Sevierville TN, Celebrates a New Civil War Marker

 

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Tourism Commissioner Susan Whitaker and Dr. Carroll Van West, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University joined local dignitaries to unveil the new Civil War Marker commemorating the Battle of Fair Garden, as part of the annual Sevierville Arbor Day Celebration today on the Walters State Community College Sevier County Campus.

 

The new Civil War Marker commemorating the Battle of Fair Garden features historic photographs, a map and written information about the skirmish which took place east of Sevierville in January, 1864.

GoNOMAD will be visiting Sevierville the week of April 22, we will be blogging on http://blogs.gonomad.com/readuponit during the trip.

Union General Samuel Sturgis will be pictured on the marker, along with Confederate General James Longstreet and Capt. Eli Lilly who founded the pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Company in 1876. A photograph of Stewart Dickey’s house will also be shown. Federal troops used the Dickey house as their headquarters, installing a telegraph line from there to their main base in Knoxville.

Dr. Robert Hodsden, a Union loyalist lay bedridden in home during the battle. He had been a physician on the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. An image of Dr. Hodsden will appear on the marker as well.

A map pointing out sites such as Rose Glen Plantation, home of Dr. Hodsden, Stewart Dickey’s house, the confederate camp and McNutt’s Bridge (which has since been replaced with the Harrisburg Covered Bridge,) directs visitors to other places in the area associated with the Battle of Fair Garden. Over a period of three days, the battle covered an area of eight miles stretching from Dandridge to the Little Pigeon River.

Standing in front of the marker, the reader may observe the spot, on a hillside across the street, where initial combat occurred on Jan. 27, 1864. The marker will also include a brief history of the Battle of Fair Garden.

The Tennessee Civil War Trails program is part of a five-state trails system that invites the public to explore both well-known and less-familiar sites associated with America’s greatest drama. A map is available at official welcome centers and identifies more than 200 sites in Tennessee. A map of the trail markers can also be found at www.tncivilwar150.com or by downloading the Civil War in Tennessee iPhone app.

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