A brief history of Bluff City is on the Town of Bluff City’s website:

“The historic Town of Bluff City, on the banks of Boone Lake, was first known as Choate’s Ford and then as Middletown when the town was platted in 1858. Later known as Union, Zollicoffer and Union again, it became Bluff City on July 1, 1887. In 1870, the well-known brand of Saint Joseph drug products originated in Bluff City.

“On September 24, 1780, four hundred Virginia militiamen crossed over the Holston River at Choate’s Ford on their way to muster at Sycamore Shoals on their march to Kings Mountain, which was a turning point in the Revolutionary War. On September 24, 2007 the Overmountain Victory Trail was certified by the National Park Service and Bluff City enjoys having Choate’s Ford as a recognized historic site.

“Bluff City is served by the Bluff City Elementary School, Bluff City Middle School and the Sullivan East High School. Many higher education opportunities are available as well in neighboring communities.

“Bluff City proudly boasts of it Pavilion/Boardwalk located on the banks of Boone Lake.”

Link to the Overmountain Victory Trail Association.

The Tennessee Historical Commission’s marker 1A-66 is located on the northwest side of Bluff City Highway (390/37) at Fleming Drive in Bluff City: “BLUFF CITY. When first a settlement, this was called Choate’s Ford. With establishment of the Abington Va. – Knoxville stage line, it became Middletown. Laid off as a town, following completion of the railroad, it became Union. Early in 1862, it was named Zollicoffer, after the Confederate general. Renamed Union in 1865, it received its present name in 1887.”

Portrait of Felix Zollicoffer in the public domain. Source: Duke Libraries > Digital Collections > William Emerson Strong Photograph Album.

From Wikipedia: Brigadier General Felix Kirk Zollicoffer (May 19, 1812 – January 19, 1862) was a newspaperman, three-term United States Congressman from Bigbyville, Maury County, Tennessee, officer in the United States Army, and a Confederate brigadier general during the War Between the States. He was a descended from emigrants from Switzerland who had settled in North Carolina in 1710. His grandfather, George Zollicoffer, had served as a captain in the Revolutionary War, and had been granted a tract of land in Tennessee as payment for his military service. Felix Zollicoffer led the first Confederate invasion of eastern Kentucky and was killed in action at the Battle of Mill Springs, the first Confederate general to die in the Western Theater. He is buried at the Old City Cemetery in Nashville. Additional biographical information may be found on “This Week in the Civil War.”

Many of the Confederate muster roll cards  show “Zollicoffer” as the place of enlistment of soldiers of the 63rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, CSA. A story of the November 8, 1861 burning of the train trestle across the Holston River (pictured above), written by Earl Hendry, was published in the Elizabethton Star on November 14, 2011 in commemoration of the Sesquicentennial.