McDougall Map by Muse for Personal Research Project: Towns, Communities, Old Routes, Places Mentioned in Official Records

This informal map is part of my personal research project on McDougall, but I am making it public. I marked routes from McMinn County, Tennessee, down to Murray County, Georgia, some significant spots in Whitfield County, Georgia (near Rocky Face Ridge), Chickamauga, and places on Lookout Mountain and Sand Mountain. Not all of these places are historic. I have included some modern towns for orientation and reference. This is a work in progress, so some of my information may be inaccurate. This is my attempt to locate specific places mentioned in my own projects, including some obsolete towns, some places of significance during the Civil War, some historic markers, and some post-war towns. I've tried to figure out driving routes for a few places. In Murray and Whitfield Counties, in Georgia, I've included approximate locations for a few land lots, as best I could identify them. As I said, it's a work in progress, all very informal, and not perfectly accurate.

To take and hold the railroad at or east of Cleveland... (Quote by Lincoln)

The Papers and Writing of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 6
(Project Gutenberg eBook)

Above book is the original source for quote about the importance of Cleveland, Tennessee, in the Civil War. It has been quoted by many authors, including Melba Murray (Bradley Divided).

Quotations: 

"The Chattanooga expedition must not on any account be given up." (Stanton to Halleck)

"To take and hold the railroad at or east of Cleveland, in East Tennessee, I think fully as important as the taking and holding of Richmond." (Lincoln to Halleck)
____________________________

Other volumes by Lincoln at Project Gutenberg
Link to Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3

Seward, General Thomas' Scout (mention); Red Clay, Georgia, May 1864

This is just my internal note on some references I'm trying to track down. Among other things, I'm looking for references for a scout of staff member, "Seward," who was under General Thomas. This is not Secretary of State, Seward; it's just a scout or department official under Thomas. I'm not sure of all the facts below, either. My comments are from memory.

____________________________________

Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 38, Pt. 4, Correspondence, etc., pg. 47, Schofield to Sherman, Red Clay, Ga., May 6, 1864.

"Red Clay, Ga., May 6, 1864.
"Major-General Sherman, Ringgold:
  "Your dispatch is received. I will be ready to move to-morrow morning. Could move to-day if necessary. It will take several days to repair the railroad here, but I can get along until it is done. I have frequent communication with Howard.
  "General Thomas' man Seward says Polk's corps gone to Rome.
            "J. M. Schofield,
               "Major-General.

OR, Ser. 1, Vol. 38, Pt. 4, pg. 47

"Howard" would be Gen. Oliver O. Howard. During or after the siege of Chattanooga, and after the slaughter of Federal mules in the supply train at Anderson's Crossroads on Walden Ridge by rebels about October 2, 1863, O. O. Howard, of the XI Corps, Army of the Potomac, was called in as an added reinforcement, to prevent future losses. The letter above is about seven months later, about the time the Federal Army leaves Cleveland, Tennessee, to move South on the Atlanta Campaign. [He is by then commanding the Fourth Corps, Army of the Cumberland, or Dept. of the Cumberland.]

"Thomas' man, Seward" is mentioned. One reference is specific to story. Another reference to Seward shows that it could be a different person than mentioned in story... I don't have the other specific reference to Seward, but I think it was in some correspondence after the Battle of Chickamauga; just not sure!

Oliver O. Howard Reference:

FOURTH ARMY CORPS: OLIVER O. HOWARD
Headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee, and nearby Blue Springs, Tennessee.
Partial extract of: Official Records, Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, 551.
(from earlier post) http://musescivilwar.blogspot.com/2016/08/fourth-army-corps-oliver-o-howard_22.html

Old Federal Road in Official Records (August 1864)

Old Federal Road

Official Records, Series 1, Volume 38, Part 5 (Correspondence, Etc.), 646

Dalton, August 23, 1864.
Major-General Steedman:
I sent out one company yesterday morning eastward to Holly Creek, beyond Spring Place, and another through Ship's Gap to Summerville via Broomtown Valley; the last will not return till to-night. The first company returned last evening, and report a body of 500 rebel cavalry lying on the Westfield turnpike at the foot of the Cohutta Mountain, about twenty miles from here on the road to Ellijay. They are apparently holding that gap for the protection of couriers or other communications between Wheeler and Atlanta. They came there on Sunday from the diretion [sic] of Columbus, having been sent to learn the old Federal road in the neighborhood of Cohutta Springs on Saturday evening, and to proceed in the direction of Ellijay. This body has two companies guarding the ford of Hold's Creek. I do not think they intend to harass the railroad but merely to hold that gap.
Wm. J. Palmer,
Colonel, Commanding Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.

____________________________________________________

Headquarters District of the Etowah,
Chattanooga, August 23, 1864.
Col. L. D. Watkins,
      Calhoun, Ga.:

   Send all your mounted force effective for a march by way of Spring Place and Cohutta Springs toward Savannah, on the Hiwassee River. Colonel Palmer sends a detachment from Dalton by way of Spring Place to Columbus; try to communicate with him. He reports 500 rebel cavalry at the foot of Cohutta Mountain on Westfield road, evidently keeping open communication between Wheeler and Atlanta. Try to break up the line and move on same route to the Hiwassee and co-operate with Colonel Palmer.
J. B. Steedman,
Major-General.


