The West-Metcalfe House

The West-Metcalfe House. Mill Springs Battlefield. , Isaac West built this small house about 1800. When the Civil War began, it was the home of Isaac's son and daughter, Allen and Nancy, and Nancy's family. During its brief occupation of Mill Springs, the Confederate army used the West house and farm as a supply depot, headquarters and hospital., Home of an Extended Family , When the Confederate army arrived in Mill Springs in November 1861, five people lived here Allen Russell West, his sister Nancy Saulter Lynch, Nancy's widowed daughter, Margaret Jane Metcalfe, and Margaret's two sons, Charles Pollan Metcalfe and George Chilton Metcalfe, Jr. Also living on the property were twenty slaves West owned., Confederate Headquarters and Supply Depot , With Allen West's consent, Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer established his headquarters in the West house, which then had large wooden additions on each end. The Confederates turned the West farm into a supply depot for the busy encampment at Mill Springs, where over 6,000 men drilled, built earthworks, and prepared for the battle they knew would come., Wounded Filled the House and Yard , The Confederate army was defeated, and General Zollicoffer killed, at the January 19, 1862, Battle of Mill Springs. In its hurried retreat the army left scores of wounded behind. This house, like most in Mill Springs, served as a temporary hospital. Wounded filled the West house and yard. Many remained for weeks. Some never left, a dozen or more lie in the family cemetery., Photo captions: Bottom left: Charles Pollan Metcalfe lived in the house during the Civil War. He is pictured with his wife, Amanda Elizabeth (Taylor) Metcalfe, ca. 1866. , Top right: When it was a Confederate supply depot, the yard of the West house probably looked a lot like this house at Rocky Face, Georgia, which was a commissary depot.