THE MUTTONBLUFF
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article and pictures by Tom Dickerson
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MUTTONBLUFF - BARBECUE ROCKS
The
Muttonbluff is an historical part of Smith County located on the border between
Smith and Trousdale Counties about two miles northwest of Pleasant Shade. It
sits in the saddle of a relatively remote and narrow piece of terrain at an elevation
of about 910 feet. The Muttonbluff is an outcropping of limestone rocks
composed of a number of large boulders with the largest grouping being six to
eight feet high. Located at the Muttonbluff is the Muttonbluff Spring that
emerges from the ground at an elevation of about 880 feet. For a spring to
exist so near to the top of a hillside is unusual. It does not produce great
quantities of water and may cease to flow during times of dry weather. However,
during normal weather conditions, the spring produces sufficient water to
supply a small number of both humans and horses.
MUTTONBLUFF AREA MAP
Click Above Map for full size View
The Muttonbluff (coordinates of 36-23-52N, 85-58-54W) is located on the common boundary of Smith and Trousdale counties about two miles northwest of Pleasant Shade. Of course, during the Civil War, all this area was in Smith County. The Muttonbluff rests on a narrow saddle or gap at an elevation of about 910 feet. To the west lies the Massey Hollow leading to Dixon Creek and the Cato Community while to the east is Little Peyton’s Creek and the Pleasant Shade area. I suppose this location may have had some strategic value to the Confederate guerrilla gangs who used this site because the terrain allowed easy access to either of the above locations.
For the
past 140 years, the Muttonbluff has been a well-known landmark of the Pleasant
Shade area. It received its name during the Civil War from an infamous group of
young men who operated out of the area as Confederate guerrillas or
bushwhackers and / or just plain outlaws. The bushwhackers used the area as a
hideout or rendezvous point in the course of carrying out their raids. These
men would steal sheep and roast them on a spit between two boulders while they
were hiding or planning their next action. This is how the “Muttonbluff”
received its name. Due to its location and terrain, the Muttonbluff provided
easy access west to the Dixon Creek or east to the Peyton’s Creek areas of
Smith County. During the time of the Civil War, all the area around the
Muttonbluff was in Smith County, as this part of Trousdale County would not be
formed from Smith County until 1870.
The
Muttonbluff was a favorite squirrel hunting grounds as late as the 1950s. When young boys of the area were informed
that they were going to be taken hunting at the Muttonbluff, they knew they
were in for a “first class” hunt.
Some of the men responsible for “putting the
Muttonbluff on the map” were William J. (Buck) Smith, E. L. Williams, Vitt
Hogg, Jack Curlee, a Mr. Calhoun and perhaps others. Captain Ellis Harper,
another Confederate guerrilla, is also reputed to have used the Muttonbluff but
he may not have been connected with Buck Smith. Buck Smith, the boy guerrilla,
(my first cousin thrice-removed through my Smith relatives) was the most
infamous of the entire group. He was born about 1845, the son of Alfred D. and
Elizabeth Beasley Smith. Alfred was the son of Archie and Elizabeth Piper Smith
and they perhaps resided on the Smith Branch near Monoville. Elizabeth Beasley
was the daughter of Braddock and Sarah Ferguson Beasley. The late Carmack Key
(Smith County historian) once gave me a copy of a handwritten statement from
“The Republican” dated Friday, July 15, 1842, Carthage, TN, Vol. 1, # 29 that
provided the following reference and poem regarding the wedding of Alfred and
Elizabeth Beasley Smith.
“Married,
on Peyton’s Creek, on the 7th inst., by the Rev. Daniel Smith, Mr.
Alfred D. Smith to Miss Elizabeth Beasley.
May heaven smile in its rich grace
Strew their path with sacred peace
Fill their cup with earthly joys
And their arms with girls and boys.”
Alfred and
Elizabeth (Betsy) did indeed have children. Alfred, however, apparently died as
a young man in about 1850. He and Betsy were the parents of Julia A., William
J. (Buck), Jesse M. and Alfred H. Smith. Alfred and Betsy lived in the
Graveltown Community south of Pleasant Shade. Alfred’s brother,
William A. (Hairy Bill) Smith, is pictured on this website.
