| Sources |
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 28 May 2005.
Maryville artists' work to grace municipal building foyer
2005-05-28
by Thomas Fraser
of The Daily Times Staff
She used his daughter's eyes.
``I looked for every single image I could find of him,'' said Maryville artist Amy Campbell, standing recently before her portrait of Sam Houston, the Tennessean-turned-Texan. ``I read about his life, anything I could find. I looked at his facial structure.''
But there were no images of the Raven as a young man, back in his 19th century Blount County days.
Some things don't change over time, she said. So Campbell derived his facial and bone structure and most prominent features from relatively recent pictures that included an early image of Houston by the famous Civil War-era photographer Matthew Brady.
She filled in the blanks using a picture of his daughter.
The portrait is almost complete, as are Campbell's paintings of three other prominent people from Maryville's past: Samuel Pride, a physician and the city's first mayor, whose home stood where the new municipal building is located; the Rev. Isaac Anderson, the founder of Maryville College; and William McTeer, a city councilman who served for 30 years following the Civil War.
The paintings will be hung in four alcoves in the foyer of the city's new municipal building. They will be unveiled during a dedication ceremony set for August.
It's been a nine-month process to complete the ``humongous,'' oil and linen canvas portraits, said Campbell, contracted by the city to paint the portraits.
City officials -- including Mayor Joe Swann and city managers Gary Hensley, Roger Campbell and Greg McClain -- ``brainstormed for months'' to decide which historical figures should grace the foyer of the new municipal building. Discussion included the need for devotion to details, ranging from the proper period dress to ``what do the ax marks look like on the Sam Houston Schoolhouse?'' said Campbell.
``We were very, very concerned about being historically accurate,'' said Campbell, a 40-year-old professional artist and former Maryville College teacher. The cost to the city will be $6,000 per painting.
The art, said Swann, ``will help set a tone in that building, connecting us to a past that was important to our development.''
Swann said the intent was to paint the 8-by-4 portraits in a 19th century style, contemporary to the men in the portraits.
``To paint them like they would have been painted at the time is what we were striving for,'' he said.
``Amy was extraordinarily helpful in working with us,'' Swann said. ``We're very happy with the product.''
Campbell said she hopes to complete the portraits within two weeks.
``I'm anxious to wrap them up,'' she said, noting she is ``very grateful'' for the opportunity to have her work permanently displayed in the new municipal building.
The city still plans to begin moving into the building June 13, starting with the fire department. The building will be open to the public July 25, and a dedication ceremony -- to include the unveiling of Campbell's portraits -- is set for late August.
Maryville artist Amy Campbell works on a portrait of William McTeer at her Goddard Street home. The former Maryville College assistant art professor was commissioned by the city to paint four portraits of famous Maryville historical figures to be displaye
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 17 Aug 2008.
Artifacts from Blount County are playing a big part in the East Tennessee Historical Society's new exhibition, "Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee."
Blount County exhibit artifacts include:
Saber used by Major William Anderson McTeer made by Schuyler, Hartley Graham, New York, around 1861. Etched on blade reads "STAND BY THE UNION". McTeer was in the Company A., 1st Tennessee Cavalry, U.S.A.
Side-hammer carbine found by McTeer made by Sharps' Rifle Manufacturing Co., Hartford, Conn., around 1859. McTeer, of the 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry, U.S. Volunteers, found the carbine as he mustered out of the service in 1865.
- [S127] Among Loyal Mountaineers~The Reminiscences of an East Tennessee Unionist, Major Will A. McTeer, ('27/'37 Publishing, copyright 2009), ISBN: 978-1-4243-2931-1., 145.
Adjutant Will A. McTeer—enlisted at age 19 on August 10, 1862, Company A, Third Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry; promoted to second lieutenant April 4, 1864, to first lieutenant and regimental adjutant July 19, 1864, to acting assistant adjutant general, First Brigade, Fourth Cavalry Division, District of Northern Alabama, July 23, 1864; mustered out August 3, 1865.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 18 Jul 2014.
Upland Chronicles: Many Sevier County men enlisted in Second Tennessee Regiment
The Second Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Unit included many men from Sevier County.
A monument at Chickamauga honors the Second Tennessee Regiment.
Like most of the able-bodied males of East Tennessee, hundreds of Sevier County volunteers enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. Most of them journeyed to Kentucky to sign up, or found a recruiting officer who wasn’t too scared of retribution, in order to join the Union cause locally.
They came in droves, most joined by family. Many volunteers had neighbors, and in some cases relatives, who supported the Confederate cause. They knew the confrontations to come were going to be tragic.
The men from Sevier County showed up to enlist riding a mule or horse, or on foot. Some carried a knife, a musket, a blanket and a burlap bag of food. They wore a straw hat or cloth cap, coat and maybe shoes or boots if available.
