The Battle of Morristown, 1864

(Union Artillery readies for action at Morristown.)

It was on the morning of October 28, 1864 that Morristown, Tennessee was the site of a battle between Union and Confederate forces during the War Between The States. Interestingly, both sides in this battle were made up of a large number of men from East Tennessee. Some old people in this area refferred to the Civil War as the War Between the Republicans and the Democrats, because the Union forces were overwhelmingly Republican and the Confederates were mostly Democrats!

November of 1864 would see a presidential election. Lincoln was running against McClellan. Lincoln had named as his running mate, Andrew Johnson. Johnson, from Greeneville, and then military governor of Tennessee, had supporters in East Tennessee. It is no coincidence that Union forces stepped up operations in East Tennessee at that time, before the election, because East Tennessee had the largest group of Union sympathisers (also known as loyal Republican voters) in the South.

Union General Alvan Gillem, commanding three Tennessee Cavalry Regiments and an artillery battery, moved up from Knoxville and made straight for Morristown, where Confederates there were under the command of General John Vaughn. Gillem's men, perhaps over 3,000 strong were well equipped, and had repeating rifles. Vaughn's forces, perhaps 2,000 in number were generally poorly equipped and had single shot muskets. Most of Vaughn's men were Mounted Infantry. For some men, on both sides, they were about to enter battle near their own homes, and against opponents they personally knew.

Vaughn deployed his men in two long lines. One was in the town and was flanked on either side by an artillery battery. One battery was on the hill where Morristown College now stands, and a line of men extended from there all the way to where Radio Center is, where another artillery battery was deployed. In front of this line, some distance to the west was Vaughn's first line, mostly of mounted infantry, dismounted and in line. There was no artillery directly in this first, thin line, a fact that Union General Gillem would quickly use to his advantage. Possibly Vaughn's best regimental commander, Col. James Rose, along with his mounted regiment, had maintained contact with the Union troops as they advanced towards town. Rose kept the Federals in front of him, monitoring their movements and all the while keeping Vaughn informed of the situation. As Union troops neared Morristown, Rose suddenly deployed his men in line in front of them. The Union forces deployed to face him, showing their numbers to the Confederates. Rose, his job done, fell back with his men into the center of the first Confederate line. The Confederates now awaited the inevitable Union attack. One Union veteran later recalled approaching Morristown on that fateful day and seeing the entire valley full of Confederates.

General Gillem immediately attacked the Confederate first line of defense. On his right, west of Radio Center, (the Confederate left) one regiment steadily advanced, engaging the Confederates. The Union artillery took up a position near where Lincoln Heights School is today, supporting this attack. On the extreme left of the Union position, another regiment attacked the Confederate right. General Vaughn became concerned mostly about his left, near Radio Center, and he began sending reinforcements there, including one more artillery piece to that area. It was in this area that I think the fighting was the most serious. The Confederate left was being pushed back, under the weight of a strong Union attack.

But in the center of the line, Gillem ordered the cavalry regiment there to make a full scale, mounted charge with sabres drawn against the Confederates. This regiment deployed its cavalry in a close order and began to move forward. Wave after wave of horsemen packed closely together moved towards the thin Confederate line, company after company, as many as a thousand men being engaged in this action alone while their comrades pressed the Confederates on the left and on the right. The close formation of the oncoming Union cavalrymen and the fact that this first Confederate line was not adequately supported with artillery put the Confederates in that line in a desperate situation. This fact was perceived by the boys in gray because Vaughn's first line gave way quickly in the center before the Union cavalry even reached it. And then the entire first line retreated away. The men in the second line ran away as the men of the first line of Confederates fled through it, and urged them to do so.

Disaster for the Confederates! Artillerymen struggled to save their guns. The artillery battery near Radio Center was captured when the horses pulling the guns were shot down. Individuals became seperated from their fleeing units and hid in panic in buildings throughout the town. One old man and woman watched as a young Confederate burst into their home and proceeded to hide under their bed. "Don't stay there!" said the old man. "That is the first place they will look." The boy crawled from under the bed. "You are right." he said, and then he ran out their back door, and disappeared into the melee and confusion outside, never to be seen by the old couple again.

Col. Rose's horse was shot down, and Rose was then captured. General Vaughn himself narrowly escaped, pistol in hand and exchanging shots with Union horsemen. Union cavalrymen, repeating rifles blazing away, raced into Morristown, and proceeded to chase Vaughn's men into Russellville, where a few well placed Confederate cannonballs seem to have convinced Gillem to end the pursuit and to be satisfied with the result he had already achieved that day: the capture of Morristown. Ninety-three men, mostly Confederate, had been killed in the battle.

I originally wrote this from memory based on my own research, some years ago of the battle, and, as such, it contains my own conclusions. After adding the photos of the miniature figures, I decided to reread an account of the battle which appeared in the Citizen Tribune several years ago and made some changes to the page where I thought it was appropriate.

Click here to return to Genealogy Page