Tinker Dave: The Life and Times of the Union's Most Ferocious Civil War Guerrilla

In my personal research I have been focusing on Tinker Dave Beaty, the famous Union guerrilla who resided in the Upper Cumberland area of Tennessee. I hope you all enjoy!!

David Crockett Beaty was born on February 19, 1817 in the Obed River Valley in Fentress County, Tennessee. He stayed in that area for his entire life. His father George and two of his uncles had settled in the Valley upon their arrival from North Carolina, in 1810. The Beaty family was a prime example of kinship. Based on what historians know about the Beaty family, it can be concluded that they were a very tight knit group. Not much is known about Beaty’s childhood. Beaty would become most famous for his actions during the war between the states, especially for his one man war against notorious Confederate guerrilla Champ Ferguson.

     By the middle of the 19th century, slavery had become a hot topic in the United States. The North wanted to abolish it, but the South wanted to keep it. David Beaty had no strong feeling one way or the other on the slavery issue. In 1860, he was appointed by the Tennessee state legislature as one of three state supervising officials in charge of improvements along the Obed River. Beaty continued to be uninterested in the war until Confederate General Willis Scott Bledsoe came riding in to his farm one day demanding that Beaty take sides. Beaty was reluctant to do so, but finally gave in. Following the Battle of Mill Springs, Beaty became one of the most outspoken Unionists in Fentress County.

     After the visit by Bledsoe to his farm, Beaty, along with his sons Claiborne and Dallas, formed a company of sixty men. This group became known as “David Beaty’s Independent Scouts.” Most of Beaty’s men came from his community, and most were extremely poor. Others were deserters from the Union army, that felt that they could “do more at home with Tinker Dave’s men.” Beaty even had a few men, most notably the “Treat Brothers,” that switched sides, for reasons unknown to fight alongside Tinker Dave. This enlistment process was met with opposition from men such as Sidney Smith Stanton, and John P. Murray, who encouraged men in the Upper Cumberland to join their regiments, instead of joining up with guerrilla bands, but their pleas were to no avail. Together these men became the most brutal band of Union guerrillas in the Tennessee-Kentucky region. Beaty received financial assistance from Dr. Jonathan Hale, a prominent Jamestown physician. His most trusted confidant was Elam Huddleston, of Adair County, Kentucky. Huddleston was later shot and killed by Champ Ferguson, for reasons unknown. In his confession, Ferguson denies killing Huddleston. This incident only fueled the fire between Beaty and Ferguson. Beaty was provided horses by the Union army. Most of the men who joined Beaty’s guerrillas, had been affected by Champ Ferguson and his men in some way. Beaty, unlike Ferguson did not force the Union beliefs on his men. Instead he taught them the ways of the Union, and let them make up their own minds.

     It took the Union Army months to figure out a way that they could effectively use Tinker Dave and his scouts. Eventually Beaty was given authorization by General Ambrose Burnside to go out and bushwhack roads, opening them up to him and his soldiers. In return for this, Burnside gave Beaty and his scouts all the ammunition they needed. He also wanted military governor Andrew Johnson to make Beaty a colonel. The offer must have been extended to him, because Beaty turned it down. He claimed that he was “doing the best work where he was, in what he was doing.” Beaty, while a rough man, protected all Unionists, especially those in the Upper Cumberland.

     It is unknown how Beaty got the nickname “Tinker.” Some believe it was because he was always “tinkering” with something. The most widely accepted theory is that there were two David Beatys in Jamestown. The other was a drunkard known as “Cooly.” Beaty was given the name “Tinker” to differentiate him from “Cooly.” For the rest of the war, the name Tinker Dave Beaty would strike fear into many a Rebel.

     After forming his guerrilla band, Tinker Dave took his men down to the Cherry Creek community in Sparta, Tennessee, and split them up into squads. The men then went around the community demanding meals from Confederate sympathizers, as well as stealing their horses and ammunition. Young Amanda McDowell recorded in her diary, the looting that Beaty and his men were doing in her community. Tinker Dave and his men later sold the horses and sometimes cattle to Unionists in Kentucky. Beaty wanted to cause as much trouble for the Confederates as he could. By doing this he realized that he could lure Champ Ferguson out into the open and accomplish his goal of killing him.

     Tinker Dave and Champ Ferguson did not like each other for many reasons. Besides being supporters of opposite sides, it is also believed that Beaty was responsible for going to Ferguson’s White County home and ordering his wife and daughter to strip naked and make them cook for him and his men. There is no proof of this however. It is widely believed that both men simply wanted to protect their communities and neighbors and they were standing in each other’s way. The two men only came face to face a few times, never accomplishing their goal of eliminating the other. This, however, didn't deter them from hunting each other with savage like ferocity throughout the war.