CITATION:
Title: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Ser. 1, Vol. 38, Part 5
Compiled by: Calvin Duvall Cowles
Contributors: United States. War Records Office, United States. Record and Pension Office, United States. Congress. House
Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1891

Historic Columbus, Tennessee (defunct town); thoughts about its location

Early in February 1864, Federal troops began to set up camp at some little towns north of Cleveland, Tennessee: Calhoun, Charleston, and Columbus, Tennessee. Calhoun and Charleston were separated by a railroad bridge across the Hiwassee River.

Columbus, a little town in Polk County, Tennessee, is no longer extant. It was once a Cherokee trading town. In winter and early spring of 1864 (from about February), it served as a camp for some Union troops, including the Fourth Indiana Cavalry (Major G.H. Purdy, commanding). Ref.: O.R., Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, 240 (Letter from Maj. G.H. Purdy, HQ at Columbus, Tenn., enclosed in letter from Waterman to Wagner). 

Columbus, Tennessee (Google Map, coordinates from Roadside Thoughts)
Latitude and Longitude: 35.2262 -84.6222

Source for GPS coordinates:

Roadside Thoughts: Columbus, Tennessee

http://roadsidethoughts.com/tn/columbus-xx-polk-summary.htm

But, here is my own calculation of where it would be located on today's Google satellite map, as compared to the 1865 map below it (keeping in mind that the old maps were sometimes pretty vague and could be off). My placement of it is well west of the one designated by coordinates, above, from Roadside Thoughts. Judging by the old map and by the description given on the Polk County Cemeteries page of TNGenWeb, it is about four miles north of Benton. I place it at the intersection of Athens Road and Dentville Road, northwest of the bend in the river. Columbus Road, a throwback to the historic placename, starts in the middle of nowhere on Bowater Road and runs south almost to the Hiwassee River. Then it runs in a curving path, more-or-less parallel to the river, until it intersects Dentville Road. Columbus Road ends there.

Columbus, Tennessee (historic, non-extant town; location estimated by Southern Muse):

Columbus, Tennessee (Google Map est.) 

https://goo.gl/maps/UqnAbKaFmA62

based on the map below, drafted 1863-1864 and published 1865:

Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division: Mountain
Region of NC and Tenn (dtl, Columbus, Tenn. area)

"Polk County, Tennessee Cemeteries" on Tennessee GenWeb website places Columbus Cemetery four miles north of Benton, Tennessee. Presumably the cemetery would be in the town itself.

Columbus Cemetery Description on TNGenWeb site

http://www.tngenweb.org/polk/polkcem.htm

Find A Grave has a cemetery for Columbus, Tennessee, but has no GPS coordinates for it.

http://bit.ly/FindAGrave-ColumbusCemetery-PolkCountyTN

CITATION (1865 MAP)

Nicholson, W. L, A Lindenkohl, H Lindenkohl, Charles G Krebs, and United States Coast Survey. Mountain region of North Carolina and Tennessee. [S.l., U.S. Coast Survey, A. D. Bache, Supt, 1865] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/99447196. (Accessed July 04, 2016.)

April 2, 1864 and later - A.P. Campbell correspondence (near Blue Springs and Cleveland, Tennessee)

April 2, 1864

Correspondence from A.P. Campbell to various officers. Scouts had observed about 2000 rebels eight miles east of Cleveland, Tennessee. Union officers expect some kind of skirmish or movement, and are trying to find out what Confederate troops are on the move, and for what purpose. I think it turns out to be a reconn. Several roads are mentioned, among them, Benton road, and Dalton and Charleston road.

Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 32, Part 3 (Correspondence), 224.
Campbell Correspondence, April 2, 1864
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/233/?q=spring%20place

April 3, 1864, and later...

Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 32, Part 3 (Correspondence), 240. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/249/?q=spring%20place

For another day or so, Union scouts continued to watch Confederate detachments as they moved in the vicinity of Cleveland, Tennessee. Federal officers particularly feared that Longstreet was sending troops to support Johnston at Dalton, Georgia, which wasn't true. Some of the correspondence around this date mentions that speculation. In one letter from General Thomas, he mentions that the movement of April 2 was just a Rebel reconnaissance movement.

Lefever (Maj. or Mr.), USA, stationed in Cleveland, Tennessee, March 1864

Attempts to Identify People in the Myra Inman Diary

Major Lefever, Mr. ___ Lefever 
Lefever is mentioned in the Myra Inman diary, pages 252, 254.

Attempting to identify Lefever; work in progress...

