Major Paramore's Federal Bombardment of Guntersville

Major Paramore's Federal Bombardment of Guntersville. . The hill to the immediate left was the site of the 1862 shelling of Guntersville during the War Between the States. , On July 28, 1862, a Federal force under the command of Major J.W. Paramore placed two Parrott guns on the hill and shelled Guntersville from 7 a.mm to 6 p.m. Captain Cyrus Loomis' First Michigan Battery carried out the shelling, which sent more than one hundred of Guntersville's women and children to the ravine south of town for protection. , The rifled Parrott guns fired six-pound projectiles greater distances than older smooth bore cannons and enabled the Yankees to reach across the Tennessee Rive. Trenches had to be dug to steady the Parrott guns and they can still be seen on top of the hill. , Most of the shelling concentrated on cotton warehouses and boat construction facilities south of Henry Island, now inundated. The Federals attempted to send an attract force across the river but failed. , As a result of the bombardment a number of homes near the riverbank, were burned and many other homes suffered damage from the shells, including the Nickles and Gilbreath residences. Fortunately, both these houses still stand today. , The Chattanooga Daily Rebel reported that the shelling resulted in only two deaths. One was the wife of military General Samuel King Rayburn.