The Battle of Blountville, sometimes called Battle of Blountsville, was a battle of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, occurring on September 22, 1863, in

Sullivan County, Tennessee Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee on its northeast border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,163. Its county seat is Blountville. Sullivan County is part of the Kingsport– Johnson City&ndas ...

Battle

The battle occurred during a

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

expedition into East Tennessee led by Major General

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

, commander of the

Department of the Ohio The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River. 1st Department 1861–1862 Gener ...

, with the objective of clearing the roads and gaps to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and securing the

saltworks A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also othe ...

in southwestern Virginia. On September 22,

Col. John W. Foster, with his cavalry and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, engaged Col. James E. Carter and his troops at Blountville. Foster attacked at noon and in the four-hour battle shelled the town and initiated a flanking movement, compelling the Confederates to withdraw. Blountsville was the initial step in the Union’s attempt to force Confederate Maj. Gen. Sam Jones and his command to retire from East Tennessee. The Sullivan County courthouse in Blountville was gutted by a fire that broke out during the shelling. It was rebuilt in 1866.J.H. Osborne
Markers show major sites of Battle of Blountville
''

Kingsport Times News The ''Kingsport Times News'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, Sullivan and Hawkins County, Tennessee, Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As ...

'', September 18, 2008History of Sullivan County
Department of Archives and Tourism, Sullivan County, Tennessee. Website accessed September 22, 2010.

External links

Battle of Blountville Reenactment and Military Park

References

*
CWSAC Report Update
{{authority control Blountville Blountville Blountville Blountville Blountville Sullivan County, Tennessee Blountville 1863 in Tennessee Blountville, Tennessee September 1863 events