Various Lefevers from other sources, not sure which, if any, he is:

1) Le Favour, Heber, 22nd Michigan. Negative--was prisoner of war that spring. 22nd Michigan was probably at Cleveland. This Le Favour could not have been in Cleveland in March 1864. Heber Le Favour of Detroit, Michigan (22nd Infantry) was taken prisoner at Chickamauga and not exchanged until May 7, 1864. Source: Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, vol. 22 (22nd Mich. Inf.), 89-90, s.v. "Le Favour, Heber."
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015019372963;view=2up;seq=106

2) Colonel Lefevor mentioned, Battle of Chickamauga. Maybe. I've only partially identified him so far. It could even be the one aforementioned, but spelled differently. I don't yet know his record of service. This Col. Lefever was at the Battle of Chickamauga. He was under General Steedman then. At Chickamauga, Lefever was on extreme left of General Whittaker's Brigade, per this doc.:
https://archive.org/stream/03377448.3226.emory.edu/03377448_3226_djvu.txt

Whitaker, of the Second Brigade, Fourth Army Corps was headquartered at Blue Springs, five miles in advance of Cleveland, Tennessee, in the spring of 1864. Some of Steedman's troops were probably at Blue Springs or Cleveland. Steedman himself was in the area at some point.

3) Andrew F. Lefever (Co. B, 64th Ohio)
Link to several Lefevers of Crawford Co., Illinois, at least one of whom was at the Battle of Chickamauga. Don't know yet whether this unit was stationed at or near Cleveland. There are other Lefevers on this page, but I think he may be the only one who was in the war.
http://bit.ly/Lefever-in-Crawford-Co-Illinois-Historical-pg758

Will look for more possibilities...

RELATED POSTS, THIS BLOG:

Fourth Army Corps
http://musescivilwar.blogspot.com/2016/08/fourth-army-corps-oliver-o-howard_22.html

Myra Inman Diary (bibliog. info only, with links to bookstores)
http://musescivilwar.blogspot.com/2016/08/myra-inman-diary-bibliographic.html

Lt. Louis Alden Simmons, 84th Illinois Infantry (stationed at Cleveland, Tenn., Spring 1864)

Identity of Lt. Simmons in the Myra Inman Diary

The Myra Inman diary mentions Lt. Simmons, also known as A. Simmons, who courts her in the Spring of 1864 while he is stationed at Cleveland, Tennessee. She is Southern and says that she dislikes him (though there were signs that she liked him, at times). This Lt. Simmons has his 31st birthday on March 16, 1864 (Inman Diary pg. 254). After he leaves Cleveland, he gets married. On December 27, 1865, she learns the news about Mr. Simmons from a friend, Lizzie Lea, who received a letter. Myra hears "that he was married to a woman from Lynchfield, Mass. (Inman Diary 333)."

William R. Snell, ed. Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee, (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), 254, 333.

Bibliog. info on Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee
http://musescivilwar.blogspot.com/2016/08/myra-inman-diary-bibliographic.html

My identification, based on genealogy profiles and sources, is that he is:

Louis Alden Simmons, 1st Lieutenant and 2nd Major, 84th Illinois Infantry, and author of the regimental history, is the son of Hezekiah and Zoa (Daily) Simmons, who married in North Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1830. Louis Simmons was born in Massachusetts on March 16, 1833 (which would make him 31 in 1864). He married (1) Maria Theresa Harwood on November 20, 1865, in Fitchburg, Worcester, Massachusetts (not Lynchfield, as Myra recalled the town's name). The marriage occurred about a month before Myra heard the news. Simmons moved to Illinois by about 1850, eventually settling in Macomb, McDonough, Illinois. Simmons died December 6, 1888, and is buried at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Wellington, Sumner, Kansas, US.

I attached some notes about the Inman diary to this soldier's profile on FamilySearch.org.

Current Individual ID:

Louis Alden Simmons  •  L8HQ-W3W
16 March 1833 – 6 December 1888

URL (requires account and log-in):
https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&section=details&person=L8HQ-W3W


Louis A. Simmons's own memoir, The History of the 84th Reg't. Ill. Vols., is very much a regimental history and doesn't give many details as to the author's own social experiences within the town, except to say that it was a pleasant town, full of loyal Unionists who made the soldiers feel welcome. He doesn't mention the young Southern lady (not a loyalist) who apparently won his heart.

He does tell about the march to Cleveland and the gladness of the soldiers to find that they would camp there for the winter. Pages 148 to 152 of his book describe the march, first to Charleston, Tennessee, and on to Cleveland. Simmons's account has slightly conflicting dates; he first has the brigade leaving its camp at Tyner's Station (now part of Chattanooga) on February 3, 1863, but then mentions that they marched toward Charleston on the 2nd to escort a wagon train (this may have been a detachment). The 84th marched in a northeasterly direction toward Cleveland, Tennessee. (They probably followed a route approximating today's I-75 from Cleveland to Chattanooga, passing through a gap of White Oak Mountain.) The soldiers' first encounter with the town was a brief but pleasant one. Their unit soon left Cleveland, but later returned to be quartered there--some at Cleveland and some at nearby Blue Springs. These camps were very agreeable to them. Chapter 12 (page 153) is entitled, "Camp at Cleveland--Reconnoisance to Rocky Face Ridge and Preparation for the Atlanta Campaign."

Simmons must have marched on February 2nd. He and his unit camped overnight near Cleveland, and the next day "passed through Cleveland about noon" (Simmons 149).

Apparently this was February 3rd, because Myra Inman notes in her diary on that day that "A Lt. Simmons came in and stayed about an hour and talked" (Inman diary 245). This would have been their first meeting.

