Chronological History of the American Civil War

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soldiers who manned Fort Pickering anxiously watched over the parapets for their families at Camp Shiloh. In Nashville, the camps were located south (Edgehill), west (Northwest Camp), and east (Edgefield) of the city's boundaries. Between December 1863 and December 1864, when the Union army temporarily lost some areas to invading Confederate armies, contrabands from small towns were placed on railroad cars and relocated to Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga. Over 1,600 contrabands transferred from Holly Springs and Corinth, Mississippi, to Memphis' Camp Chelsea. In 1863, the Freedmen's Department of the army was established under John Eaton to manage the camps. In March 1865, Congress created the Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen's Bureau) to assist the contrabands in making the transition to freedom. In late 1865, the bureau initiated a program to relocate thousands of freedmen from the camps and back to the countryside, but the former slaves and their descendants continued to pour into the cities, establishing a pattern that eventually led, according to the 1990 census, to over 80 percent of African Americans in Tennessee living in urban areas. Source: “Contraband Camps” by Bobby L. Lovett of Tennessee State University Not all West Tennesseans Fought for the South... A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. In earlier posts, I pointed out Southern Confederate Regiments that join the cause living in our area. It would be wrong not to mention that not all from West Tennessee fought for the South. The 6th Tennessee Cavalry (US) was organized at Bethel Springs, LaGrange, Bolivar, and Trenton, Tennessee and mustered in 11 August 1862 for a three- year enlistment under the command of Colonel Fielding Hurst. (pictured) Fielding Hurst gradually increased his land holdings to the largest in the area while he worked as a surveyor. Locals would later refer to the Hurst-held territory in northern McNairy and present-day southern Chester County as the “Hurst Nation.” Hurst a damages he caused there, that he had to pay the Union. After the citizens pay the ransom, he burned the town. On the road to Pocahontas, he is also said to have captured and later killed Captain Wharton (CSA) and a portion of his men after their killing of his son, but only the bodies were buried . . . the heads were placed on mile markers already existing on the road from Purdy to Lexington. Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest swore revenge on what he considered the renegade Hurst’s wartime atrocities, swore to kill him on site. On December 10, 1864, just outside of Nashville, Hurst resigned his command due to poor health. He served briefly in the Tennessee General Assembly after the war, became a circuit court judge in the Brownlow administration, and served as the local Grand Army of the Republic post. After the war, Hurst and his men remained a target for his mostly Confederate neighbors. Legends and stories of the Sixth Tennessee’s alleged atrocities against West Tennesseans grew over the decades, and Hurst’s name was associated with nearly anything derogatory or evil. Hurst died destitute in 1882 and without any heirs, save his wife, Melocky. Even after his death, Hurst was not immune to the scorn of his detractors. They often rode over his grave on horseback and spat upon it. Memorial Day's Origin - The Civil War A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. At the beginning of the war the Northern states had a combined population of 22 million (71%) people. The Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million (29%). If one were to consider all of population in the Union to be free, then leave it at 22 million. The Confederacy had roughly 3,500,000 individuals enslaved let's slaveholder himself remained committed to the Union throughout the secession. He was arrested but later released for his stand against secession. At age fifty-one, he formed a unit of mounted scouts from the “Hurst Nation” to serve and scout for the Union Army and perhaps seek vengeance for his arduous imprisonment. He would soon terrorize the area, looting and killing while hunting down Rebels and their supporters. He held Jackson, TN citizens at ransom for the $5,139.25