot, cornbread, and bacon all over the room. Shortly after this, one night, in the home of one of our citizens, the chicken roost was being robbed, and someone got a lot of bird shot scattered around them. They left the town in a few days, to the great relief of all. I have only given this as an isolated case. There was something ugly going on nearly every night. Every few days a band of raiders would dash in to the town and create consternation to the people who were on the opposing side. We called them “Texas Rangers”, but we don’t know if they ever saw Texas, but they certainly did ride fine horses and were very handy with their guns. The first place they made for was the ferry, in order to cut off anyone who might want to put the river between them and danger. One of these raiding parties captured Horace Foster, a very active Union man, and mentioned in Chapter 3 as Mayor of the Town. He thought for sure his time had come. It is said that he tried to escape from them by running through Cox’s mill pond, but they caught him and he was brought back home with a bullet in his leg.

The first regular soldiers that ever came this way was General Jo Wheeler’s Cavalry. He, with his staff, was riding at the head of the column. They were passing through nearly every day. He was on one of his famour raids. We, who adhered to the Southern Cause, were very much elated when our soldiers were in control and were passing through our town, but things soon changed, and our friends on the Union side had their innings. I was only a boy about eight years old when I first saw the Union soldiers (we called them Yankees) and you may rest assured that I was very much distressed when I heard that the yankees were coming. I got into my little head that they were coming for me and when I saw the head of the column come into view around the turn of the road, near the Samuel Saffel house, with the Stars and Stripes swinging in the breeze, and so many men in blue coats,

I sounded the retreat and back I fell through the alley and on past Jo Smith’s blacksmith shop; and on out into Williston Cox’s grove, and entrenched myself behind a big oak tree, so as to be safe from the enemies fire. I remained in my stronghold quite awhile, but they didn’t seem to care to attack, so I gathered up all my reserve courage and commenced to advance from tree to tree. I stalked them until I had gotten to the west side of the grove at the end of Gilbert Street. There I had a full view of them, standing all over the street in front of the Foster and Finley storehouses, and I even saxo a lot of little boys among them. Then I ordered an advance all along the line. The enemy seemed to be off guard and didn’t realize the danger, and we got right up among them before they realized what had happened and one of the big fellows put his hand on my head and said, “Sonny, I’ve got a little boy about your size away up in my northern home”.

We capitulated. The Yankees were sure enough men, even if they did wear blue clothes. The next regular troops to come to our town was Howard’s Division of Sherman’s Army. They camped here for several days, not only in town but all over the surrounding country. Their campfires at night were a wonderful sight. They caused no trouble to the citizens of the town and paid for what they got. Guards were placed at all important spots, especially at the wells and springs to see that the water supply was properly taken care of. There was a guard at the home place of the writer, guarding the well under the “Old Oak Tree”, and Mother seeing him turn the soldiers away without water went out and remonstrated him. He was German. His answer was “Madam, dere is no water in your veil at all”. They had drawn it dry, the only time it was ever known to be done. It couldn’t stand the attack of Sherman’s army. The people of the town did a very nice business with the soldiers, selling them cakes and pies and swapping them for sugar, coffee, and tobacco. They paid liberally in new money to us.

We called them “Yankee Shin Plasters.” They were in denominations of five, ten, twenty-five, and fifty-cent pieces, all on paper. There were no nickels in those days and very little silver.

The money that we had been using before the advent of the Union Army, was the Confederate paper money, in like denominations as the Union money. Along toward the close of the war this money, to a great extent, lost it’s purchasing power, and soon loj-f its value altogether, except with a few stronger Southern adherents, who still had a hope that their cause would win. After Sherman’s army left, very few soldiers came through our town, and when the word finally came that General Lee had surrendered, there was great rejoicing among those who adhered to the Union side and correspondingly sad hearts to those who had pinned their faith to the “Lost Cause”. But their troubles were not over, as the entire state went under the carpetbag rule. For several years after the war their rights were often treated roughly by bad people. But we will not dwell on the subject, nor itemize any of these cruel attacks, but treat them as a bad dream and pass on to other subjects.

The town’s mail facilities were poor indeed during the war and not much better after. For a time, our mail came from Maryville by horseback, only twice a week. Later, the government authorized a star rouge from Unitia via Friendsville and Louisville to Concord. This also was a horseback route, twice a week, and the arrival of the mail carrier was quite an event of the mail day.

