Dueling Houses in Elizabethton, Tennessee

   We often talk about the Civil War being a conflict of brother versus brother or family versus family. Some stories are more famous, like that of the Gibbon brothers (read here) or the Flusser family (here). But how about the conflict being symbolized by a house versus a house?

   Many areas during the war were split, and Tennessee was no different. Historians estimate that 25,000 men from east Tennessee served in the Confederate army, while 30,000 joined the Union army. However, no one has really done the deep-dive to prove or disprove these numbers. 

The Carter home on the left and the Folsom home on the right. 

   Elizabethton, in Carter County, was just as divided as any other place in East Tennessee. The Asheville News reported in early January 1862 one story of a divided population. According to the correspondent, a “unionist said that no Southern flag should be raised in town, or taken through it. Not long afterwards, however, Mrs. Mary C. Carpenter procured a flag bearing the emblems of our native South-got into her buggy and drove through town, and I have been told that she drove all round town, with the Southern flag ‘waving gloriously.’ The unionists failed to execute their threats in regard to shooting the flag to pieces.”[1]

Brig. Gen. Samuiel P. Carter (wiki)

   Samuel P. Carter was born in Elizabethton in 1819, the eldest son of Alfred M. Carter. Samuel attended Duffield Academy in Elizabethton, Washington College in Limestone, and Princeton University before enlisting in the United States Navy in 1840. He transferred to the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1846, then saw service on board the USS Ohio at the battle of Veracruz during the Mexican-American War. Various assignments follow, including stints at the United States Naval Observatory; assistant professor of mathematics at the Naval Academy; tours in the Pacific and along the coast of Brazil; and in China. At the request of Senator Andrew Johnson, Carter was detached from the Navy and worked on recruiting East Tennessee Unionists. He was commissioned a brigadier general at the request of Abraham Lincoln, becoming the only man to hold both naval and army commissions. Carter went on to lead his brigade at the battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, helped capture Cumberland Gap in October 1862, led a raid against the East Tennessee railroad in December 1862, fought at Blue Springs while commanding cavalry, and fought at Wyse Fork in 1865. Carter ended the war as a brevet major general of volunteers and as a commander in the United States navy. After the war, Carter returned to the navy, finally retiring in August 1881. Rear Admiral Samuel P. Carter passed in 1891 and is buried Oak Hil Cemetery, Washington, D.C. The home where he grew up still stands in Elizabethton.[2]

Maj. Henderson M. Folsom (ancestry)

   On October 4, 1831, Henderson M. Folsom was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee. In the 1860 census, Folsom is listed as a clerk. When the war came, Folsom joined the 2^nd Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby’s) where he was mustered in as a private. In October 1862, he appears in the records as a clerk to Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Jackson. A few months later, Folsom is reported as being appointed major and Assistant Quartermaster in February 1863 for Jackson’s brigade and in December 1863, chief quartermaster of Jackson’s brigade. During Early’s Valley Campaign, Folson is listed serving on the staff of Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon’s division, and then as Commissary of Subsistence in Brig. Gen. Gabriel S. Wharton’s brigade. On an unknown date, but at least by January 1865, Major Folsom was appointed Commissary of Subsistence to Thomas’s Legion.[3] In his application for presidential pardon, written on July 14, 1865, from Elizabethton, Folsom informed the President that “he was an original Unionist and as such, cast the whole weight of whatever influence he possessed, and [voted] against every against every proposition, looking for a chance [to continue the] relations which existed between Tennessee and the Federal government.” However, when the vote was cast, Folsom believed it was his duty to side with the “overwhelming voice of the people and thereby became identified with the Rebellion.” He served three years as a quartermaster. Folsom had to apply directly to the president due to the charge of treason against him in Federal court in Knoxville. For character witnesses, Folsom recommended Colonel Thomas Miller, 13^th Tennessee Cavalry (US). Five officers, including Colonel Miller, from the 13^th Tennessee Cavalry, signed a supporting letter, along with seven citizens.[4]

   Folsom was pardoned in November 1865 and commenced the study of law.[5] He was listed as being an attorney in Elizabethton as early as August 1868.[6] At the time of his death in 1908, Folsom was considered one of the leading lawyers in the state.[7] He is buried in the Highland Cemetery, Carter County, Tennessee.

   Folsom built his home across the street from the house that Samuel P. Carter was born in. As of 2026, both houses survive. The Carter home has been used as a restaurant for a number of years. The Folsom home was used as county offices but was damaged during the hurricane in 2024. There are a few local government officials who want to demolish the home. The Folsom house would make a great county museum and archives. Hopefully, the Folsom house can be stabilized and restored before it is truly too far gone. It is not in bad shape, even with storm damage. Hopefully, the powers that be will not drag their feet in preservation, waiting until the Folsom house is in a bad state of repair.

 

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[1] Asheville News, January 9, 1862.

