Mountain City in Johnson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Fighting Bushwhackers

The Civil War in Taylorsville

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 16, 2021

1. Fighting Bushwhackers Marker

Inscription.

Fighting Bushwhackers. The Civil War in Taylorsville. , In 1861, Mountain City had a different name , Taylorsville , but this place had been the seat of Johnson County since 1836. Like other mountain areas, Johnson County strongly supported the Union. Late in 1862, Confederate authorities sent officers to Taylorsville to force all white men "between the ages of 18 and 40 years subject to conscription" to join the army, with mixed results. , Confederate supporters were constantly under threat. As late as October 1864, a group of Taylorsville secessionists asked Confederate Gen. John C. Breckinridge for support. "Our county is now infested with some four or five bands of robbers and bushwhackers, who are obstructing the public road, robbing Southern men, and killing them, and further, threatening to drive us all from the county." The requested help never came. Instead, the Union army arrived. By April 1865, within days of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender in Virginia, Federal authorities posted the "First U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery, 420 men, and the Fourth Tennessee Infantry, 544 men" at Taylorsville. The sight of that many African American soldiers must have jarred the white residents of a county where relatively few slaves had resided. , The most prominent Civil War leader associated with Johnson County and Taylorsville is Union Lt. Col. R.R. Butler, who organized and commanded the 13th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry and served as a U.S. congressman after the war. His mammoth Italianate-style house, completed about 1871, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. , The most famous post-war incident associated with Taylorsville is the capture of Thomas C. Dula in 1866. Dula, who served in the 42nd North Carolina Infantry, was charged with murdering Laura Foster. To escape arrest he made his way to Johnson County. A posse captured Dula in Taylorsville and took him back to North Carolina for trial. He was executed in 1868. His story was later immortalized in the folk song "Tom Dooley."

In 1861, Mountain City had a different name — Taylorsville — but this place had been the seat of Johnson County since 1836. Like other mountain areas, Johnson County strongly supported the Union. Late in 1862, Confederate authorities sent officers to Taylorsville to force all white men "between the ages of 18 and 40 years subject to conscription" to join the army, with mixed results.

Confederate supporters were constantly under threat. As late as October 1864, a group of Taylorsville secessionists asked Confederate Gen. John C. Breckinridge for support. "Our county is now infested with some four or five bands of robbers and bushwhackers, who are obstructing the public road, robbing Southern men, and killing them, and further, threatening to drive us all from the county." The requested help never came. Instead, the Union army arrived. By April 1865, within days of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender in Virginia, Federal authorities posted the "First U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery, 420 men, and the Fourth Tennessee Infantry, 544 men" at Taylorsville. The sight of that many African American soldiers must have jarred the white residents of a county where relatively few slaves had resided.

The most prominent Civil War leader associated with Johnson County and Taylorsville is Union Lt. Col. R.R. Butler, who organized and commanded

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the 13th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry and served as a U.S. congressman after the war. His mammoth Italianate-style house, completed about 1871, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The most famous post-war incident associated with Taylorsville is the capture of Thomas C. Dula in 1866. Dula, who served in the 42nd North Carolina Infantry, was charged with murdering Laura Foster. To escape arrest he made his way to Johnson County. A posse captured Dula in Taylorsville and took him back to North Carolina for trial. He was executed in 1868. His story was later immortalized in the folk song "Tom Dooley."

Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Law Enforcement • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1865.

Location. 36° 28.546′ N, 81° 48.369′ W. Marker is in Mountain City, Tennessee, in Johnson County. It is on Court Street north of West Main Street, on the left when traveling north. Marker is located beside the Johnson County Courthouse entrance, near the northeast corner of the building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 222 West Main Street, Mountain City TN 37683, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee.

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 original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

the State of Franklin,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 16, 2021

2. Fighting Bushwhackers Marker

(Johnson County Courthouse in background • marker on right)

At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Honor Roll (within shouting distance of this marker); Dedicated to the Memory of Men of Johnson County Who Gave Their Lives in Defense of Their Country (within shouting distance of this marker); 1950 "Lest We Forget" 1953 (within shouting distance of this marker); 1964 "Lest We Forget" 1975 (within shouting distance of this marker); You Are Not Forgotten (within shouting distance of this marker); The Historic 1925 Fiddler's Convention (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's (about 700 feet away); The Ballad of Finley Preston (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mountain City.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. The Legend of Tom Dooley

Also see . . .
1. War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Civil War. One battalion First U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery, 420 men, and the Fourth Tennessee Infantry, 544 men, under command of Major Gray, First U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery, moved to Taylorsville, Tenn. Major Gray encamped the battalion of his regiment and two companies of the Fourth Tennessee Infantry at the cross-roads two miles southeast of the town. At Taylorsville advantage was taken of the court-house and other buildings for defensive purposes. (Submitted on May 31, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Gen. John C. Breckinridge image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Library of Congress

3. Marker detail: Gen. John C. Breckinridge

2. The Legend of Tom Dooley. North Carolina Ghosts website entry:
On May 1, 1868, Tom Dula was executed for the murder of Laura Foster. It's this version of the tale, a complicated story that ends in the death of an innocent man, that became immortalized in a folk song that circulated in North Carolina for nearly 100 years before it was made nationally famous by the Kingston Trio in 1958. (Submitted on May 31, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Johnson County Courthouse image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Tennessee State Library & Archives

4. Marker detail: Johnson County Courthouse

Marker detail: Bushwhackers image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Library of Congress

5. Marker detail: Bushwhackers

Marker detail: Tom Dula image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Iredell County NC Public Library

6. Marker detail: Tom Dula

Credits. This page was last revised on April 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,274 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 31, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.