1. B. Cummings was the first postmaster after the war, and if you didn’t want to get fussed at by him, you had better be there and answer when your name was called. If you weren’t there and went in later for your mail, he took his time in giving it to you, especially if he was busy with something else.
2. B. Cummins and their son, W. F. Cummins, opened up the first store after the conflict, in H. T. Cox’s storehouse on Main Street, but after a while, moved to the brick store on River Street. H. T. Cox and J. L. Cox put a stock of goods in the H. T. Cox building. Both of these did a good business, especially Cox and Bros. They bought all the produce the farmers had to sell paying cash and merchandise. Their barter trade was very fine, indeed. H. T. Cox and Bros., bought most of their goods in Baltimore and had them shipped to Concord and hauled them from there to Louisville in wagons. J. B. Cummins and Son bought in Knoxville and hauled them in wagons, also.

Now to throw a little salt into the work, I will tell you of some of the eccentric people that came to Louisville to trade. One of these was an old Negro named “Sol” Taylor. He lived up above town on the Grindsfield Taylor farm in a little hut all to himself, having very little intercourse with the other negroes. He wore women’s clothes and ear rings. He had a hard looking face, but there was no harm in “Sol”, but the boys gave him all the room he needed when he came to town. Another peculiar character was Buck Neely, who lived up the river, at Post Oak Island. Buck’s main occupation was fishing and raising, tobacco, which he brought to Louisville to trade for needed household supplies.

Buck’s ambition never got much above his chewingtobacco and toddy. He had a large family and they lived in the most primitive ways imaginable. They were as much at home in the water of the Bi*#” Bend River as they were out in the woods. I have seen Buck’s boys swimming on cold winter days and on other times have seen them out in the middle of the river swimming through’the waves of passing steamers. Jerry Dodson lived down below town, just where I don’t remember. Jerry would come to to-wn to trade, driving his old home made wagon. He had only one ox, but he had a cow which he would yoke together with the ox and do his hauling. You could always tell when he was nearing town by the beating of his drum. He carried it with him wherever he went and it furnished the boys with a lot of amusement. Jerry was very much in evidence in “Muster Days”. Now, there is something that I overlooked. Muster Days, we call it drilling now.

Every three months all the men between the ages of 18 and 25 years that resided in the vicinity of Louisville were required to meet there and drill, preparing for future wars. There were no state guards then, and once a year they met for all over the country at Maryville, for a general muster. General Lowe had charge of these citizen’s soldiery and was very proud of them. General Lowe lived on the north bank of the river at Low’s Ferry, there Admiral Farragut was born. (The writer was in charge of the steamer “Onega” that carried Admiral Dewey from Knoxville to Lowe’s Ferry when he unveiled the Farragut monument.) General Lowe was a tall commanding man, very precise and very polite, and was one of the fine old Southern gentlemen that you read of. The Lowe family was one of the best of our country. James A. Prater lived on a large farm on the south bank of the river at Lowe’s Ferry.

He was a large man and his friends familiarly called him “Buffalo Jim”. He had a large family of boys and one girl. His home was always open to his friends and there was not a kinder or more sympathetic man in Blount County than Jim Prater. Wherever there was sickness or trouble in the neighborhood he was always on hand, helping and comforting the unfortunate ones. The reader will remember that in the beginning of the chapter, he The reader will remember that in the beginning of the chapter, he mentioned six other persons who were in the town during the war,

and knew of the troubles and trials enumerated, Mrs. Emma Johnson (Mary Emma Love) grand-daughter of Ambrose Love, one of the first settlers here, was one of the six. She was the wife of James M. Johnson, deceased, at one time a prominent merchant of Louisville. He was a good citizen and had many friends. Mrs. Johnson died very suddenly on January 5, 1922, and there is no one better fitted to write a tribute to the memory of this noble woman than the writer of this work. She was a kind and gentle woman, doing good to all who came her way; a fine Christian character and a pure woman, who will be mourned by her many relatives and friends. The town of Louisville lost one more of its old-time citizens.

And now, again, before this work is complete, I am called upon to chronicle the passing away of two more of the six above-mentioned. Mr. and Mrs. David Finger have answered the call. They are two fine old people. No truer man ever lived than Dave Finger. Truly, the old landmarks are being cut down.