Timeline: Colonel Fielding Jackson Hurst, A Day in the Life of … June 8, 1861
Tennessee officially left the Union on June 8, 1961. This was also to be the day changed the life of Fielding Hurst. If not for his outspoken opposition and his later imprisonment over this issue, we would no doubt not be thinking of the Colonel today. Incidentally, your webmaster did come from the David Hurst branch of the Hurst family tree. David apparently refused to be photographed, was very wealthy, and was the only brother to support leaving the Union. The sole rebel, David , felt that he should be compensated for his emancipated slaves. David was worried about the money, Fielding was worried about the United States of America. Even the Colonel’s sharpest critics must concede that at least in the beginning, Fielding Hurst was a man of principal. Here’s the general breakdown on June 8 by Wikipedia.
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ISHAM GREEN HARRIS Tennessee’s Governor |
In a June 8, 1861, referendum, East Tennessee held firm against separation, while West Tennessee returned an equally heavy majority in favor. The deciding vote came in Middle Tennessee, which went from 51 percent against secession in February to 88 percent in favor in June. Having ratified by popular vote its connection with the fledgling Confederacy, Tennessee became the last state to withdraw from the Union. People in East Tennessee were firmly against Tennessee’s move to leave the Union; as were many in other parts of the Union, particularly in historically Whig portions of West Tennessee.[17] Tennesseans representing twenty-six East Tennessee counties met twice in Greenville and Knoxville and agreed to secede from Tennessee. They petitioned the state legislature in Nashville, which denied their request to secede and sent Confederate troops under Felix Zollicofer to occupy East Tennessee and prevent secession. Many East Tennesseans engaged in guerrilla warfare against state authorities by burning bridges, cutting telegraph wires, and spying.[18] |
Filed under: Timeline, Col. Fielding Hurst, Purdy, TN
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