Cannon County and the War of 1812

Pensioners List - Cannon County

Cannon County and the American Civil War

On June 8, 1861 Tennessee by a vote of 105,000 to 47,000 joined the new Confederacy. The vote in Cannon County was 1,149 for and 127 against. Seven infantry companies were soon raised under the commands of Captain's Richard Rushing, J. H. St. John, Gran Wood, Timothy Allison, M. M. Brien, Jr., James H. Wood, and John C. New. Two cavalry companies also formed under Captain's A. H. Wiley and J. W. Nichols. In the autumn of 1861, a regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry was organized at Camp Smartt near McMinnville in Warren County, with Colonel Benjamin Hill commanding. Cannon County furnished volunteers for this regiment. In all, the county (with a population at that time of 9,500) furnished in excess of 1,000 soldiers to the Confederacy.

Not all Cannon County soldiers were in the Confederate armies. By the summer of 1862, Tennessee had fallen to the Union army and Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson military governor. One of his first acts was to order Colonel William B. Stokes of DeKalb County to organize a regiment called the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry ( Also known as the First Middle Tennessee Cavalry). Many Cannon County men, especially from the northern section joined this regiment. While Cannon County as a whole was more "anti secession" than the rest of middle Tennessee (the vote in DeKalb was 833 for and 642 against secession), it's quite likely that many of the men in the northern section were influenced by Stokes, a resident of Temperance Hall, and a congressman. While the total number of Cannon County men joining this regiment is not clear, some indication can be found in the 1890 census showed that some 137 veterans or their widows in Cannon were drawing Union army pensions. Nearly all of them has served in the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry.

There were no major battles fought in Cannon County. Military activity was confined to skirmishes and to reconnaissance movements between the two sides.

The Secession Crisis and Before

Tennessee Resolutions

General Resources: Timelines, Overviews, etc.

The Tennessee Civil War Home Page
The American Civil War Homepage
 

Rosters of Combatants & Regimental Histories from Cannon County

Confederate

• Co. C, 22nd TN Cav.

• Co. E, 8th TN Cav.

• Co. G, 8th TN Cav.

• Co. A, 18th TN Inf.

• Co. D, 18th TN Inf.

• Co. H, 18th TN Inf.

• Co. H, 23rd TN Inf.

• Co. G, 35th TN Inf.

• Confederate Pension Application List - Cannon County

Union

• 5th TN CAV (First Middle Tennessee)

• 1890 Veterans Schedules  List   Images

Modern Histories; Bibliographies

Pomp Kersey, Tennessee Guerilla

Co. H., First Tennessee Regiment, pub. 1882 by Mr. Sam. R. Watkins, of Columbia, TN. on the MAURY CO. GRAYS Regiment giving first hand recall of scenes and incidents of battle field and camp during the Civil War.

Cannon County and World War

World War I Veterans

World War II Casualties Army and Air Force

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