It certainly wasn't Great and calling it a Battle is
really a stretch, but here is the story. In 1861 Tennessee was the
last state which seceded from the Union. Sullivan County definately
favored the Confederacy while the neighboring counties of Carter
and Johnson leaned toward the Union.
During most wars railroads are important and the Civil War was
no exception. Zollicoffer, as Bluff City was known during the War,
had a strategically important railroad bridge. The East Tennessee
Railroad ran straight through the little town of Zollicoffer and
there it crossed the Holston River. The War came to Zollicoffer
when William B. Carter, an East Tennessee Unionist called on all
Union supporters to ban together and defeat the Confederacy. Plans
were made to burn both the Carter's Depot and the Zollicoffer
bridges. Since the bridge at Carter's depot was heavily guarded and
a spy informed the group that the Zollicoffer Bridge had only two
local guards all attention turned to Zollicoffer.
Sometime, shortly after November 7, 1861, Colonel Daniel Stover
from Elizabethton recruited 30 men and swore them into the military
and began the journey to Zollicoffer. The men halted about a
half-mile outside of the Town in woods near a hilltop farmhouse.
Three of the men stayed behind to guard the horses while the
remainder proceeded to the bridge. Their information was correct
for there were only two guards, Stanford Jenkins and William Jones
and they were under the bridge. When the guards heard the Yanks,
Jones fled the scene and Jenkins walked from under the bridge and
surrendered. That ended the BATTLE.
Gilson O. Collins, who once employed Jenkins the guard,
M.L.Cameron and J.M.Emmert took turpentine and pine knots and soon
the bridge was ablaze. After the fire was well on its way, the men
returned to their horses and set out for Elizabethton. The only
problem that remained was what to do with Jenkins. Jenkins not only
recognized his old boss Collins, but he knew most of the bridge
burners. Obviously, killing him was the simplest solution. After
Jenkins begged for his life and swore that he would not tell who
burned the bridge he was turned loose.
When Jenkins returned, he told the Confederate Authorities all
about who was involved with the bridge burning. So much for his
life saving oath. The Confederates tried to capture all of the
bridge burners but most escaped and joined regular Union units,
especially the 13th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry U.S.
Two other times during the War the bridge was burned. After the
War, it was never used again. The pillars you see in and on the
banks of the river are all that remain of the Zollicoffer Bridge.
This ends the story of the Great Battle Of Zollicoffer. It was not
a Gettysburg, but important to the War none-the-less.
General Felix Zollicoffer
A small post script to the story. The town name was after a
Confederate General, Felix Zollicoffer of Tennessee. The General
didn't fair any better than the bridge. At Mill Springs, Kentucky,
on Jan. 19, 1862, he mistakenly rode up to the Union lines and was
shot dead before he could make a hasty retreat.
The Death of Gen. Felix Zollicoffer
Use stealth since this can be a very busy area. Please bring
your own pen.
NOTE: We moved and replaced the cache on Jan. 22, 2010.
It is now a waterproof match container..
