Near Sparta in White County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

France Cemetery

Resting Place of Champ Ferguson

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 9, 2020

1. France Cemetery Marker

Inscription.

France Cemetery. Resting Place of Champ Ferguson. , Champ Ferguson (1821–1865) was born in Kentucky, the oldest of ten children. He moved to White County, Tennessee, in the 1850s. During the Civil War, he showed passionate loyalty to the Southern cause and extreme hatred for the Union. The alleged reasons for his zeal range from a desire to settle longstanding grudges with local Unionists to revenge against the Union soldiers who raped his wife and daughter and killed his son. Regardless of his motives, Ferguson was one of the most notorious Confederate guerrillas to roam the Upper Cumberland. He was most infamous for the Saltville Massacre, in which he supposedly directed the murders of several wounded and captured U.S. Colored Troops at Saltville, Virginia, in 1864. Federal officials arrested him after the war. He was convicted of 53 counts of murder, although he claimed to have killed more than 100 Union soldiers, insisting it was his military duty. Ferguson was sentenced to death by hanging. He requested that his body be taken to “White County, Tennessee, and be buried in good Rebel soil.” Ferguson is interred here in the cemetery named for the France family., Other Confederate veterans buried in France Cemetery include four brothers, all of whom died during the war: Sgt. Solomon Carmichael and Pvt. Thomas Carmichael (25th Tennessee Infantry), Pvt. Hance Carmichael (28th Tennessee Infantry), and Pvt. William L. Carmichael (8th Tennessee Cavalry).,

“I was a Southern Man at the start. I am yet, and will die a Rebel. I believe I was right in all I did. … I have killed a good many men, of course, I don't deny that, but I never killed a man whom I did not know was seeking my life. … I repeat that I die a Rebel out and out, and my last request is that my body be removed to White County, Tennessee, and be buried in good Rebel soil.” , Champ Ferguson, before his execution, 1865

, Caption: Champ Ferguson and guards, 1865 , Courtesy White County Heritage Museum

Champ Ferguson (1821–1865) was born in Kentucky, the oldest of ten children. He moved to White County, Tennessee, in the 1850s. During the Civil War, he showed passionate loyalty to the Southern cause and extreme hatred for the Union. The alleged reasons for his zeal range from a desire to settle longstanding grudges with local Unionists to revenge against the Union soldiers who raped his wife and daughter and killed his son. Regardless of his motives, Ferguson was one of the most notorious Confederate guerrillas to roam the Upper Cumberland. He was most infamous for the Saltville Massacre, in which he supposedly directed the murders of several wounded and captured U.S. Colored Troops at Saltville, Virginia, in 1864. Federal officials arrested him after the war. He was convicted of 53 counts of murder, although he claimed to have killed more than 100 Union soldiers, insisting it was his military duty. Ferguson was sentenced to death by hanging. He requested that his body be taken to “White County, Tennessee, and be buried in good Rebel soil.” Ferguson is interred here in the cemetery named for the France family.

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Confederate veterans buried in France Cemetery include four brothers, all of whom died during the war: Sgt. Solomon Carmichael and Pvt. Thomas Carmichael (25th Tennessee Infantry), Pvt. Hance Carmichael (28th Tennessee Infantry), and Pvt. William L. Carmichael (8th Tennessee Cavalry).

“I was a Southern Man at the start. I am yet, and will die a Rebel. I believe I was right in all I did. … I have killed a good many men, of course, I don't deny that, but I never killed a man whom I did not know was seeking my life. … I repeat that I die a Rebel out and out, and my last request is that my body be removed to White County, Tennessee, and be buried in good Rebel soil.” — Champ Ferguson, before his execution, 1865

Caption: Champ Ferguson and guards, 1865 — Courtesy White County Heritage Museum

Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.

Location. 36° 1.547′ N, 85° 20.267′ W. Marker is near Sparta,

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 9, 2020

2. France Cemetery Marker

Marker is on the left, along the rock wall.

Tennessee, in White County. It is on Monterey Highway (State Highway 84) 1.4 miles north of Mack Floyd Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sparta TN 38583, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau

and in the Highland Rim.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. 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 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Cap't Champ Ferguson (a few steps from this marker); Earl Webb (approx. 5½ miles away); Rock House (approx. 8.2 miles away); a different marker also named The Rock House (approx. 8.2 miles away); a different marker also named The Rock House (approx. 8.2 miles away); a different marker also named

Champ Ferguson headstone image. Click for full size.

Carver Moore, Moore Historical Consulting

3. Champ Ferguson headstone

The Rock House (approx. 8.2 miles away); Affair at Cumberland Mountain (approx. 8.7 miles away); Pleasant Hill (approx. 8.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sparta.

Also see . . . The Carmichael Brothers. From Tales From Tennessee and Beyond blog by Carver Moore of Moore Historical Consulting. (Submitted on October 12, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay

4. Champ Ferguson headstone

Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,269 times since then and 75 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 12, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 4. submitted on October 14, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.