Henderson in Chester County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Chickasaw State Park

The Civil War in West Tennessee

Photographed By David Austin

1. Chickasaw State Park Marker

Inscription. Between the Battle of Shiloh in April 1, 1862 until the end of the war, Confederate and Federal forces contested the control of key transportation lines near here. Union General Jeremiah S. Sullivan strove to drive Confederate cavalry under Gens. Frank C. Armstrong and Nathan B. Forrest from the Region.

The Chester County seat of Henderson was a stop on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad and a Confederate recruiting center. Federal soldiers occupied Henderson and the depot after the Battle of Shiloh. In November 1862, local Confederate guerillas known as the Raiders burned the depot to the ground.

North of here is Jackson, one of the region's most important railroad junctions. Sullivan's troops occupied and fortified the city in 1862. Despite the best efforts of Armstrong and Forrest, Jackson remained a Federal command and transportation base for the rest of the war.

Union troops also moved quickly to occupy strategic crossroads at the plantation home of John H. Bills near Bolivar, served twice as a hospital for soldiers on both sides in 1862-1863. By November 1862 fighting and foraging had devasted the county. A Memphis newspaper reported, "The country, for miles around Bolivar, speaks the language of a ... revolution. Fields are laid bare, fences used up for fuel ... (and) houses standing here and there, surrounding

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by desolution, with not a board, a picket, or scarcely a post left standing." After the war, Federal officials established a branch of the Freedman's Bureau in Bolivar.

(captions)
Gen. Jeremiah S. Sullivan Courtesy National Archives & Records Administration
Gen. Frank C. Armstrong Tennessee State Library & Archives
Union camp - Courtesy Library of Congress
The Pillars, Bolivar - Courtesy Shades of Gray and Blue

Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list.

Location. 35° 23.494′ N, 88° 46.236′ W. Marker is in Henderson, Tennessee, in Chester County. Marker is on Cabin Lane, 0.2 miles south of Lake Levee Road, on the left when traveling east. Located in Chickasaw State Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 20 Cabin Ln, Henderson TN 38340, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The "Fields-Brewer" Cabin (approx. ¼ mile away); Armstrong's Raid (approx. 7.1 miles away); Pinson Mounds (approx. 7.4 miles away); Mark Perrin Lowrey (approx. 7.8 miles away);

Photographed By David Austin

2. Chickasaw State Park Marker

Henderson at War (approx. 7.9 miles away); Historic Front Street (approx. 7.9 miles away); Eddy Arnold (approx. 8 miles away); Tornado of 1952 (approx. 8.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Henderson.

Also see . . . Chickasaw State Park. (Submitted on June 21, 2022.)

Photographed By David Austin

3. Chickasaw State Park Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 21, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 21, 2022, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 176 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 21, 2022, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.