[2] Eicher and Eicher, Civil War High Commands, 166-67; Warner, Generals in Blue, 74.

[3] CMSR, M331, RG109, NARA; Brown and Coffey, North Carolina Troops, 16:247.

[4] H.M. Folson to Andrew Johnon, M1009, Roll 49, RG 94, NARA.

[5] The Union Flag, November 10, 1865.

[6] Bristol News, August 14, 1868.

[7] Chattanooga Daily Times, August 17, 1908.

McClung’s Tennessee Battery

 Many times, people ask where I get ideas. And to be honest, many of my ideas are connected. That first book on the 37^th North Carolina led to my books on the battle of Hanover Court House, Watauga County and the Civil War, Charlotte and the Civil War, the book on the Branch-Lane brigade, Feeding the Army of Northern Virginia, and in an indirect way, my history of the 58^th North Carolina Troops.

 But at other times, I come across little tidbits that make me just wonder what people or regiments or events get left out of the historical narrative. A few days ago, I acquired the two-volume Broadfoot reprint of Lindsley’s Military Annals of Tennessee. These two volumes provide brief glimpses of Confederate regiments from Tennessee. When finally tracking down McClung’s Battery, listed as Company A, First Tennessee Light Artillery, we simply get that Company A was under Capt. H. L. W. McClung. (870) A few pages over is a list of officers (877). But unlike other infantry and cavalry regiments and artillery batteries, there is no history of McClung’s command.

Crute, in his Units of the Confederate States Army, goes into a little more detail. The battery was organized in the fall of 1861 in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was involved in the battles of Fishing Creek and Shiloh, and then in the summer of 1862, was stationed at Vicksburg, then Port Hudson, then East Tennessee. In April 1864, it was sent with no guns to Saltville, Virginia (I’m not sure why they didn’t have guns). In August 1864, it was re-armed, only to lose its guns at the battle of Morristown, Tennessee, on October 28, 1864. The seventeen men who were left were transferred to Captain Lynch’s Battery and disbanded in April 1865. (317)

McClung's Battery, Shiloh (NPS)

The rangers at Shiloh NMP wrote a facebook post about the battery, and on another site on Barr’s Battery, the editors wrote a piece on McClung’s Battery. This is the most extensive piece written so far, about four pages. The battery was known as the Caswell Artillery. In December 1861, they were reported to have two-six pounders and two 12-pounder cannons. They were not really involved in the battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, in January 1862, but were forced to abandon their cannon on the retreat. By the time of the battle of Shiloh, they were re-armed, and two pieces were in action on April 7^th. In May, the battery was attached to Statham’s brigade, Breckinridge’s corps. The battery was soon in Vicksburg, and in August, was ordered to Port Hudson. By this time, they apparently had rifled cannons. A month later, the command was in Holly Springs, Mississippi. 

By December 1862, the battery was in East Tennessee – David’s brigade, Heth’s Division. For the rest of the war, they bounced around between various posts – Loudon, Carter’s Depot, Zollicoffer. They were engaged at the battle of Carter’s Depot in September 1863, where they lost the carriages to their guns. In November, they were reported as having no cannons. They were sent to Saltville, Virginia, shortly thereafter. It does not appear that they were re-armed until August 1864, when it was reported they had four pieces of artillery. In an engagement at Morristown, Tennessee, in October 1864, most of the battery was captured. The seventeen who escaped were assigned to Lynch’s Battery. The battery was disbanded in April 1865 at Christiansburg, Virginia.

Several months ago, I was exploring Captain Hugh McClung’s service record. He was court martialed in 1863. Many courts martial records were lost at the end of the war, but parts of McClung’s survive. There were six charges against him – violating the 14^th, 36^th, 39^th (twice), 45^th articles of war, and  “Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.” Many of these charges concerned falsifying muster rolls, “misapplying an artillery horse,” drunkenness while on duty, and permitting his men to break into a train car. McClung pled not guilty. The court found him not guilt on most of the charges, but he was guilty of trading artillery horses at Corinth in May 1862;  “Habitually failing to restrain his men from trespassing and depredating private property”; and, “Habitually drawing and appropriating to his own use, rations belonging to his men…” The court found him guilty. His punishment was to “forfeit all pay due him from the Confederate States, and that he be dismissed from the service.” However, when Major General Simon B. Buckner reviewed the case, he disagreed, finding that the charges were “utterly unfounded… the offences of the accused were rather those of omission than commission.” Buckner recommended mercy. The general added that during the attack on Knoxville, McClung, there under arrest, “offered to serve in any capacity.” Buckner believed that “Such conduct was worthy of a good soldier, and merits leniency.” Buckner remitted the findings of the court and ordered McClung to report to his battery. McClung would go on to be captured at the battle of Morristown and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at Johnson’s Island.

Can I say that this will be my next regimental history? No, I can’t. But I find the story intriguing and the credible information in the greater realms of Confederate histography lacking. Now you know how projects come to me.