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The proclamation of secession was finally repealed by Scott County in 1986. At the same time, the county petitioned the state of
Tennessee for readmission, which was ceremonially granted, even though its secession had not been recognized by the state—nor the federal governments of either the Union or
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Because the area was of little strategic value, the mountainous and somewhat isolated State of Scott was not the site of any fighting on a major scale during the Civil War, with the exception of the minor Battle of
Huntsville, fought on August 13, 1862. Facing a force of approximately 2,000 troops
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At the time of the secession from the Union, Tennessee's Scott County listed only 61 slaves in residence. It was one of only two counties in the entire state with fewer than 100 slaves. Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union, in part due to the huge divide in resources and political
452:
United States
Senator Andrew Johnson delivered a speech at the Courthouse at Huntsville on June 4, 1861 against separation. At the election four days later Scott County voted against separation by the largest percentage margin of any county in Tennessee. Later that year in defiance of the state's
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and suffering from high levels of desertion and battle attrition, Union commander
Colonel William Clift was forced from the town and retreated into the back woods with about 20 remaining men. After the Battle of Huntsville, Clift's reconstituted but ragtag regiment fought more as a
644:; Tennessee GenWeb on-line; document: Report of Col. William Clift, Seventh Tennessee Infantry, including operations of his command in East Tennessee, July 1 – October 31; retrieved July 18, 2020
369:
quickly gathered 1,700 soldiers to march to
Huntsville and put down the "rebellion." Facing extreme resistance, however, the troops were forced to retreat before reaching the capital.
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during the war. Although its edict had never been officially recognized by either the
Confederacy or the Union, the county did not officially rescind its act of secession until 1986.
390:, which often took on a brutally violent and vicious nature, often between neighbors. Male residents from the area did, however, become the main source of volunteers for the Union’s
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355:"If the goddamn State of Tennessee can secede from the Union, then Scott County can secede from the State of Tennessee." —Local farmer
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action of secession, the county court by resolution seceded from the state and formed the Free and
Independent State of Scott.
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Fischer, Noel C.; "War at Every Door: Partisan
Politics and Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee, 1860–1869."
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unit for much of the rest of the year. The area continued to be torn for some time by guerrilla warfare,
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community whose sympathies remained strongly loyal to the Union throughout, and following, the war.
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413:. The county has voted Republican in virtually every presidential election since, excepting the
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481:, a region in northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee with few slaves and Unionist sympathies
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Groce, W. Todd; "Mountain Rebels: East
Tennessee Confederates and the Civil War, 1860–1870"
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Crofts, Daniel W.; "Reluctant
Confederates: Upper South Unionists in the Secession Crisis."
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681:"Independent State of Scott – 1F32 – Huntsville, TN – Tennessee Historical Markers on"
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In response to the State of Scott proclamation of independence, Tennessee Governor
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627:; Blue & Gray Press; Huntsville, Tennessee: ; retrieved July 18, 2020.
280:'s decision to secede from the United States and align the state with the
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532:; article; Independent Herald; on-line web-page; accessed July 18, 2020.
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317:, of which Scott County was a part, was less dependent on slavery than
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Gason, J. H.; "Mist in the Mountains. A Chronicle of Scott County"
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received over 90% of the vote in Scott County during both the
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County and enclave community of the Union during the Civil War
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Temple, Oliver Temple; "East Tennessee and the Civil War."
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Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture Encyclopedia
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Opinionator: Exclusive On-Line Commentary From The Times
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In a June 4, 1861, speech delivered on the steps of the
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6 Southern Unionist Strongholds During the Civil War
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Former regions and territories of the United States
655:"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections"
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670:. Retrieved at Web Archive February 16, 2013.
769:States and territories disestablished in 1986
641:Scott County, Tennessee; Battle of Huntsville
789:Southern Unionists in the American Civil War
779:Former territorial entities in North America
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342:courthouse, Senator (and future president)
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392:7th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Infantry
529:Remembering Scott's Defiant Independence
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24:Free and Independent State of Scott
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668:History of Scott County, Tennessee
625:County Scott and Its Mountain Folk
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64:Scott County in 1861
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470:Republic of Winston
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292:, Scott became an
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419:Progressive Party
294:enclave community
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609:February 8,
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427:Confederacy
388:skirmishing
282:Confederacy
178:Preceded by
758:Categories
486:References
340:Huntsville
304:Background
479:Nickajack
398:Aftermath
380:guerrilla
334:Secession
278:Tennessee
242:Tennessee
215:Tennessee
112:Tennessee
37:1861–1986
458:See also
409:and the
731:84°31′W
728:36°26′N
474:Alabama
348:enclave
329:History
296:of the
97:History
69:Capital
386:, and
319:Middle
268:was a
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298:Union
138:Union
689:2011
611:2011
587:2011
561:2011
425:the
321:and
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117:1861
52:Flag
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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