Appalachian History Series
Why Carter’s Station mattered
In the fall of 1863 the railroad crossing at Carter’s Station (often called Carter’s Depot) and the Watauga River fords west of Jonesborough formed the hinge between East Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Whoever controlled the bridge and the river line could screen Knoxville, pressure Bristol, and menace the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad lifeline. The site would see back-to-back fighting in late September 1863, then again one year later, which has caused no end of confusion in local memory and even in some printed summaries. The record is clear once we line up the primary sources.
Prelude on the Watauga
On September 23, 1863, Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside reported from Carter’s Station to the Department of the Ohio: “We hold this road effectually to this point…” He described his line on the Watauga and the situation in front, a snapshot taken between his Blountville push and the skirmishing that followed along the river line the next week.
Two contemporary diaries, one Union and one Confederate, place troops on this ground in the same span. On September 22, Luman Harris Tenney recorded that his command “moved on to within a mile and a half of Carter’s Station,” took position supporting artillery, and heard “some cannonading on both sides,” first-person confirmation of Union dispositions directly before the end-of-month skirmishes. On the Confederate side, Lt. William Stringfield of the 62nd North Carolina noted on September 21 that “This Carter’s Station is at the river with a ford on the river 3 miles below and one 4 miles above. Yanks under Burnside in large force,” a concise field note on the ground and the foe.
Confederate reporting collected in the Tennessee State Library and Archives Civil War Sourcebook under “Action at Zollicoffer” also references the Watauga line and Carter’s Station on September 20–21, setting the stage for the skirmishes to come.
“Jonesboro and Watauga River,” then Duvall’s Ford: September 29–30, 1863
The National Park Service’s day-by-day Tennessee chronology fixes the sequence: September 29 brought skirmishes at Jonesboro and the Watauga River, followed on September 30 by an action at Duvall’s Ford on the Watauga. The listings even note unit identities, including the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry on the 29th and the 16th Kentucky Cavalry on the 30th, which aligns with the field diaries and dispatches above.
These fights were part skirmish, part river-line probe. They tested the crossings that Stringfield described and the rail bridge that preoccupied both commands. Tenney’s diary shows Union cavalry pressed forward and then pulled back on higher orders not to risk a general engagement that week while Burnside’s attention was pulled toward the larger Knoxville and Chattanooga crisis.
Within a month, Brig. Gen. J. M. Shackelford summarized how the Union line settled across those same crossings. Writing from Knoxville on October 25, he detailed the dispositions “at Duvall’s Ford on the Watauga” and along the river, a helpful snapshot of how the Federals held the line in the immediate wake of the late-September skirmishes.
Do not mix the years: September 30–October 1, 1864 was a different fight
One year later the same ground saw a sharper affair that official summaries sometimes blend with 1863. Brig. Gen. Jacob Ammen’s formal report covers skirmishes at Rheatown, Jonesborough, the Watauga River, and Carter’s Station during the September 29–October 1, 1864 expedition, naming the participating units and describing how the enemy was driven from his position at Carter’s Station. A companion itinerary entry in the Official Records ties the movement down to the hour: “October 1, drove the enemy from Carter’s Station… Left Carter’s Station at 1 p. m. with First Ohio Heavy Artillery and Tenth Michigan Cavalry.”
Regimental narratives line up with those official accounts. The Brief History of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry recalls a “stubborn fight at Carter’s Station the next day” in which the enemy was driven from his position, while East Tennessee’s 13th Tennessee Cavalry (U.S.) histories place the regiment at Rheatown, Jonesboro, and Carter’s Station in this same operation. The National Park Service’s Tennessee chronology also distinguishes the 1864 action, listing “Sept. 30–Oct. 1, 1864: Action, Carter’s Station,” with the 10th Michigan Cavalry, 13th Tennessee (U.S.), and Battery E, 1st Tennessee Light Artillery.
The ground itself
Period atlases make the geography plain. The Atlas to Accompany the Official Records includes plates for East Tennessee and the Knoxville–Bristol corridor that show Carter’s Depot or Carter’s Station and the Watauga bridge, a useful companion when reading the dispatches and diaries above. Modern state GIS catalog entries also split the two fights cleanly: Watauga (Carter’s Depot) in September 1863 and Watauga (Carter’s Station) in late September–October 1864.
What to take away
In late September 1863, Union cavalry felt out the Watauga line at Jonesboro and Carter’s Station, then pressed Duvall’s Ford the next day, while Burnside reported the road held to Carter’s Station and both sides maneuvered around the river crossings. This sequence is documented in the Official Records as reproduced on CivilWar.com and in the National Park Service’s Tennessee battle chronology.
In late September 1864, the same ground saw a heavier action. Ammen’s division, with the 10th Michigan Cavalry and a detachment from the 1st Ohio Heavy Artillery among others, drove Confederates from Carter’s Station and marched out that afternoon. The Official Records account appears via CivilWar.com.
Keeping the 1863 skirmishing distinct from the 1864 action restores the local chronology and helps explain why veteran accounts, unit rosters, and state markers sometimes talk past each other.
Sources and further reading
Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXIII, Chickamauga, Part III (Serial 52). Burnside to Department of the Ohio, “Carter’s Station, Sept. 23, 1863,” reporting his situation on the Watauga line. civilwar.com
War Diary of Luman Harris Tenney, 1861–1865. Entries for Sept. 22–24, 1863 place his command within 1½ miles of Carter’s Station, under artillery fire, and note activity at the bridge. Internet Archive
Civil War Diary of William Stringfield, 62nd N.C. Entry for Sept. 21, 1863 describes Carter’s Station, nearby fords, and Union presence under Burnside. Thomas Legion Cherokee
Tennessee Civil War Sourcebook (TSLA), “September 21, 1863 — Action at Zollicoffer.” Confederate reporting referencing the Watauga and Carter’s Station fights leading into the Sept. 29 activity. Share Tennessee Government
Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXI, Part I (Serial 54), Knoxville & Lookout Mountain. Brig. Gen. J. M. Shackelford’s late-October messages on Duvall’s Ford and the Watauga line dispositions. civilwar.com
Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXIX, Part III (Serial 79), Allatoona, Part III. Itinerary noting “Oct. 1, [1864,] drove the enemy from Carter’s Station… Left Carter’s Station at 1 p. m. with First Ohio Heavy Artillery and Tenth Michigan Cavalry.” civilwar.com
Report of Brig. Gen. Jacob Ammen on skirmishes at Rheatown, Jonesborough, Watauga River, and Carter’s Station during the 1864 expedition. Northeast Tennessee Civil War+1
Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (plates for East Tennessee and the ET&VA Railroad corridor). Internet Archive
L. S. Trowbridge, A Brief History of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry (1906). Describes the regiment’s role at Carter’s Station in 1864. Internet Archive+1
Samuel W. Scott and Samuel P. Angel, History of the Thirteenth Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U.S.A. (1903). East Tennessee Unionist narrative that includes operations at Carter’s Station. Internet Archive
National Park Service, “Tennessee Civil War Battles.” Day-by-day entries that distinguish the Sept. 29, 1863 Jonesboro and Watauga skirmishes, the Sept. 30, 1863 Duvall’s Ford action, and the Sept. 30–Oct. 1, 1864 Carter’s Station action. National Park Service
Northeast Tennessee Civil War Project. Transcriptions and timelines for the 1863 and 1864 Carter’s Station actions, including the Ammen report and extracts. Northeast Tennessee Civil War+1
Tennessee Civil War GIS (TNMap). Catalog entries that separate Watauga/Carter’s Depot in 1863 from Carter’s Station in 1864. tnmap.tn.gov
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