Regarding
some of the other above-mentioned men of Muttonbluff fame, Vitt Hogg or Vitsy
(from the 1860 Smith County Census), was 22, a constable and born in TN. His
father and mother were Leonidas and Eliza Hogg. They lived in the Defeated
Creek section of Smith County and were merchants. (The present Hoggtown on
Defeated Creek may have been named in their honor.) Jackson Curlee (perhaps
Jack) in 1860 was 30 years of age, born in KY, married to Susan and had five
children. They lived in the Pleasant Shade area. The only Calhoun I could find
in the 1860 Smith County Census who may have been about the right age to be
part of the Buck Smith group was Sidney Calhoun. He was 17 years old and lived
near Nickojack Branch southwest of Pleasant Shade. It is unknown whether all of
these men were in Buck Smith’s gang but their names have been associated with
the Muttonbluff. E. L. Williams and Vitt Hogg were members of Buck’s gang but I
could find no census information about E. L. Williams.
Below is a
story about Buck Smith published in the “Trousdale County History” book, 1991.
The article was written by the late R. D. Brooks, a well known Baptist
minister, historian and businessman from Carthage. He was Buck’s first cousin
once-removed. Nancy M. Hunt located this article and submitted it for inclusion
in this write-up. Nancy is the great-great granddaughter of Isham and Susan Day
Beasley who are part of this story.
”In 1861, the Confederate Army began mustering
by issuing a call to young and old alike to join. Buck (Smith), being a
boy of about 17, joined under the leadership of General Zollicoffer and went to
Cumberland Gap where the Confederates were defeated on January 16, 1862.
Some more battles were fought and in April, came the battle of Shiloh, in which
General Sidney Johnston was killed.
Following the battle of Shiloh, a new commander for
the South, General Braxton Bragg, issued an order to streamline the southern
army. Every soldier under 18 or over 45 was to be disqualified and sent
home. Buck Smith (being less than 18) was no longer a confederate soldier;
he was sent home.
Buck's first cousin, Jesse Beasley[1]
, the son of his uncle Calvin
[2]
, had enlisted in the Confederate Army, but after returning from the
battle at Cumberland Gap, switched over to the U.S. 5th Calvary. Buck
began harassing both his uncle Calvin and cousin Jesse.
In September 1862, Buck
reenlisted in the Confederate Army. He was hired by a Mr. Cardwell to
substitute for him and was paid the “going” rate of $300 for this service. It
is unclear how long Buck stayed in the Confederate Army during his second tour
as a substitute.
When Buck was 18 or 19
years of age, he collected himself a “guerrilla gang" made up of
individuals from Defeated Creek, Peyton's Creek, Dixon Creek, and Goose Creek.
His gang included the above-mentioned Vitt Hogg, E. L. Williams and others. It
was perhaps during the years of 1863 and 1864 that he received most of his
notoriety. Vitromer (nicknamed Vitt or Vic) Hogg enlisted in the Confederate
Army on September 1, 1862, the same day Buck had enlisted as a substitute for
Mr. Cardwell. Vitt was soon captured by the Union Army and sent to a prison
camp in Ohio but was later exchanged. It is after this time that it is assumed
that Vitt became a member of Buck’s gang.
Buck was known to be
quite a horseman and maintained a fast steed as demonstrated by a story
regarding a chase by Union soldiers. The soldiers were in “hot pursuit” and
gaining on Buck as they were ascending a hill. To allow his horse to breathe a
little more freely, Buck cut the girdle of his saddle giving his horse a little
edge over the advancing soldiers and he got away. His horse was reputed to have
been a small buckskin (yellowish-gray) mare that was quick and fast.
Susan Day[3] was a friend of Buck's.
When Buck would be traveling (northwest) from the Dixon Creek community over to
Goose Creek, he had to pass Susan Day's father's house to cross the hill.
Susan Day's brother, William Day, had died in the war, having been captured at
the battle of Fort Donelson, put on a boat, and sent to a Yankee prison in
Illinois. William Day died of pneumonia on March 25, 1862, at Camp
Butler, Illinois. The death of William left his sister Susan, age 24,
bitter against the Yankees. She sided with Buck. She would saddle
her horse and ride over on Goose Creek to warn Buck and his gang when U.S.
soldiers were camped near her home.
