It is wrong to believe that all Southerners supported secession and slavery, in the years leading up to the Civil War. In fact, in 1826, there were 143 anti-slavery societies in the United States, of which 103 were in the South.
In many areas, in the lead up to the Civil War, the majority of people did not support secession. For example, West Virginia split from Virginia to stay in the Union. Eastern Tennessee and northern Alabama were also mostly against secession and had to be occupied by Confederate troops during the War. Sam Houston, the Governor of Texas, was against secession and refused to swear an Oath of Loyalty to the Confederacy. As a result, he was stripped of his governorship. Houston predicted the South would lose the war “after the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives.” It is worth noting, that Houston grew up in East Tennessee, in what would later become Meigs County.
My McClanahan ancestors had settled in East Tennessee starting in the late 1700s, in what would become Rhea and Meigs counties. My 3rd great-grandfather, Mason T. McClanahan and his children were living in Meigs county during the Civil War period.
Even though, only 15% of Meigs County’s population were slaveholders, the county voted for Tennessee’s Ordinance of Secession (481-267). Meigs and Rhea were 2 of only 6 counties in East Tennessee that voted for Secession. The vote of all 30 counties from East Tennessee was 34,023 against secession to 14,872 for secession.
The state of Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Union Army than any other Confederate state, totaling 31,092 white troops and 20,133 black troops. Meigs county provided troops for both sides of the war.
It is not hard to figure out where Mason T. McClanahan stood, as 6 of his 9 sons fought for the Union. Of the other 3 sons, one had already passed away and the other two were too young to fight. Two of his sons would die in the war, Miles and Hiram.
For the McClanahans, and all the soldiers from Confederate States that fought for the Union, this would not have been a territorial war, but rather a true “civil” war. A war between communities, neighbors, and even families. They chose to go off and fight while leaving their families to live behind enemy lines.
Why Fight for the Union?
It is impossible to know exactly why the McClanahans fought for the Union, but we do have interviews and writings of Unionist soldiers from Confederate States.
The most obvious reason, could have been simply patriotism. They loved their country and wanted to preserve it.
Another reason could have been a moral and/or religious objection to slavery. There is no record of the McClanahans owning slaves. They seemed to be small rural farmers, who did their work themselves. According to the famous abolitionist Rev. John Rankin, in his youth “a majority of the people of East Tennessee were Abolitionists.”
There is also some evidence that the McClanahans were Methodist. The Methodist Church was staunchly anti-slavery going back to its’ founder, John Wesley. In his 1774 pamphlet “Thoughts Upon Slavery” Wesley ended with:
“O thou God of love, thou who art loving to every man, and whose mercy is over all thy works; thou who art the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and who art rich in mercy unto all; thou who hast mingled of one blood all the nations upon earth; have compassion upon these outcasts of men, who are trodden down as dung upon the earth! Arise, and help these that have no helper, whose blood is spilt upon the ground like water! Are not these also the work of thine own hands, the purchase of thy Son's blood? Stir them up to cry unto thee in the land of their captivity; and let their complaint come up before thee; let it enter into thy ears! Make even those that lead them away captive to pity them, and turn their captivity as the rivers in the south. O burst thou all their chains in sunder; more especially the chains of their sins! Thou Saviour of all, make them free, that they may be free indeed!”
In 1845, there was a split within the church, over the issue of slavery, resulting in northern and southern branches. (The two branches would be reunited in 1939.) But surely, many southern Methodists retained their anti-slavery convictions, after the split.
On a purely economic level, prior to the Civil War, only 9 percent of the population of East Tennessee were slaves. Slavery was not as large of an economic factor in East Tennessee, as in some other areas. One reason for this is that the soil in East Tennessee did not support the growing of cash crops such as cotton, rice, tobacco, or sugar. These were all crops that were very highly labor intensive and the lack of these crops therefore produced less of a demand for slaves. As a result, the farmers of East Tennessee produced more diversified crops than in other parts of the south.
Below are the summaries of the service of each of the McClanahan brothers:
Jehue McClanahan (1830-1904)
Private, Company B, 3rd Regiment Tennessee Infantry
Enlisted Feb 12, 1862 in Flat Lick, KY for a 3 year enlistment.
Captured at Loudon, KY in Aug of 1862 and imprisoned at Camp Chase.
February to March 1864 Out sick in Knoxville, TN
July to December 1864 Absent Sick.
He was discharged on Feb 23, 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee and was paid $100.
Registered as Invalid in 1887.
1890 Veterans Schedule of US Census from Meigs County, TN shows Jahu McClanahan as a Pvt., Co. B, 3rd Regiment of Tennessee Infantry.
The 3rd Tennessee Infantry would have been part of the Army of Tennessee (Union) and would have supported participated in some of the largest battles and campaigns of the war, including: Atlanta Campaign, Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Siege of Atlanta, Battle of Jonesboro, Second Battle of Franklin, and the Battle of Nashville. For much of the time, they would have served under General William Tecumseh Sherman.
Learn more about the 3rd Tennessee Infantry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Tennessee_Infantry_Regiment_(Union)
Four of the brothers, Mason, Miles, James Franklin, and Hiram, were all members of the 5th Regiment of Tennessee Infantry. The 5th Tennessee Infantry would have participated in the Battle of Spring Hill, Second Battle of Franklin, Battle of Nashville, and the Carolinas Campaign.