Toward the end of February, the troops left Cleveland and marched to Dalton, Georgia, to make an assault against Bragg's army. It was unsuccessful and the army returned to Blue Springs. Simmons is disappointed because the soldiers are ordered to stay at Blue Springs, and don't get to return to their comfortable camps at Cleveland, which he blames on the despised Colonel Grose (Simmons 158).

The History of the 84th Reg't Ill. Vols
https://archive.org/details/historyof84threg00simmo
L.A. Simmons, (Macomb: Hampton Brothers, Publishers, 1866). Archive.org

U.S. Census References (index and images):
1850: Warren county, Warren, Illinois, pg. 476: Lewis A Simmons, age 17, white, male. Birth: 1833, Massachusetts; listed in the household of Hezekiah Simmons.

1860: Macomb 4th Ward, McDonough, Illinois, pg. 205: L A Simmons, age 27, male, apparent head. Birth: 1833, Ills. Occupation: Atty at Law.

1870: Ward in city of Macomb, McDonough, Illinois, pg. 9: S A Simmons [as indexed; should be 'L A.' Compare 'L' in 'Louisa']. Male, age 37, born Massachusetts. Occupation: Attorney-at-Law.

1880: Macomb, McDonough, Illinois, pg. 462 B: Louis A Simmons, age 47, male, self (head). Birth: 1833, Massachusetts.

Various NARA microfilm publications (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); as indexed at FamilySearch.org (with viewable document images).

84th Illinois Infantry

84th Illinois Infantry was attached to Oliver O. Howard's 4th Army Corps from October 1863 to June 1865. It was one of the regiments of Col. William Grose's Third Brigade, in Maj Gen. David S. Stanley's First Division. Note that even though this was an infantry regiment, it was placed in a cavalry brigade. This is not so unusual in the Civil War.  General Oliver O. Howard's Fourth Army Corps was headquartered at Blue Springs, five miles in advance of Cleveland, Tennessee, in February 1864.

The following extract is courtesy of 
Illinois in the Civil War:
That website cited A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, vol. III, Regimental Histories
by Frederick H. Dyer [1908]

84th Regiment Illinois Infantry

• Organized at Quincy, Ill., and
• mustered in September 1, 1862.
• Left State for Louisville, Ky., September 23.

• Attached to 10th Brigade, 4th Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862.
• 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Left Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863.
• 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 21st Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863.
• 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, to May, 1865.
• 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, to June, 1865.

• Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22.
  • Reconnoissance from Rossville September 17.
  • Ringgold, Ga., September 17.
  • Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., September 19-20.
• Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23.
• Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27.
  • Lookout Mountain November 23-24.
  • Mission Ridge November 25.
  • Pursuit to Ringgold, Ga., November 26-27.
  • Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, November 27.
• March to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 17.
• At Whiteside, Tyner's Station and Blue Springs till May, 1864.
• Demonstration on Dalton, Ga. February 22-27, 1864.
  • Near Dalton February 23.
  • Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap, and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23-25.
• Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May to September.
• Tunnel Hill May 6-7.
• Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11.
• Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8-9.
• Demonstration on Dalton May 9-13.
• Battle of Resaca May 14-15.
• Kingston May 18-19.
• Near Cassville May 19.

Reference for the location of the 84th Infantry as part of Oliver O. Howard's First Division: O.R., Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, p.551. Link to page 551.

Related, this blog: Oliver O. Howard HQ at Blue Springs, Tennessee ; Location and Description of Blue Springs, Tennessee     

Myra Inman Diary - Bibliographic Information, Link to Amazon, etc.

William R. Snell, ed., Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000).

Title: Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee
Editor: William R. Snell
Publisher: Mercer University Press
Location: Macon, Georgia
Year of Publication: 2000
Format: Hardcover Book

ISBN: 0-86554-590-1


This book is very narrowly focused on events in Cleveland, Tennessee (Bradley County, Tennessee). The young lady who writes it is more interested in sewing her chemise and feeding her nephew than she is in battles and skirmishes. However, it is very useful to anyone working on the Civil War in Cleveland, Tennessee. She mentions friends and family by name, mentions births and deaths (scant mentions, but helpful for cross matching things). Certain Union troops were stationed in Cleveland, Tennessee, from about February 1864 to May 1864. A few officers visit her family's boarding house/restaurant frequently, and are mentioned by rank and surname. She occasionally mentions a skirmish (bare mention) in the Tennessee towns of Cleveland and Charleston. She mentions Dalton, Georgia, a few times. She begins to worry when local people are being arrested for having aided the Confederate enemy just before the Union troops came into town. The diary is useful for gauging the feelings of citizens in Cleveland.

In other posts, I'm going to try to identify some of the troops which were stationed in Cleveland, Charleston, and Calhoun, Tennessee in 1864. Col. Eli Long and his troops of the Second Brigade were there (which includes, I think, the Second Michigan, First Tennessee, and 9th Pennsylvania); I know that the first two were there. Oliver O. Howard (4th Corps) was there, at least part of the time. Click here to browse my posts about Cleveland, Tennessee... 