The night before Buck and E. L. Williams were
killed by Yankee troops in the hollow[4]
on Goose Creek, they had stayed in the blacksmith's shop on Dog Branch[5]
of Dixon Creek where Buck's uncle Isham Beasley lived. (As of
1857, Isham and, perhaps at the same time, Jesse Beasley, Buck’s uncles, had
moved from the Graveltown Community to Dog Branch. Both Isham and Jesse were
Confederate sympathizers.) The reason they stayed in the shop was that if
Yankee soldiers called at Isham's home, they would have an opportunity to
escape from the shop. The troops did not come that night but came the
next morning to Isham Beasley's house asking if he had seen Buck. At first he
told them "no", but as they started to ride away, he called them back
and told them "yes", that Buck Smith and E. L. Williams had stayed
the night in the blacksmith's shop. The troops rode away in search of the
two boys, and Susan Day saw them pass her home on the road leading over the
hill to Goose Creek. The Yankee troops were tracking them. Susan
told that the leading soldier was leaning forward on his horse looking for the
tracks as they rode along.
Susan Day sent a 12-year-old boy (James McClanahan)
to warn Buck. She sent the young boy on a short cut over the hill that
was shorter than the route the Yankees were taking. The Yankees arrived
before the boy could get there to warn Buck and E. L. They were eating
breakfast at a woman's table when for some reason, she rose to look out the
door. She turned to Buck and said "Blue coats are
coming!" Buck and E. L. ran from the house toward the spring.
Shots rang out and E. L. was hit in the heel; Buck stopped to help his friend
and both were killed (February 1865). Isham Beasley sent a wagon over on Goose Creek and
had Buck's body brought back to his home on Dog Branch. The funeral was held at
Isham Beasley's home and was attended by Buck's mother[6]
. The story goes that Betsy Smith (Buck's mother) saw her son's blanket
on one of the Yankee soldier's horse and that she took Buck's blanket off the
horse. The crowd fearfully looked on; expecting any minute that Betsy
would be shot, but she was not harmed. Another story is that after Buck was
killed, Union soldiers rode through Hartsville with Buck’s hat high on a long
stick for all to see.
Buck Smith was buried in
the family cemetery (now the Jesse Beasley Cemetery) on Dog Branch near the
home of where his uncle Isham lived in 1865.
Although a number of people were killed by Buck
Smith, only one particular case has been recorded in this history. Archie
Jenkins[7], who lived north of Pleasant Shade[8]
, was taken from his home by Buck. The bushwhackers placed a rope around
his neck and led him through Pleasant Shade, on their way to
Graveltown. They turned east, going up the Wilmore Hollow to the home
of a Knight woman, whom they commanded to cook them a meal. The woman, at
every opportunity, while preparing the food, urged Jenkins to try to escape,
telling him that they would surely kill him. When they had finished
eating, Buck and his gang led Jenkins east of Graveltown to the top of the hill
where, it is reported, that Buck commanded him to get up on a stump and crow
like a rooster. Buck then shot Jenkins off the stump, rode away, and left
the body lying. Sometime later, as Jenkins' body began to decompose, a
man on the east side of the hill noticed buzzards circling. Upon going to
investigate, he discovered the partially eaten body of Archie Jenkins.
His crime? Jenkins was a Yankee.”
By 1867,
both the first and second wives of Isham Beasley had died leaving him with a
number of motherless children. In June of 1867, Isham was married to Susan Day,
the young lady who sided with Buck. (This seems like an unusual union seeing
that Isham was indirectly, but perhaps reluctantly, responsible for Buck’s
death. Just how they rectified their differences is unknown. Anyway, they later
became the parents of a number of children of their own.)
In addition to the
killing of Archie Jenkins, Calvin Gregory relates in the Cal’s Column Article
of
September 5, 1946
Buck's killing of a Mr. Donoho on Toetown Branch Road a
few hundred yards west of its junction with Little Creek Road in Pleasant
Shade. Also noted by Cal in his
June 9, 1949
article is perhaps Buck’s killing
of a Union soldier also in Pleasant Shade. Another
Cal’s Column Article on the Muttonbluff and Buck Smith is included in the article
of
June 21, 1956 .
TROUSDALE COUNTY MAP
Click Above Map for full size View
Pictured is a part of a map of Trousdale County containing the extreme northeast section. The northern boundary is Macon County while Smith County is the boundary to the east and south. The Muttonbluff, the Jesse Beasley Cemetery containing Buck Smith’s grave, the Isham and Susan Day Beasley Cemetery and the McClanahan Hollow where Buck Smith and E. L. Williams were killed are noted.