Divided Loyalties

Divided Loyalties. Wayne County during the Civil War. The residents of Wayne County supported the Union almost unanimously until the fighting began. After the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861, the majority in the northern portion of the county shifted their allegiance to the Confederacy, while most residents of the southern portion remained loyal to the Union. Both sides raised companies during the war. The first companies supporting the Confederacy became part of Col. Jacob B. Biffle’s 9th Tennessee Cavalry. Local Unionists joined Co. A, 10th Tennessee Cavalry at first and later formed the 2nd Tennessee Mounted Infantry under Col. John Murphy. , Each side attempted to protect its supporters from the other. A number of skirmishes occurred near the town of Clifton, a well-known crossing point of the Tennessee River. Confederate conscription officers often recruited in the area. A Federal gunboat commander patrolling the river discovered a conscription gathering at Carrollville on the night of March 23, 1863, and ordered his men to shell the town. , Although no major military action took place here during the war, Wayne County experienced two large-scale troop movements. In April 1862, Union Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio marched across the country on its way to reinforce Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s army at Shiloh. In November 1864, Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood led the Army of Tennessee northward through the country. His campaign ended at Franklin and Nashville. , “I found about 100 rebels… rendezvoused there, conscripting, stealing horses, and stopping movers from leaving the country. I shelled them out of the place, but don’t know what damage was done them. I found a number of carbines and 6 or 8 horses, with saddles and bridles, which I took. I also captured two of the band (Blackburns –father and son).” – Union Lt. Jason Gowdy, commanding USS Robb