Myra Inman (Amazon.com)
https://www.amazon.com/Myra-Inman-Diary-Civil-Tennessee/dp/0865545901/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472626042&sr=1-1&keywords=Myra+inman

Myra Inman (Barnes and Noble)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/myra-inman-william-r-snell/1113569749

Blue Springs, Bradley County, Tennessee (near Cleveland); not the same as the one in Greene County.

Blue Springs, Tennessee - 1863 Map and Discussion

"One division (Stanley's), Fourth Corps, is stationed at Blue Springs (5 miles in advance of Cleveland, on the railroad between that place and Dalton) and at Ooltewah."

Quoted from:Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc., 90. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/99/

In the Spring of 1864, some brigades of General Oliver O. Howard's Fourth Army Corps were stationed at Blue Springs, Tennessee, and some, at nearby Cleveland, Tennessee.
Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, Part 3, 551.
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/560/

RELATED BLOG POST: FOURTH ARMY CORPS: OLIVER O. HOWARD...CLEVELAND AND BLUE SPRINGS

Identifying Blue Springs, Tennessee (the 1864 camp)

Blue Springs does not appear on many maps and should not be confused with Blue Springs, Tennessee, near Mosheim in Greene County, Tennessee, where a battle occurred. This Blue Springs may not have been a town, but just a "watering place" ~ a mineral spring and resort area, where people came to enjoy the mountain water. However, the Federals do sometimes refer to it as "Blue Springs, Tennessee," as one would designate a town.

Library of Congress has a hand-drawn map of Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1863 (below), but it doesn't show Blue Springs. Blue Springs was in the area near where the mapmaker has drawn the mileage scale, but probably was far enough south of there (near the state line) to make it outside the range of this map. To help locate Blue Springs in proximity to Cleveland, Tennessee, I've used two post-war maps of the Bradley County, Tennessee, area, that actually show "Blue Springs" (one, as a railroad stop). Then, I've taken a screenshot from the modern satellite view in Google Maps.

Information Map: Southeastern Tennessee (detail), 1863,
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Blue Springs is not shown on the Information Map, above, but should (I think) be at the very bottom, near the center of the map, about where the mileage scale is shown. Below are two post-war maps, showing Blue Springs below Cleveland, not too far north of the Tennessee-Georgia state line, though the maps are very general.

1882 Rand McNally Railroad Map (detail, Cleveland, Tenn. area),

Courtesy of Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.

Rand Mcnally, 1888 New Enlarged Railroad Map,
detail of Bradley County, Tennessee, from Library of
Congress, Geography and Map Division.

The 1888 Tennessee map (detail, above) gives some place names, such as Ooltewah, Benton, and Conasauga, that can be compared to the grayish-white 1863 Information Map of Southeastern Tennessee, and also to the Google Earth map, below.

Google Map, above: Probable location of Blue Springs, marked with a pointer.

If the Blue Springs area was named for a spring, it may have even been named for the incredibly beautiful blue, sacred Council Spring on the park grounds, though there are other springs in the area.

RELATED BLOG POST: FOURTH ARMY CORPS: OLIVER O. HOWARD...CLEVELAND AND BLUE SPRINGS
_______________________________________

Citation for 1863 Southeastern Tennessee Map:

United States Army. Department Of The Cumberland. Topographical Engineers. [Information map: Southeastern Tennessee] (detail of map, cropped). [Chattanooga: Topographical Engineer Office, Head qrs., Army of the Cumberland, 1863] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006635115/. (Accessed August 22, 2016.)

Citation for Rand McNally [1882] Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia Air Line...
Rand Mcnally And Company, and Tennessee Virginia. The Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia Air Line; the Shenandoah Valley R.R.; Norfolk & Western R.R.; East Tennessee, Virginia, & Georgia R.R. its leased lines, and their connections. Chicago, 1882. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/98688846/. (Accessed August 22, 2016.)

Citation for Rand McNally 1888 Railroad Map:
Rand McNally And Company. New enlarged scale railroad and county map of Tennessee showing every railroad station and post office in the state, 1888. Chicago, 1888, 1888. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/98688560/. (Accessed August 22, 2016.)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS MAPS

Use their search tool to search by date, map title, etc.

Fourth Army Corps: Oliver O. Howard, Commanding. HQ at Cleveland and Blue Springs, Tennessee, April 30, 1864.

Organization of Oliver O. Howard's Fourth Army Corps, April 30, 1864 (as one of the corps in the Department of the Cumberland, under Major-General George H. Thomas).

After the Battles of Chattanooga in November 1863, Union troops came into the mountains around East Tennessee. Colonel Eli Long and various divisions had set up camp in Charleston and Calhoun, Tennessee, in December 1863, later moving down to Cleveland. According to Myra Inman (from her published diary), O.O. Howard's troops were camped near Cleveland on December 13, 1863.

(William R. Snell, ed., Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee, (1859-1866), (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), 234.

These next references are later, in the spring of 1864. In Official Records, it shows that some of the brigades were headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee, and some were headquartered at nearby Blue Springs, Tennessee. This is not the same Blue Springs, Tennessee, that is in Greene County (now called Mosheim). This area was a community near Cleveland, Tennessee, known as a mineral spring or watering place. It is identified in O.R. as being between Cleveland, Tennessee, and Dalton, Georgia:

"One division (Stanley's), Fourth Corps, is stationed at Blue Springs (5 miles in advance of Cleveland, on the railroad between that place and Dalton) and at Ooltewah."

