Civil War 4th Tennessee Infantry (US)

The 4th Tennessee (U.S.) Infantry was organized during the spring of 1863. Although designated as a regiment, the unit never contained more than eight companies, the eighth being added in March, 1865. The first seven companies were mustered into Federal service in Nashville on June 15, 1863.

Companies:

• Company"A" from Greene and Cocke Counties
• Company "B" from Greene and Cocke Counties
• Company "C" from Greene County
• Company "D" from Greene, Cocke, and Grainger Counties
• Company "E" from Greene and Cocke Counties
• Company "F" from Greene and Johnson Counties
• Company "G" from Cocke County
• Company "H" from Johnson County (March 7, 1865)

Like almost all units, the 4th Tennesse (U.S.) Infantry was
frequently known by it's commanding officers name.

On being mustered into service, the regiment was attached to the Department of the Ohio, joined the Department of the Cumberland, and returned to the Department of the Ohio.

May 1863-January 1864

Attached, District of North Central Kentucky, First Division, XXIII Corps, Department of the Ohio. The Department of the Ohio was commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside from March 25, 1863. The department was absorbed into the Department of the Mississippi under the overall command of General U.S. Grant on October 16, 1863.

January 1864

Second Brigade, District of Nashville, Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland.

Also absorbed into the Military Division of the Mississippi under Grant, the Department of the Cumberland, was commanded by Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas from October 19, 1863.

January 1864-April 1864

Second Brigade, Third Division, XII Corps, Department of the Cumberland.

On March 12, 1864, General W.T. Sherman assumed overall command of the Military Division of the Mississippi.

April 1864-October 1864

Third Brigade, Fourth Division, XXIII Corps, Department of the Cumberland.

See above.

October 1864-February 1865

Second Brigade, Fourth Division, XXIII Corps, Department of the Ohio.

The Department of the Ohio at this time was commanded by Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield from February 9, 1864, and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman from November 17, 1864.

On January 17, 1865, the Department was annexed to the Department of the Cumberland, under General Thomas.

February 1865-March 1865

Second Brigade, Fourth Division, District of East Tennessee, Department of the Ohio.

See Above.

March 1865-August 1865

First Brigade, Fourth Division, District of East Tennessee, Department of the Ohio.

See Above.

Mustered out of Federal service on August 2, 1865, at Kingston Tennessee.

Engagements:

March 28-June 18, 1863

Cumberland Gap Campaign, Tennessee (detachment)

April 15, 1863

Skirmish, Big Creek Gap, Tennessee (detachment)

June 11-12, 1863

Skirmish, Big Creek Gap, Tennessee (detachment)

June 18-September 17, 1863

Occupation, Cumberland Gap, Tennessee (detachment)

September 6-10, 1863

Expedition to Pine Mountain, Kentucky (detachment)

September 7, 1863

Skirmish, Big Creek Gap, Tennessee (detachment)

September 17 -October 2, 1863

Evacuation of Cumberland Gap Tennessee and retreat to Greenupsburg, Kentucky.

October 3, 1863

Action, McMinnville, Tennessee (large detachment captured)

On September 30th, General Braxton Bragg (CSA) sent Maj. General Joseph Wheeler with a large cavalry force against Rosecran's lines of communication and supply (referred to as the "cracker-box line") with Murfreesborough and Nashville .

On October 2, after capturing a small wagon train, Wheeler split his 5000 man force, and while he and Brigadier General William Martin's troops attacked and captured a massive Federal wagon train at Anderson's Crossroads, Brigadier General John Wharton attacked McMinnville.

It's garrison of 587 men and 200 horses was tremendously outnumbered, and Capt. Michael T. Patterson accepted the terms of a second surrender request, and the men of the 4th Tennessee (U.S.) Volunteer Infantry were paroled to their homes later that night. The paroles were later ruled invalid, and the men returned to the unit.(See McMinnville).

(The Photographic History of the Civil War, published in 1911 lists losses to the 4th Tennessee as 7 killed, 31 wounded, and 350 missing. The Condederates lost 23 killed and wounded.)

February 20, 1864

Action, Holston River

February 21-22, 1864

Skirmishes near Greenville, Tennessee.

July 7-9, 1864

Scout from Kingston to England Cove, Tennessee.

England Cove is not on the official maps, but is identified in the Official Records as being in the "valley north of Sparta through which the Calfkiller River flows".

July 12-18, 1864

Scouts from Kingston to England Cove, Tennessee.

See Above.

The Regiment spent most of it's career on garrison service, seeing duty in Loudon, Kingston, Knoxville, and Cumberland Gap, and was mustered out of service at Kingston, on August 2, 1865.

Unofficial: At least 25 enlisted men were killed and 65 enlisted men died from disease or other non-battlefield causes.

Note:

Many of the soldiers of the 4th Tennessee Volunteers were serving as unpaid soldiers in the unit before it was an officially recognized unit, doing duty in the Cumberland Gap, in Kentucky, and in East Tennessee.

Union Army regulations required a unit to be at a certain strength (number of troops) to be recognized, and to be paid. For many months, the 4th Tennessee did not meet those requirements.

It was finally officially mustered at Nashville, even though a great many of the men had already seen months of duty in East Tennessee and Kentucky.

Original records for the 4th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry list the unit as the 4th East Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, as it was understood that East Tennessee would succeed from the State of Tennessee, as West Virginia had, to be a Union State, but without a Federal Army's presence in the area, the separation was impossible.

Trivia:

After the war, Colonel James Grayson was appointed a United States Marshal, and led a group of men in the capture of one Thomas Dula, a suspected murderer.

The folk song "Tom Dooley" is the account of this incident, the "Grayson" mentioned in the verse refers to the one time commanding officer of the 4th Tennessee.

Compiled from Official Records of the Civil War and the personal papers of Private William Anderson Renner, Company G, 4th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry.

By Dennis Michael O'Neill

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