     Beaty and Ferguson used some of the same tactics. They both lived in the woods, stole and plundered for food and ammunition, and were quick to kill anyone who got in their way. Both men and their bushwhackers were tough to track, because they knew the Upper Cumberland so well. They took advantage of the area’s many caves, hollows, and valleys. The two men had known each other for twenty years prior to the Civil War. They had more in common then they thought, they were just on different sides of the conflict. Even without Beaty and Ferguson, guerrilla violence would still have developed,  in the Upper Cumberland. The reason being is that it was, and still is human nature to fight for your family, friends, neighbors, and beliefs. During the Civil War, the Upper Cumberland became known as “no man’s land,” because of all the guerrilla violence in the area.

     Tinker Dave and Champ Ferguson came face to face only a handful of times during the Civil War. The first time was at Beaty’s farm. Ferguson and his men rode in dressed as Union soldiers. Beaty’s wife came to the door, as Tinker was in the field working. It is unknown how far the field was from the house, as Beaty knew that the visitor was Ferguson right away. Ferguson, however, did not recognize Beaty, as he turned his horse around and left. The two men came face to face again at the Battle of Dug Hill. The battle was a minor skirmish that occurred along what is now State Highway 84 between Monterey and Sparta. Ferguson and his men were lying in the bushes waiting for the Union army led by Colonel John Stokes to come passing by. When they got in sight, the men jumped out of the bushes and ambushed them. Beaty was riding along with Stokes, and the two men came face to face, wounding each other. The goal of eliminating each other had not been accomplished, but they still wounded each other severely enough to have to lay in bed for a few days.

     In 1862, it was ruled that no raids be made into Albany, Kentucky or Livingston, Tennessee. Beaty actually laid down his arms for a short time. This was an attempt at a truce between Union and Confederate guerrillas. This truce did not last long, and later that year, Tinker Dave was back raiding. He and his men were able to intercept and raid a wagon full of medical supplies and cattle, heading South. Later they were able to get ahold of some paper going south at the Taylor Place. They captured the Rebels and sent them back to where they had come from.

     By 1863, Beaty and his guerrillas began to attract the attention of high ranking Confederates. General Braxton Bragg, sent orders to Colonel John M. Hughs to go throughout Middle Tennessee and cleanse the area of bushwhackers, deserters, and enforce conscription laws. Hughs had other ideas, his mission from Bragg was quickly transformed into an eight month campaign to rid the area of guerrillas and guerrillas only. Beaty was at the top of Hughs’ list. He and his twenty men were able to unite scattered guerrilla bands, including Ferguson’s, and to help in this effort. On September 8, he and Tinker Dave finally engaged in a skirmish. It is unknown where the skirmish happened, but Hughs was able to kill eight of Beaty’s men. It is interesting to note about this skirmish, that the official report was not filed until April 28, 1864, a full eight months after the fact. A possible explanation for this could be that Hughs was to busy looting with Champ Ferguson and did not get around to it until eight months had passed. Another reason could be that Hughs had contempt for Braxton Bragg and wanted to make him wait just to spite him.

     By the following February Hughs, along with Willis Scott Bledsoe and Ferguson engaged in a skirmish in Fentress County with the Home Guards there. At this skirmish the three men and their inferiors overwhelmed a few of Beaty’s scouts, along with Rufus Dowdy and his men. After four or five casualties, Dowdy retreated. Ferguson went after them and found two of the Union guerrillas hiding out at a nearby farm. He found a member of Beaty’s men near a woodpile and shot him on the spot. It is unknown where Beaty was during this brief, but deadly skirmish.

     Throughout the Civil War, most bands of guerrillas acted as nomads. They would move around from place to place, plundering, and killing, then they would move on. Beaty and his men moved like this occasionally, but also had a hideout known as “Beaty’s Cave.” The cave was located in the mountains of Morgan County, Tennessee. It was referred to by Beaty as “Morgan’s Court House.” The cave was trenched, fortified, and the men also had thousands of acres of corn planted. Whenever a Rebel force came near, “Beaty’s Horn” would sound. Members of the Union League, as well as various Union sympathizers took refuge inside “Beaty’s Cave.” There is an account of a skirmish that took place near the cave. The account states that a 1,500 man Rebel Cavalry force attacked the cave, and Beaty and his men forced them to retreat with a desperate slaughter. This story, while very interesting, is nothing more then legend. 