Quoted from:
Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc., 90. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/99/

FOURTH ARMY CORPS: OLIVER O. HOWARD
Headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee, and nearby Blue Springs, Tennessee.
Partial extract of: Official Records, Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, 551.

FIRST DIVISION, COMMANDED BY DAVID S. STANLEY
Headquartered at Cleveland and Blue Springs, Tennessee.

First Brigade (Cleveland, Tennessee), commanded by Brigadier General Charles Cruft.

Second Brigade (Blue Springs, Tennessee), commanded by Walter C. Whitaker.

Third Brigade (Blue Springs, Tennessee), commanded by William Grose.

Artillery (Blue Springs, Tennessee), commanded by Captain Peter Simonson.


SECOND DIVISION, COMMANDED BY JOHN NEWTON
Headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee.

First Brigade (Cleveland, Tennessee), commanded by Col. Francis T. Sherman.

Second Brigade (Cleveland, Tennessee), commanded by Gen. George D. Wagner.
 
The above divisions consist of various regiments from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, a few of which are on furlough or just returned from furlough. These are listed specifically under the division headings. Refer to source for complete listing.

O.R., Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, 551.

Source Citation:

Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, Part 3 (Correspondence, etc.), 551.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc. 

In 1864, The Fourth Army Corps (Oliver O. Howard, commanding) is under General George H. Thomas in the Department of the Cumberland.

Citation for 1863 Southeastern Tennessee Information Map:

United States Army. Department Of The Cumberland. Topographical Engineers. [Information map: Southeastern Tennessee]. [Chattanooga: Topographical Engineer Office, Head qrs., Army of the Cumberland, 1863] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006635115/. (Accessed August 22, 2016.)

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc.

Skirmish at Spring Place, Georgia ; Intelligence on Johnston's force at Dalton, April 1864

Thomas at Chattanooga, to Sherman at Nashville, April 22, 1864.

Thomas to Sherman, April 22, 1864

Intell: Johnston has 60,000 at Dalton; not moving...
           Rest of Wheeler's cavalry on way back to Dalton.

"Colonel La Grange returned to Cleveland to-day from a scout toward Spring Place, near which place he surprised an outpost of the enemy, capturing 2 commissioned officers, 12 men, 6 horses, 8 saddles, and 15 rifles."

Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, Part 3 (Correspondence, etc.), 444.
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/453/

Place References: Dalton, Georgia ; Spring Place, Georgia ; Cleveland, Tennessee

Movements toward Hiwassee River, advancing via Spring Place, Georgia

Sherman orders Schofield to move toward Hiwassee River and break railroad; advance via Spring Place. Send citizens to rear if necessary.

East Tennessee and North Georgia  ̶

Sherman to Schofield, Orders

Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3 (Corresp., etc.--Union), 87.

[QUOTE pg. 87-88]:
 [p.87]
Headquarters Division of the Mississippi,
Nashville, March 18, 1864.
Major-General Schofield,
     Commanding Department of the Ohio, Knoxville:

  General: I am just arrived and assumed command. General Grant leaves for the East to-morrow. I have had a full conversation with him, and to enable him to fulfill his plans I can merely foreshadow coming events. You will push Longstreet from up the
 [p.88]
valley as far as you can, and prepare to break up the railroad back toward Knoxville. Hold Knoxville and the gap. Also arrange to have a force of cavalry, infantry, and light artillery on the waters of the Big Sandy in the direction of Prestonburg, which must subsist on the country, and not locate, but act so as to threaten or attack any force coming from the northeast. Your main army should at once be organized for offense, ready at the proper time to drop down to the Hiwassee, to move in concert with the main army. I am aware of the difficulties you have in maintaining your army. Appoint good officers to take charge of this branch of your business, and accumulate stores rather at the Hiwassee than at Knoxville. Your route of advance will be most probably by Spring Place. Keep your own counsel; discourage the presence of all stranger; make the citizens feed themselves, and if they are likely to consume the reserves of the country facilitate their removal to the rear. The necessities of war must have precedence of civilians. Write me fully and frankly always. I will see you in person as soon as I can.
W. T. Sherman,
Major-General, Commanding.
[END QUOTE]

Brief Citation: 
Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, Part 3 (Corresp., etc.--Union), 87-88.

Link to s1, v32, pt3, page 87
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/96/


REFERENCES: By the time of these events, Union troops were stationed in Calhoun, Charleston, and Cleveland, Tennessee. Johnston's Confederate Army of Tennessee was at Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia. Spring Place is in Murray County, Georgia. It was, and is, the location of the historic Chief Vann House.

The source of the Hiwassee River is in Towns County, Georgia. The river flows north into North Carolina, then runs in a northwesterly direction into Tennessee to Delano, then down to Benton, and west to Charleston, Tennessee. The bridge across the Hiwassee River at Charleston, Tennessee goes north to Calhoun, Tennessee. That bridge was one of the bridges burned in the East Tennessee raid, November 8, 1861. From the Calhoun-Charleston area, the Hiwassee River runs northwest almost to Dayton, Tennessee, where the Hiwassee empties into the Tennessee River.

