Sevierville

Sevierville. Civil War Skirmish. , When the Civil War erupted, William Holland Thomas rallied companies of men to fight with him in the Confederate Army. Thomas was adopted into the Cherokee tribe by Native American Chief Yonaguska. Thomas was later appointed chief of the Quallatown Cherokee when the great chief died. Thomas had no trouble soliciting both white and Cherokee troops to join him in the Confederate Army. He was appointed Colonel of the 69th North Carolina Regiment, known as Thomas' Legion., In 1863 Thomas' Legion crossed the Smoky Mountains and occupied Gatlinburg. During their stay in Gatlinburg a few of Thomas' men, out on a scouting mission, were captured by the Federal Home Guard in Sevierville and thrown into a makeshift jail in the basement of the Sevier County Courthouse., Colonel Thomas was furious. On December 8th he rushed 200 men to Sevierville. They surprised the guard, broke open the jail and released the prisoners. They captured 60 Federal Home Guards and six regular Federal Army soldiers. After taking their arms and ammunition, he released the guardsmen., During the raid, Jonathan Mize. 59, and his 17-year-old son James were guarding the Sevier County Courthouse along with several other Federal Home Guards. Six men were shot, of which only two survived. Jonathan Mize was critically wounded and died on December 14th. His son, James, was wounded but survived. Loyalists claimed that Thomas' men robbed several homes before leaving., Searching for Union loyalists, these Confederate soldiers captured Isaac Dockery, an African American freeman, who was working as a clerk for Henry M. Thomas, an elderly merchant whose grandson, McKendree Porter Thomas, was a colonel the Union army. The Confederate soldiers tortured Dockery by tying a rope around his neck and threatening to hang him unless he gave up the whereabouts of M. P. Thomas. When this failed to produce any information from Dockery, the soldiers took further action: they dragged him through the streets of Sevierville. The merciless torture continued for hours. He was dragged over the rough ground, rocks and tree roots, which ripped the flesh from his body. Even though he was badly battered, Dockery never revealed the hiding place of Colonel M.P. Thomas., Captions , [Left] Col. William H. Thomas CSA , [Right, top] Jonathan Mize grave marker at Middle Creek Cemetery , [Right, bottom] Sevier County Courthouse circa 1857