Whites Creek in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

White’s Creek and the War

Fighting for Tennessee

Photographed by Karen Emerson-McPeak, December 2017

1. White’s Creek and the War Marker

Inscription. During the Civil War, Confederate Capt. John H. Earthman (a descendant of one of the earliest Whites Creek settlers) raised a company of soldiers. Accepted into service at Whites Creek on April 25, 1861, the company mustered in at Nashville on May 6 as Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry. Under the command of Col. William B. Bate, the regiment fought in several battles in the Eastern Theater including the First Battle of Manassas on July 21-22, 1861. By February 1862, the unit had returned to Tennessee and was attached to Gen Leonidas Polk’s command. After the Battles of Shiloh and Perryville, the regiment participated in the Battles of Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Franklin and Nashville. It surrendered in North Carolina after the Battle of Bentonville in March 1865.

Union forces occupied Nashville, six miles south of here, on February, 1862. Churches were used as hospitals, as quarters for teamsters, and even as powder magazines. Only newspapers favorable to the North were allowed to publish. The Methodist Publishing House had its printing equipment confiscated to print Federal bulletins. Andrew Johnson, appointed

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Tennessee’s Union governor ordered citizens to pledge allegiance to the United States against all enemies foreign or domestic. City officers, the school superintendent, members of the school board, all teachers, and most of the preachers refused to sign the oath. School-teaching was largely suspended, and the blockade of the city by river and railroad brought commerce to a standstill.

Insert top right ) A footstone in the Marshall graveyard a mile northeast commemorates Pvt. W. David Hunter, who served in Capt. Earthman’s Co. g, 2nd Tennessee Infantry. Hunter was born on September 23, 1842, and died on December 3 1862. Courtesy Angela Williams

Insert middle right) The Earthman family built a log house called Blue Hills before 1800, then covered logs with clapboard. About 1849, William S. Whiteman bought the house. Two miles north of here, he built a brick, two-story, steam-powered paper mill, where he employed both white laborers and slaves. The war halted operations in 1852, and efforts to revive the mill afterward failed. The mill was later converted into a bard and still stands today. Courtesy Marsha Murphy

Erected 2017

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by The Whites Creek Historical Society in partnership with Fontanel.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #17 Andrew Johnson series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1862.

Location. 36° 15.399′ N, 86° 49.762′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Whites Creek. It can be reached from 4125 Whites Creek Pike. main parking area at Fontanel. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Whites Creek TN 37189, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Alexander Little Page Green (approx. 0.2 miles away); The James Gang (approx. 0.6 miles away); Captain Alexander "Devil Alex" Ewing (approx. 1.6 miles away); Frederick Stump (approx. 1.7 miles away); Enchanted Hills (approx. 3.7 miles away); Hyde's Ferry Turnpike (approx. 3.8 miles away); The Gold Coast (approx. 4 miles away); Haynes High School (approx. 4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 31, 2017, by Karen Emerson-McPeak of Triune, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 2,181 times since then and 124 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on December 31, 2017, by Karen Emerson-McPeak of Triune, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.