This area was important for the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad.

Rolling Mill at Cleveland, Tennessee - Destroyed November 1863, several references

On or around November 26, 1863, Union cavalry under Colonel Eli Long destroyed a copper rolling-mill on the outskirts of Cleveland, Tennessee, by setting fire to it. The mill was filled with missiles and shells (Confederate stockpiles) possibly moved there by Long, before firing the mill. There were loud explosions as the shells went off, sending shrapnel over the town.

Below are several references to the event, including Long's report:

Colonel Eli Long Report
Official Records, Volume 31, Part , pages 561-566; with rolling mill mentioned on 561.

Report no. 185.

"Report of Col. Eli Long, Fourth Ohio Cavalry, commanding Second Brigade, Second Cavalry Division of raid on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, and including operations November 17, 1863-January 3, 1864.

"Hdqrs. Second Brigade, Second Cavalry Division, Calhoun, Tenn., January [19], 1864."

The report contains a detailed account of operations.

[QUOTE]:  On the 24th, receiving orders from Major-General Thomas to march to Cleveland, Tenn., and destroy as far as possible the enemy's lines of communication in that direction, I crossed by pontoons above Chattanooga, and struck the Chattanooga and Cleveland dirt road, running along the railroad.
[END QUOTE]

Nov. 25, Sent detachment on East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad toward Hiwassee River and Charleston (Tenn.) Continuing, November 25th or 26th (undated, in report, it falls between Nov. 24th and Nov. 27th, specifically after the 25th, which is not dated, but specified as "Next morning" after the night of the 24th.)

[QUOTE]:In Cleveland I found a considerable lot of rockets and shells, large quantities of corn, and several bales of new grain sacks, all belonging to the rebel Government. Destroyed all that was not appropriated to use of my own command. Burned several railroad cars found here; also the large copper rolling mill--the only one of the kind in the Confederacy.
[END QUOTE]

Official Records, Series 1, Volume 31, Part 2 (Reports), (Washington: Govt. Printing Offc., 1890.), "Report of Col. Eli Long" (560-565), 561.
http://bit.ly/OfficialRecords-1-31-2-Eli-Long-rept-incl-rolling-mill-Cleveland-Tenn

Title: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 31, Part 2
Editors: Robert Nicholson Scott, Frederick Caryton Ainsworth, George Breckenridge Davis, Joseph William Kirkley
Compiled by: Calvin Duvall Cowles
Contributors: United States. Record and pension office, United States. War Records Office
Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1890
Original from: the University of Michigan
________________________________

This report references the rolling mill. The date, November 18th, is before the date mentioned in other sources. However, it is the date of the detachment. Other sources show that the mill was destroyed on November 29th, which would be eleven days into Long's mission.

Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 31, Pt. 1, (Reports), 436, No. 54, "Itinerary of the Cavalry, Army of the Cumberland, Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley and Brig. Gen. Washington L. Elliott commanding," sv. "November 18," (in which Col. Eli Long, Fourth Ohio Cavalry, cmdg. Second Brigade, et al.), 436.

"He burned a large rolling mill...."

LINK: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152578/m1/449/?q=eli%20long
________________________________

History of the Rebellion (link to book)
J.S. Hurlburt, History of the Rebellion in Bradley County, East Tennessee (Downey & Brouse, printers?: Indianapolis, 1866), 15.

Tells about Eli Long destroying the rolling mill (page 15).

https://archive.org/details/historyofrebelli00hurl

Citation:
J.S. Hurlburt, History of the Rebellion in Bradley County, East Tennessee (Downey & Brouse, printers?: Indianapolis, 1866), 15.

________________________________

Historic Marker at Lat34North
Rolling mill destruction mentioned in text.
http://www.lat34north.com/HistoricMarkersTN/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=006-13&MarkerTitle=Cleveland%20During%20the%20Civil%20War

Julius Eckhardt Raht, in Wikipedia
Pioneer of Copper Industry in East Tennessee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Eckhardt_Raht

Destruction of Rolling Mill, indexed in Final Report (Claims)
Claims: Destruction of rolling-mill by Col. Eli Long. Dec. 1, 1863
Claim no. 682, Henry August Bohn...
Claim no. 683 Susanne K. Boulingval.
NOTE: DEC. 1, 1863, ABOVE, IS NOT THE DATE THAT THE ROLLING MILL WAS DESTROYED. IT IS APPARENTLY THE DATE OF THE CLAIM OR OF THE CLAIM REPORT.

Source: 
French and American Claims Commission (Washington, D.C.), The Final Report of the Agent and Counsel of the United States: With Treaties and Schedule of Claims, (reprint edition), (Washington: Gibson Brothers, printers, 1884), 70 (index).

http://bit.ly/Claims-pg70-RollingMill-Cleveland-Tenn

Another source (Myra Inman Diary) doesn't specifically mention the rolling mill, but does mention that they burned Mr. Raht's wagon, and I think mentions the burning of railroad cars; she mentions shelling or fighting, which could refer to the sound of the shells going off. (Link not available). Will try to add a more specific reference later.

