Epperson Springs

Epperson Springs (HM1AQD)

Location: Westmoreland, TN 37186 Macon County
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Country: United States of America
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N 36° 34.4', W 86° 11.983'

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Inscription

Resort and Wartime Enlistment Center

The Epperson Springs Hotel, built by local businessmen so that residents and visitors could enjoy bathing and soaking in a mineral springs, stood here. Most of the state's early resorts grew up around mineral springs; physicians often touted the value of "taking the waters," or hydrotherapy, to their patients. The springs resorts were as well known for their social life as for their alleged cures.

Because of its prominent location near the Kentucky line, the resort became an enlistment center and a Confederate training camp in the autumn of 1861. It was known as Camp Jim Davis after the proprietor of the hotel. Companies B, C, D, and E, 7th Cavalry Battalion (later designated 22nd Barteau's Tennessee Cavalry Regiment), and Company E, 9th Tennessee Cavalry)were organized

Federal forces controlled the area by the middle of the war but faced constant harassment from both regular and irregular Confederate units. Early in May 1863, for example, a detachment of the 11th Kentucky Infantry (US) passed Epperson Springs as it pursued what commanders called a Confederate gang. Col. S. Pallance Love reported: "That whole country is infested with the thieving party. They have nearly devastated that country, and stolen nearly all the good horses from the citizens."

Union units likely formed here were Companies E and F, 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry, and Companies A and D, 8th Tennessee Infantry, all of which included Macon County men.

The Epperson Springs Hotel burned to the ground in 1926.

(captions)
Epperson Springs - Courtesy Randy East, Macon County Historian
Guerrillas stealing horses, Harper's Weekly, Dec. 24, 1864
Idyllic postwar view of a Confederate camp Courtesy of Library of Congress
Details
HM NumberHM1AQD
Series This marker is part of the Tennessee: Tennessee Civil War Trails series
Tags
Placed ByTenessee Civil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 3rd, 2014 at 3:14pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 571602 N 4047840
Decimal Degrees36.57333333, -86.19971667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 36° 34.4', W 86° 11.983'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds36° 34' 24.00" N, 86° 11' 58.98" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)615
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 9695 Epperson Springs Rd, Westmoreland TN 37186, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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Comments 1 comments

  1. I have not seen the marker for this. However, I do have access to several of the original postcards that still exist to this day that advertised the resort back in its hay day. If the Historical Society is interested in seeing these, please contact me.

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