Learn more about the 5th. Regiment of the Tennessee Infantry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Tennessee_Infantry_Regiment_(Union)
Mason “Mace” McClanahan (1844-1922)
Private, Comapny E, 5th Regiment Tennessee Infantry
Enlisted on March 2, 1862 in Decatur, Tennessee and mustered in on March 29th, 1862 at Barbourville, Kentucky.
His enlistment record states that he was 17 years old, 6’ tall with a dark complexion, black eyes, and black hair. He was from Meigs County, TN and was a farmer.
In a muster roll from 1864, he is listed as the company cook.
At the time of his discharge on Apr 4, 1865, he was in the hospital sick and was in need of transportation home.
Miles McClanahan (1848-1864)
Private, Company E, 5th Regiment East Tennessee Infantry
He enlisted on March 2nd, 1862 for 3 years in Decatur, TN at 16 years old.
He mustered in on March 29th in Barbourville, KY.
On April 17, he was left sick at the hospital in Barbourville.
He had rejoined his regiment by May of 1862.
In 1863, he was a prisoner of war and paroled sick to the Union Hospital at McMinnville, TN on Oct 3, 1863.
In February of 1864 he was furloughed and returned to Meigs County, TN where he died of disease on May 8, 1864.
Hiram D. McClanahan (1842-1864)
Private, Company E, 5th Regiment East Tennessee Infantry
He mustered in March 29th, 1862 and died in field hospital in Allatoona, GA on June 9th, 1864 of wounds received in action on June 2nd, 1864. He was just 22 years old.
The official record shows that he was wounded in action on June 2nd, 1864 at Lost Mountain, in Georgia. Lost Mountain served as the southwesterly anchor of a ten-mile Confederate defensive line against Union troops marching toward Atlanta, preceding the battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27th. Confederate earthworks remain on the property. This is precisely where Sherman’s army would have been on June 2nd, 1864 and it would make perfect sense for wounded soldiers from there to be sent to Allatoona, GA. While there was no battle on June 2nd, 1864, Hiram could have been wounded in a skirmish or as a scout, in what was the lead up to the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.
In the first days of June, 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman concentrated his armies along the Western and Atlantic Railroad north of Marietta to resupply after a month of heavy fighting. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston positioned his Confederate army defensively between Lost Mountain west of the railroad and Brush Mountain to the east. Sherman moved forward toward Johnston’s position on June 10. After a week of skirmishing at Gilgal Church and along Mud Creek, Johnston pulled back to a new line centered on Kennesaw Mountain, just outside Marietta by June 19. South of Kennesaw, Gen. John B. Hood struck Sherman at Kolb’s Farm on June 22 but was repulsed. Convinced Johnston had stretched his line too thin, Sherman decided on a frontal attack on the Confederate mountain bastion. After an artillery bombardment, Sherman sent his troops forward the morning of June 27. Determined Yankee assaults reached the Rebel trenches, but were unable to break the Southern line. Sherman called the battle as "the hardest fight of the campaign up to that date.” The tactical Confederate victory failed to deliver a strategic win, namely a halt to Sherman's advance towards Atlanta. In the battle of Kennesaw mountain, 100,000 Union soldiers fought 50,000 Confederate soldiers. The union lost 3,000 while the confederates lost 1,000.
 |
| Artillery at Kennesaw Mountain |
Hiram’s widow, Elizabeth, applied for pension Aug 1865, and was approved to receive $8 per month and $2 per month for each of their 4 children.
Private, Company E, 5th Regiment East Tennessee Infantry
He enlisted on Mar 3, 1863.
He was discharged on July 4, 1865.
He registered for invalid pension on Jan 9, 1888
James’s widow, Elizabeth, registered for his pension on Nov 29, 1901.
John McClanahan (1832-1889)
Private, Company G, 3rd Regiment Tennessee Cavalry
He enlisted on July 12, 1863 in Decatur, TN for 3 years.
He mustered in August 21, 1863 in Nashville, TN.
In most of his muster files, he was listed as a cook.
Between, February and March of 1864 he was listed as sick in Knoxville, TN
In September of 1864, the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry, 9th Indiana Cavalry, and the 111th United States Colored Troops occupied the Sulphur Creek Trestle, north of Athens, AL. Fortifications there were protecting the Nashville and Decatur Railroad, which were being used to supply Maj. General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.
On 25 Sep 1864, Confederate cavalry under Maj. General Nathan Bedford Forrest surrounded Sulphur Creek Trestle, and after heavy bombardment the Union troops surrendered.
He was then imprisoned at Cahaba, AL.
On 21 Mar 1865, at the end of the war, he was released from prison as part of a prisoner exchange and travelled to Vicksburg, Mississippi. In April, he and 1,965 other federal soldiers, 35 officers, and about 300 civilians boarded the Sultana steamboat. The vessel was only constructed to hold 376 passengers.
On the evening of April 26th, the Sultana arrived in Memphis, TN and unloaded much of its cargo and some of the passengers. It then loaded the cargo with coal and headed out. Around 2am, one of her boilers exploded and caught the ship on fire. 1,169 people died in what remains the worst maritime disaster in US history.
 |
| Picture of the Sultana taken on April 26th, 1865 |
No one was ever held accountable for the disaster and it as even overshadowed in the news by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which had happened the day before.
To learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultana_(steamboat)
On 27 Oct 1879, he registered as an invalid and started receiving a pension. John died on Aug 3rd, 1889 and was buried in Georgetown, TN.His wife Adeline registered for his pension on Oct 5, 1889.
No comments:
Post a Comment