References: Inman diary entries for the month of November 1863:

From Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee :

Wed. 25. "We have heard hard cannonading all day."(Snell, Inman Diary, 230). The editor's note explains that this was shelling in one of the Battles of Chattanooga, thirty miles away (cf. 38).

Thurs. 26 (as Yankees are actually in Cleveland, taking things): "They burnt Mr. Raht's wagon and the railroad and some cars."(Snell, Inman Diary, 230).

The rolling mill was run by Julius Eckhardt Raht; possibly Myra confused the burning of the wagon with the destruction of the rolling mill; or perhaps it was all one. She didn't specifically mention the shells and missiles that flew all over town, according to Hurlburt's description, but she mentioned cannonading on the 25th.

CITATION:
William R. Snell, ed., Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee, (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), 230.

PAPER SOURCE FOR INMAN. NO LINK AVAILABLE.

Related: Julius Eckhardt Raht Wikipedia Article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Eckhardt_Raht

1865 Map: Detail of Cohutta Springs, Murray County, Georgia (North Georgia)

1865 MAP - Northern Murray County, Georgia (detail from LC Map, Mountain Region of North Carolina and Tennessee).

Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
Mountain Region of NC and Tenn (dtl, North Georgia area)

This map shows Cohutta Springs as being east of Sumac Ridge. That is the location of the mineral springs and resort area. West of the ridge, but not designated on this 1865 map, is Cohutta Springs P.O. (est. 1836), suspended briefly during the Civil War. Some old maps show both locations as "Cohutta Springs."

For anyone researching this area, here are points to help identify the locations: 

(1) Cohutta Springs (P.O., west of Sumac Ridge) is associated with Col. Eli Long, Callaway Campbell, Euclid Waterhouse (Waterhouse's Mill, Waterhouse's house, later McCroskey's); the locale can be identified by land deeds in the Tenth District, 3rd Section, Murray County; by Callaway Campbell's description of the post office as being five miles west of the mineral springs of the same name (from letters in a collection at William and Mary College); and by the proximity of the Conasauga River (see the area south of Benton Pike, where the Conasauga River goes down and crosses the Tenn/Georgia line before curving to the west). The modern location would be on Georgia Highway 225 N, Crandall, Georgia, just before crossing the state line into Tennessee.

(2) Cohutta Springs (historic mineral springs, resort, east of Sumac Ridge, north of Hickory Ridge, in the mountainous area at the foot of Grassy Mountain) is associated with Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, who once stayed there; and with Myra Inman of Cleveland, Tennessee, who summered there in the early days of the Civil War. (Myra identified the location as two miles from Summerhour's). It is in or near the 27th District, Second Section, Murray County. It can also be identified by an old advertisement by Dr. W. A. Hooten, placing the mineral springs at the foot of the Cohutta Mountains, 18 miles east of Dalton; by descriptions in other diaries (Wadley or Watkins, as I recall), which describe the boarding houses near the springs. The ruins of cabins and hotels are in the woods near the end of Cohutta Springs Road, Crandall, Georgia, as is the chimney of the old Cohutta Springs Mill (later known as the Coffey Mill). The modern-day location is accessed from U.S. Highway 411, and is located on Cohutta Springs Road, Crandall, Georgia, near the dead end of it.

(Above map is a cropped area of a larger Mountain Region map of North Carolina and Tennessee).

Citation for full map view:
Nicholson, W. L, A Lindenkohl, H Lindenkohl, Charles G Krebs, and United States Coast Survey. Mountain region of North Carolina and Tennessee. [S.l., U.S. Coast Survey, A. D. Bache, Supt, 1865] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress [Geography and Map Division], https://www.loc.gov/item/99447196. (Accessed July 04, 2016.)

Map Drafts, 1863-1864, are available from same source. Published 1865.

ALTERED FROM ABOVE MAP, TO SHOW APPROX. LOCATION OF COHUTTA SPRINGS POST OFFICE AND WATERHOUSE'S PLANTATION ("W"), WEST OF SUMAC RIDGE. IN THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA IS COHUTTA SPRINGS, THE MINERAL SPRING AND RESORT AREA:

LATER MAP, SMALLER AREA, SHOWING COHUTTA SPRINGS P.O. WEST OF SUMAC RIDGE. THIS MAP IS PROBABLY 1906-1910; THE RAILROAD (BUILT 1906) SHOWS ON THE FULL MAP:

Topographic Maps

Below (links): These topographic maps of the Fairy Valley and Sumac Ridge area of Murray County are interactive; it is possible to zoom in and out to view the features. The above segment of Murray County is slightly northwest of the Fairy community and west of Sumac Ridge (Below are two clips of a topographic map of Georgia, zoomed in to specific features in Murray County):

Topographic Map of Fairy Valley in Murray County
Link to Topographic Map of Fairy Valley
https://www.topozone.com/georgia/murray-ga/valley/fairy-valley/

Topographic Map of Sumac Ridge in Murray County
Link to Topographic Map of Sumac Ridge
https://www.topozone.com/georgia/murray-ga/ridge/sumac-ridge/