Near Cosby in Cocke County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

The Battle of Shultz Mill on Cosby Creek

Photographed by Tom Bosse, November 2, 2024

1. The Battle of Shultz Mill on Cosby Creek Marker

Marker is on the right.

Inscription.
Historical Note
The Battle of Shultz’ Mill took place 900 yards south of this marker toward Gatlinburg. The battle took place in the field across from Shultz’ Mill on the right hand or western bank of Cosby Creek on the afternoon of January 14, 1864.

Robert Brank Vance was born in Buncombe County, N.C., April 24, 1828. During the War Between the States, he was twice elected colonel of the Twenty-ninth North Carolina Regiment. Vance was appointed brigadier general in1863. General Vance was captured at the Battle of Shultz’s Mill and spent the remainder of the war in Union prisons in Nashville, Louisville, Ohio and finally at Fort Delaware. After the war, Vance was elected as a Democrat to five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1873–March 3, 1885). Vance returned to North Carolina and settled in Alexander. He was a member of the State house of representatives 1894-1896. Vance died on November 28, 1899. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Asheville, N.C.

Before the Battle of Shultz Mill
Confederate General R.B. Vance, brother of the governor of North Carolina, Zebulon Vance, was ordered to advance on the Tennessee

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borders and mountain passes. One Vance mountain trek was during January, 1864. He managed to take his wagons up the mountain successfully. However, when the artillery got to the top, they had a very difficult time getting down the other side. Vance’s cannon were dismounted and dragged over the rocky trail to the bottom. The wheels and axles of the carriages were removed and divided among the men. They were carried to the foot of the mountain where they were reassembled. Vance then moved his men to Sevierville, TN.

Union Army Report
On the 13th of January, 1864, while in camp opposite Dandridge, Union Army Colonel William J. Palmer learned that Brigadier General R.B. Vance, with a force of three hundred cavalry and dismounted Indians, and two pieces of artillery, had advanced from North Carolina. They entered Sevierville, twelve miles in Colonel Palmer’s rear, capturing twenty wagons loaded with wheat belonging to the army at Knoxville, and twenty prisoners. Though a brigade of rebel cavalry was in his front, threatening an attack, Colonel Palmer determined to go in pursuit of Vance.

Accordingly, heading a party of one hundred

Photographed by Tom Bosse, November 2, 2024

2. The Battle of Shultz Mill on Cosby Creek Marker

and twenty-five men, and leaving his pickets out to deceive the enemy in his front, Palmer started on his daring mission. On the way, he learned that Vance’s forces had been divided, one party, including the Indians, going towards North Carolina, the other, headed by Vance himself, with the captured train, taking a back mountain road towards Newport. After a march of thirty miles, Palmer came up with the latter party at a point about eight miles from Newport, and by a bold charge with the sabre, captured the general, two of his staff officers, a lieutenant, fifty men, one hundred and fifty horses, the general’s ambulance filled with captured medical stores, re-captured the entire wagon train and prisoners, and brought all back safely to Sevierville.
Source: Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65, Harrisburg, 1868-1871.

(caption) January 14, 1864 – Skirmish at Shultz’ Mill on Cosby Creek
Report of Col. John B. Palmer, Fifty-eighth North Carolina infantry, commanding Western District of North Carolina [Confederate States of America] Headquarters. Western District of North Carolina, Asheville, January 19,

Photographed by Tom Bosse, November 2, 2024

3. The Battle of Shultz Mill on Cosby Creek Marker

1864.

Erected 2016 by Maj. James T. Huff Camp 2243, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is January 14, 1864.

Location. 35° 49.094′ N, 83° 14.776′ W. Marker is near Cosby, Tennessee, in Cocke County. It is on Cosby Highway (Tennessee Route 32/73) 0.2 miles north of Jones Cove Road ( Route 339), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3892 Cosby Hwy, Cosby TN 37722, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee

and in the Great Smoky Mountains.

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. At least 8 other markers

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are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A Hidden Family Quilt During the War Between the States (here, next to this marker); Capture of General Robert Vance (here, next to this marker); Ben W. Hooper (approx. 1.8 miles away); Whitson’s Fort (approx. 3.9 miles away); Tennessee Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.9 miles away); Civil War in Tennessee (approx. 4.9 miles away); Francis Asbury Trail (approx. 8.8 miles away in North Carolina); Governor Ben Walter Hooper (approx. 9.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cosby.

Also see . . . Skirmish at Schultz's Mill on Cosby Creek. (Submitted on November 26, 2024, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2024, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 668 times since then and 94 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 26, 2024, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.