The Battle of Dug Hill, or Battle of the Calfkiller, was a minor skirmish that occurred in White County Tennessee. The major players in this battle were George Dibrell and Champ Ferguson for the Confederates, and William B. Stokes and Tinker Dave Beaty for the Union. Stokes had been sent by Governor Andrew Johnson to try and locate Champ Ferguson. Stokes was unable to get anybody in Sparta to talk until he finally threatened to burn the town down. Stokes was able to locate Ferguson along the Calfkiller River. Stokes and his army camped out along the Calfkiller in an effort to perfect their plan to capture Champ Ferguson. Historians do not know when Tinker Dave Beaty joined Stokes, but we do know he was at the battle. Beaty may have been motivated by the opportunity to capture or kill Ferguson, but we will probably never know. The next morning the Union forces were unaware that the Confederates led by Dibrell and Ferguson were hiding in the bushes along the road. As the Union troops were traveling along the road to carry out this plan, the Confederate troops jumped out of the bushes and fought the Union troops right there in the road. The battle took the Union troops by surprise, and was a total rout for them. Champ Ferguson and Tinker Dave Beaty, according to historians, came face to face with each other. Beaty was able to wound Ferguson, and lay him up for a few months, so all was not lost. In general the Battle of Dug Hill is vital to our understanding of the Civil War in the Upper Cumberland area.
Above is a picture of Tinker Dave Beaty.
Above is a picture of William B. Stokes.
Above is a picture of George Dibrell.
The book Confederate Outlaw by Brian McKnight is a good source for more information about the Battle of Dug Hill.
Stay tuned for more blog posts about tales from Tennessee and beyond.
