Civil War

DEKALB COUNTY
IN THE
CIVIL WAR

The following is from the
"History of DeKalb County"

WILL T. HALE
1915

Undoubtedly the stormiest period of DeKalb County's existence was the first part of the year 1861, the question before the people being separation from the Union or remaining in it. When the question was first agitated, a majority of Tennesseeans wer e opposed to secession. The legislature ordered an election at which the people should vote at th same time upon the subject of holding a convention and electing delegates to serve in case a convention should be held. The election came off February 9, 1 861, and resulted in a vote of 57,798 for the convention and 69,675 against it; for delegates who favored secession, 24,749, and 88,803 against it. This was throughout the State. In the election DeKalb County's vote was 833 for secession and 642 against it. Thus we see the voters of the County were by a small majority (191) for withdrawing from the Union. At that time the population of the county was only 10,573.

Meantime some of the Southern States had withdrawn from the Union. On April 12, 1861, the Confederates at Charleston, S. C., fired on Fort Sumpter, where a United States garrison remained, although South Carolina had voted to secede. When the news o f the bombardment reached Washington, President Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to put down the "rebellion." He also declared the ports of the seceded States (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) in a state of bl ockade and held that all vessels acting under their authority would be guilty of piracy.

Again Tennessee became intensely excited. It was evident that the President was going to try to force the seceding States back into the Union. The orators began to harangue the people, and many of the latter, not indorsing his intentions to make war on the South, changed their sentiments and clamored to withdraw from the sisterhood of States. A second election was held June 8 to get the sentiment of all Tennesseeans. The vote stood 104,913 for secession and only 47,238 against it. Isham G. Harris was at that time Governor of the State.

So Tennessee joined the Southern Confederacy. The first call was for 55,000 men; but before the close of the war the State furnished more than 115,000 Confederates. On the Union side more that 31,000 Federals were raised in the State, while Tennesse e Federals who joined Kentucky organizations numbered more that 7,000. The total Tennesseeans in the two armies thus totaled 153,000.

At first it appeared that all DeKalb County was for the South. Nevertheless, there was a strong undercurrent opposed to disunion, and this manifested itself after a while. Thus William B. Stokes, who had been a popular politician, at first sided wit h the South, going so far as to urge the enlistment of Confederate troops; and when he changed his mind he found hundreds of men ready to follow him on the other side.

Some of the earliest enlistments of DeKalb County Confederates were made in a company raised at Auburn Town, in Cannon County; T. M. Allison, Captain. This company was mustered into service at Nashville June 28, 1861. This company consisted of eight y-two men, fully half under twenty-one years of age. Names are called that were familiar in the Liberty community: Dr. J. S. Harrison, H. L. W. (White) Turney, Bob Smith, Arch Marcum, W. A. and Pressly Adamson, Josh Jetton and Others. The company became a part of the Second Tennessee Cavalry. Bob Smith, attacked with measles at Jacksboro, East Tennessee, was discharged and later joined the Federals. White Turney became a lieutenant, was wounded twice, married in West Tennessee, practiced law in Dyersb urgh, and died in 1880. Dr. Harrison went through the war, removed from Liberty to Smithville, then became a citizen of McMinnville, a splendid type of the old-time Southern gentleman. He died in October, 1914. Captain Allison resigned and returned to his home, near Auburn Town, and was killed by federals in his back yard August 2, 1862.

Eight Confederate companies were made up in DeKalb County, while about half of Capt. P. C. Shields's company (G) of Col. John H. Savage's regiment were from the county. Muster rolls of Confederate soldiers are in the archives at Washington. They are old, mutilated, and not easily handled. An effort was made to get the manes of first enlistments, but this was hardly possible in any case. Where names were secured (photographed) they are often misspelled, as Louis for Lewis, while one name may appear in one place as "William" and in another "W. J." This has added to the problem of getting them correct. But, in spite of all, hundreds are correctly presented herein.