The Enemy in This Neighborhood Has Become Quite Saucy: Confederate Accounts of the Battle of Tazewell
I n early August 1862, General George Morgan, commanding Federals forces holding Cumberland Gap, acquired intelligence indicative of increased Confederate activity in eastern Tennessee. To smoke out Confederate intentions, he dispatched a 1,500-man force under Colonel John Decourcey to march towards the Clinch River. DeCourcey’s men were in camp at Tazewell, Tennessee on the morning of August 6, 1862, when Kirby Smith’s army made their presence known and attacked the Federals. The resulting ‘Battle’ of Tazewell lasted through most of the day, eventually sent DeCourcey retreating to Cumberland Gap, and cost each side roughly 70 casualties. Among the Confederate forces at Cumberland Gap were several regiments of Georgians; today’s blog post features detailed accounts from an unknown soldier in the 40 th Georgia, writing under the nom-de-plume of Stilesboro, likely named after a small farming community west of Cartersville in Bartow...