Razing the Courthouse

Razing the Courthouse. Phelp's Raid. To control shipping and military traffic along the Tennessee River, Union forces moved into this region in 1862. Naval gunboats sought to cut vital Confederate supply links to West Tennessee and the Deep South. Confederate cavalry detachments challenged the Union presence by harassing, plundering, capturing soldiers, and gathering recruits and conscripts. In the spring of 1863, a Confederate force was posted in and around the Perry County Courthouse., On May 12, 1863, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Seth L. Phelps landed in Decaturville to support Lt. Col. William K. M. Breckenridge, who commanded the 6th Tennessee Cavalry, a regiment composed of Tennessee Unionists. Phelps used his gunboats to ferry 55 of Breckenridge’s men and horses across the river. They attacked the Confederate force at the courthouse around daybreak. Phelps reported that the Federals “completely surprised the place. The rebel pickets fired upon (Breckenridge’s force) and dispersed.” Breckenridge’s men killed three Confederates, captured Col. Frierson and 46 of his men, and then burned the courthouse as well as the Confederate arms and supplies. They returned to the gunboats with captured Confederate officers, soldiers, and conscripts who were sent to the Union prison in Cairo, Illinois., Phelps later praised Breckinridge’s Tennesseans as “perfectly familiar with the people and country, and are admirably calculated for this kind of service, while the colonel himself is just the man.”, (sidebar) , The wooden Perry County Courthouse constructed in 1848 stood where the present courthouse stands. Tennessee county courts were the hub of local activities related to business and government. Linden, established in 1847, was no exception, everything in town centered on the courthouse square. With the destruction of the courthouse, some of the official records were lost. The image you see here is of the courthouse that was constructed in 1868., (captions) , (left) Lt. Cmdr. Seth L. Phelps, ca. 1885 Courtesy Wikipedia , (lower left) Gunboats commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Seth L. Phelps: USS Conestoga, Lexington, and Tyler Courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center , (upper right) Perry County Courthouse completed 1868 - Courtesy Perry Co. Historical Society