     Champ Ferguson was not the only Confederate sympathizer that wanted Tinker Dave Beaty dead. In Overton County, a man named William Windall was determined to bring “Fentress down to Overton,” for reasons unknown. He knew that Beaty was a leading citizen and Unionist in the area and he wanted him dead. His goal became “To kill Tinker Beaty, and take all he has.” Windall, like Ferguson was unsuccessful in his attempt to kill Beaty.

     For the remainder of the Civil War, Beaty and his men continued to hide out in their cave, and protect the citizens of Fentress County. If there were any reports of Rebels riding through the area, one could expect Beaty and his scouts to stop them. One account tells of a group of Rebels that had taken up headquarters in a Fentress County church building. These men were engaged in horse thievery, robbery, and murdering innocent Union men. They used the church building to play cards, drink, swap stolen horses, and think of new tactics to terrorize Union citizens. Beaty was eventually informed of these meetings. He and his men went to the church and waited for them. Some hid in the bushes, others under the building. When the Rebels came back, they spotted Beaty and the rest of the Union guerrillas. They fled, but not before Beaty could shoot four of them, killing two and wounding two others.

     Tinker Dave Beaty, like Champ Ferguson, showed no sympathy to those siding with the Confederates. Legend tells of the time when he shot a man, for reasons unknown, and then ordered the man’s horse to stomp on his face. Beaty spent his entire career not only chasing after Champ Ferguson, but also protecting his family, friends, and neighbors. 

     When General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, the Civil War was officially over. This was not the case for Champ Ferguson. Ferguson, unlike Beaty, refused to lay down his arms, and was still in hot pursuit of him. Three weeks after the war ended, Beaty was having supper at a friend’s home near Jamestown. Ferguson and his men rode up and ordered Beaty to surrender his arms, exit out of the house, and mount his horse. He then ordered Tinker Dave to take him to the home of Pleas Taylor. Beaty, being smarter then Ferguson, knew that it was a set up. He spurred his horse, and according to later accounts, “wheeled him like a flash.” Ferguson and his men were able to fire approximately twenty shots at Beaty, with only three hitting him, one in the back, shoulder, and hip. Beaty survived this abduction attempt, and it would all but seal the fate of Ferguson.

     Champ Ferguson was arrested at his home on May 26, 1865, and taken to the Tennessee State Prison in Nashville. In his confession, he stated that he “rarely aimed at anything but Tinker Dave.” His trial lasted from July until October of that same year. The first witness was called by the prosecution on July 20th. That person was none other then Tinker Dave Beaty. The testimony of Beaty took two days. He told the court that everything Ferguson was accused of doing, was true. When asked about the abduction attempt, Beaty raised his shirt and showed the court where the bullets had penetrated through his breast and shoulder. Beaty’s testimony was damning to Ferguson and resulted in him having little to no defense at all. Ferguson was sentenced to death, and hanged on October 20, 1865. If the South had won the Civil War, it could have very easily been Beaty on the gallows, rather then Ferguson.

     It is very much open for debate as to whether Tinker Dave Beaty was a regular bushwhacker, or a partisan. There is no evidence of him ever receiving a partisan commission under the Partisan Ranger Act, however according to the book Homegrown Yankees by James Alex Baggett, it can be proven that Beaty and his men received $125,000 as payment for their service during the Civil War. One unknown Union officer stated that “if Beaty had a regiment, he would do wonders.” Beaty was also widely regarded as a “rough man,” but the “savior of the Union” in his region. His brutality is often compared to notorious Kansas Jayhawker James H. Lane. Tinker Dave Beaty, while brutal in many of his tactics, was fully committed to protecting the people in his neighborhood, who shared his same beliefs, from Confederate threats.

     Tinker Dave Beaty passed away on August 22, 1876. His post war life is largely unknown, except for the fact that he served as a Jamestown Alderman. He is thought to have played a major role during Reconstruction. His son Claiborne became captain of the Tennessee State Guards, stationed on the Cumberland Plateau. This group was designed to protect freed slaves from Ku Klux Klan violence. Tinker Dave Beaty will be best remembered for his actions during the Civil War, but it is most interesting to note that Beaty was a common family man, and respected citizen, who wanted no part in the war, but ultimately realized that he had to take sides, in order to protect his family and friends. He became one of the most famous characters of his chosen side. His story is the stuff of legend, but in reality very far from it.

Champ Ferguson, the arch nemesis of Tinker Dave Beaty.

Tinker Dave Beaty and his greatest supporter, Dr. Jonathan Hale of Jamestown.

The grave of Tinker Dave Beaty, located in the Beaty-Lacy Cemetery in Jamestown.

The Obed River Valley, the area that made Tinker Dave Beaty.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about tales from Tennessee and beyond. Be sure to visit the section of the blog devoted to Moore Historical Consulting.