__NOTOC__ Fielding Jackson Hurst (born

Claiborne County, Tennessee Claiborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,043. Its county seat is Tazewell. History Claiborne County was established on October 29, 1801, created from Grainger and Hawkin ...

1810, died

McNairy County, Tennessee McNairy County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 26,075. Its county seat is Selmer, Tennessee, Selmer. McNairy County is located along ...

1882) was a surveyor and planter who served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, commanding the

6th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry The 6th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was also known as the 1st West Tennessee Cavalry; and was sometimes referred to as Hurst's Worst by their opponen ...

during 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 th ...

. He later served as a Unionist member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

and as a judge. As a

Southern Unionist In the United States, Southern Unionists were white Southerners living in the Confederate States of America opposed to secession. Many fought for the Union during the Civil War. These people are also referred to as Southern Loyalists, Union Lo ...

and slaveholder, he remains a controversial figure. Hurst was born in 1810. Around 1834, he and his wife Melocky moved to McNairy County. He worked as a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and owned a plantation with several families of slaves. In 1861, Tennessee voted to

secede Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

from the United States and join the fledgling

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

as its last state. Hurst remained steadfastly Unionist, and was imprisoned in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

along with many other prominent Unionist Tennesseans after the vote. After Tennessee was retaken by Union troops in 1862, Hurst was freed. Hurst formed a unit of mounted scouts. They served as self-funded

irregulars Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military orga ...

until Tennessee military governor

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

commissioned Hurst as commander of the newly formed First West Tennessee Cavalry, later known as the 6th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry. Hurst and his unit gained a reputation for harsh tactics, angering Confederates and even leading to his brief reimprisonment by Union officials. However, recent scholarship has proven that Lt. Colonel William K.M. Breckenridge, the regiment's second-in-command, was largely responsible for the unit's formation and effective leadership through October 1863, when Breckenridge died on disease in Grand Junction, Tennessee. Unbeknownst until 2012, Breckenridge had maintained a diary that documented the regiment's history from formation through Breckenridge's death. That diary revealed new details pertaining to Hurst's unsavory wartime activities and his lack of actual leadership in the regiment's day to day activities. The diary became the basis of ''In The Shadow of the Devil: William K.M. Breckenridge in Fielding Hurst's First West Tennessee U.S. Cavalry.'' Breckenridge's diary further provided evidence that the ill reputation gained by the regiment was largely due to the actions of Hurst and his fellow officer, William Jay Smith, as well as a handful of their direct subordinates. Otherwise, the regiment appears now to have been composed of otherwise dedicated Unionists. The First West Tennessee U.S. Cavalry/6th Tennessee U.S. Cavalry clashed several times with the forces of Confederate general

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

. Hurst resigned his commission in December 1864, citing poor health, but largely because of his humiliating defeat at the battle of Bolivar, Tennessee, which resulted largely from his acts of insubordination. On March 4, 1865, he was elected as a UnionistBlack, Diane. ''Tennessee Senators Alphabetical Listing – Individual Names'' Nashville: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 2012; p. 38
/ref> to represent District 21 of the

, which at that time consisted of Hardeman, Hardin and McNairy counties. His first vote was to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. He resigned after the Senate session ended on June 12, 1865, to accept a position as circuit judge. The book, ''In the Shadow of the Devil,'' further details Hurst's colorful postwar career. Hurst was a local leader of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

. He died in poverty in 1882 and remained a hated figure among Confederate sympathizers.

References

External links

Archived website devoted to Fielding Hurst and the 6th Tennessee Cavalry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Fielding 1810 births 1882 deaths American slave owners Tennessee state senators People from Claiborne County, Tennessee People from McNairy County, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Union Army colonels 19th-century American politicians Tennessee Unionists

See also

References

Further reading

External links