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The most important military route in the Sequatchie Valley was East Valley
Road, now marked as State Highway 283. The section from Chapel Hill United
Methodist Church (5149 East Valley Road) east of Dunlap to New Hope
Cumberland Presbyterian Church (176 East Valley Road) at the countys
southern border is an excellent way to view the landscape where thousands of
Confederate and Federal soldiers marched and camped.
During the Confederate siege of Chattanooga in the Fall of 1863, Union
commanders constantly moved supplies overland, trying to keep its surrounded
armies in Chattanooga supplied with food and ammunition. Confederate cavalry
leader Gen. Joseph Wheeler carried out numerous raids on the Federal supply
trains in a futile attempt to stop this massive Federal effort. His raid of
Oct. 2, 1863, which passed along East Valley Road, was the most spectacular.
His troopers destroyed hundreds of wagons, taking an estimated 1,600
prisoners, whom Wheeler released as he escaped the valley and returned to
the safety of Confederate lines. Another important location for Wheelers
1863 raid is Powell Crossroads, where the East Valley Road (Highway 283)
intersects with Highway 27 (the old Anderson Road) east of Whitwell in
Marion County. |
