When I was in school, here in Hawkins County, our teacher did his best to teach us history, but I had little interest in wars or dates of battles, which I could never remember. Later when I started researching on my family tree, I became interested in, and became a member of the Hawkins County Genealogical and Historical Society. In my research I ran into the Civil War soldiers of our area. I realized this was the missing component of the history lessons - I had nothing to relate to. Had I known my ancestors were involved, who they were, and where they were, I would have had much more interest in my history class. I found information, and more more information, on these men from Hawkins County, I realized the people living now are the descendants of those men - these were their ancestors. All we heard about the war was Vicksburg or other places which seemed so far away at the time. How much more we would have learned had we heard about the Battle of Big Creek, Bull's Gap, or Bean Station, and could have known that our ancestors were there fighting at that time.

There are no monuments in Hawkins County to specifically honor the dead of the war that claimed more of her dead than any other war. There have been no war stories appearing to tell of the hard times these men had to endure. These men, who fought each other so violently, came back to Hawkins County and lived with each other, carrying their hurt and pain of the loss they had suffered during the war. They worked together, lived together, went to church together and buried the animosities of a cruel war. Soon everything became quiet and all that seemed to be told, concerning the war, appeared in later years in the obituaries of those dying. These brave men went silently to their graves with many untold stories, but if one listens quietly, sometimes the rebel yell can still be heard in the hills of Hawkins County, and folks today still tend to vote "as Pappy shot."

I have written three books pertaining to the men from Hawkins and Hancock Counties during the Civil War 1861-1865. The research for these books has taken over seven years to complete, and touches on the lives of almost every family in Hawkins and neighboring Hancock Counties, during those very violent years. My intention is to provide as valuable information as possible to the descendants of those brave men and women who lived during the Civil War. I hope through this work that children in these two counties can read about their ancestors and realize the war was not in all those "other places", but right here at home. I hope, throught this work, these same children will also be better students of the Civil War, or War-Between-The-States as some would prefer to call it. I know that through this work these students will realize who the participators of that war really were - it was their ancestors.

Of these three volumes, two books are hardbound, sewn, 8-1/2" x 11", approximately 300 pages with proper name index. The books have military service records with names listed in regimental order, company order and alphabetical order. The military records tell of enlistment date, place of enlistment, battle involvement, injuries, captures, hospital or prison confinement, discharges, deaths and burials. The books also include some family history, cemetery records, pension records and photos which have been submitted by family members. The third book is softbound, 8-1/2" X 11", 76 pages with proper name index. This book is a chronological synopsis of events in Hawkins County, Tennessee, during the course of the war and immediately afterwards with photos.

THE CONFEDERATES - THE FEDERALS - THE BATTLES
CLICK HERE for information on how to order these books.

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