When these volunteers were mustered into a unit, most received a new, ill-fitting, woolen uniform, brogans and either a kepi, a forge cap or broad-brimmed felt hat. They were also issued a belt set that included a cartridge box, bayonet and scabbard, a haversack for rations, a canteen and a blanket roll or poncho.
After June 8, 1861, the day of the election on “separation” or “no separation,” excitement prevailed throughout the county. People came to Sevierville in large companies carrying federal flags and proclaiming pro-Union sentiments.
A company of cavalry was organized with Andrew Lawson chosen to serve as captain; C.M. Ray, first lieutenant; Robert A. Montgomery, second lieutenant; and John W. Andes, third lieutenant. They numbered 100 men who uniformed themselves and began drilling regularly every Saturday.
For the next six months, anxious uncertainty prevailed among Union loyalists. They hardly knew what to do or say. Gov. Isham G. Harris declared the state out of the Union, and on Nov. 8, a crisis arose. Several bridges on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway line were burned, and the destruction of others was attempted.
The entire county was thrown into a state of excitement by a rumor that Confederate troops had crossed the French Broad River at Underdown’s Ferry, and were killing Union men and burning their property.
Armed with every conceivable weapon, hundreds of men had gathered in Sevierville by late evening, and by midnight, the town overflowed with an uncontrollable, rowdy crowd. The rumor proved to be false, and an apprehensive quiet again prevailed.
By this time, companies were being organized to cross the rugged mountains into Kentucky, for the purpose of joining the Union Army. Meanwhile, others were organizing Confederate companies. On March 7, 1862, newly elected county officers were installed, and a posse of soldiers came from Knoxville to require them to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, which they declined.
Throughout 1862, Union scouts and recruiting officers were busy organizing companies to cross into Kentucky and enter the Federal service. When a company was organized and the recruiting officer was ready to start, a signal was given by kindling a big fire on Bluff Mountain.
If the route was clear, this was responded to by fires on high peaks and ridges between there and the Cumberland Mountains. Confederates had taken all the private arms in the county, so volunteers improvised by crafting knives, 15 to 20 inches long, made of anything that could be converted at the blacksmith shops.
By late autumn 1862, the mountains were full of Union men who were fleeing from Confederate conscripting officers. Several hundred were holed up on Bluff Mountain. They were supplied with provisions through the hospitality of charitable families residing at Walden’s Creek.
The Confederates were scouting in every part of the county and pressing men into service, regardless of whether they sympathized. Many joined out of fear of retribution on their families and property, and later deserted to join the Union forces.
Companies formed in Sevier County, such as a group of 450 men led by a pilot from Powell Valley named Bowlinger, attempted to go to Kentucky. Bowlinger rallied his forces on the evening of Sept. 23, 1862, on a bluff on the farm of Jesse Stafford.
About a month later, the men arrived at London, Ky. The weather was cold, and many of them were without coats, hats or shoes. Their bruised and frozen feet bled. But they persevered and struggled on. The hardships they encountered on their trip through Kentucky equaled anything they endured during the conflict.
At Lexington, the men were furnished transportation by train to Covington, where they arrived Nov. 4. Filthy, ragged and exhausted, they were at last given their uniforms and donned the blue.
They embarked on a steamboat and traveled on the Ohio River to Gallipolis to join their regiment, which would be known as the Second Tennessee Cavalry and was commanded by Col. Daniel M. Ray.
After several weeks of training, these volunteers trampled into battle, discarding much of the issued gear, the weight being almost unbearable. Measles broke out, and owing to exposure, several soldiers died. The regiment arrived in Nashville on Christmas Eve, a week before engaging in the Battle of Stones River.
By the time the Battle of Stones River ended, thousands lay dead. It was their first battle, but the Second Tennessee Cavalry came out of it with a record for gallantry, courage and efficiency.
They were not formally organized and mustered until Jan. 26, 1863, when they were mustered to date back to the time of their enlistment. They then had 12 full companies armed and equipped.
The Second Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Cavalry went on to fight gallantly in the Tullahoma Campaign, Battle of Chickamauga and the Battle of Nashville. They moved to Vicksburg, Miss., and New Orleans, La., before being ordered back to Nashville where they were mustered out on July 6, 1865. The regiment lost a total of 224 men during service; two officers and 14 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded, and 208 men died of disease.
Much of what is known about the regiment is from a book titled “Loyal Mountain Troopers: the Reminiscences of Lieutenant John W. Andes and Major Will A. McTeer,” which was compiled by Charles S. McCammon and published in 1992 by the Blount County Genealogical and Historical Society.
Throughout Sevier County, monuments marking the graves of soldiers who served in the Second Tennessee Regiment can be found in older cemeteries. Along with those who served with other regiments, they are a reminder of the brave men who struggled and sacrificed for the cause in which they believed.
Carroll McMahan is special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
|
Search | Advanced Search
1843 - 1925 (82 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
= Link to Google Maps