Affair at Cumberland Mountain

Affair at Cumberland Mountain (HM1B7U)

Location: Crossville, TN 38571 Cumberland County
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Country: United States of America
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N 35° 58.582', W 85° 11.658'

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Inscription

A Brief Fight

Less than half a mile west of here, on the Lewis Whitaker farm, the only engagement of the war in Cumberland County between regular Union and Confederate troops took place on December 9, 1863. Several companies of Col. Thomas J. Jordan's 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry bivouacked there after Confederateforces dislodged them from Sparta. Ascending the Cumberland Plateau on the road to Crossville earlier that day, Jordan intended to cross the mountains and join forces with Gen.Ambrose E. Burnside near Knoxville.

In the evening, Capt. Champ Ferguson's guerrillas and a detachment of Col. John M. Hughes's 25th Tennessee Infantry (totaling 450 men) attacked the Federals. Hughes was in the area under orders from Confederate Gen. Braxton Braggto round up stragglers, recruit new soldiers, and harass Union forces on both sides of the Tennessee-Kentucky border.

The Federals suffered eight casualties in the engagement. UnionCapt. Thomas McCahan wrote in his diary that Confederate "Maj. Reagan" was killed and a handful of Confederates were captured. The 9th Pennsylvania's sutler also died in the firefight, and the Confederates looted the Union supply wagons before withdrawing. The Federals did not pursue them but marched to Post Oak Springs in Roane County.

Fifty years later, this site of combat became a place of healing. Dr. May Wharton, the "Doctor Woman of the Cumberlands," moved here and began ministering to the health needs of Cumberland Plateau residents.

(captions)
Corp. William Thomas, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry Courtesy Leroy Matter
Capt. Champ Ferguson, Harper's Weekly
Pvt. Mitchell Copeland, 25th Tennessee Infantry Courtesy Tennessee Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
Details
HM NumberHM1B7U
Series This marker is part of the Sons of Confederate Veterans/United Confederate Veterans series, and the Tennessee: Tennessee Civil War Trails series.
Tags
Year Placed2009
Placed ByTennessee Civil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 16th, 2014 at 9:13pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 662800 N 3982834
Decimal Degrees35.97636667, -85.19430000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 35° 58.582', W 85° 11.658'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds35° 58' 34.92" N, 85° 11' 39.48" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)931
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 441-487 E Main St, Crossville TN 38571, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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