Revisited: CSA Brig. Gen. John C. Vaughn

[Battleline]

Note: This bio originally was done a L-O-N-G time ago, near the start of the project. It is being revisited after the recent release and acquisition of “The Last Confederate General; John C. Vaughn and his East Tennessee Cavalry” by Larry Gordon, 2009.

Brig. Gen. John C. Vaughn, CSA (b. 1824 d. 1875) Senior general present at the final Confederate council of war in Abbeville, South Carolina (May 2, 1865), John Crawford Vaughn was a rarity in the Confederate forces. He was one of a few generals from Eastern Tennessee, a region which largely opposed secession. Vaughn was one of the last Confederates east of the Mississippi to surrender, being paroled at Washington, Georgia, after the capture of President Jefferson Davis. Vaughn was born in either Roane County or Monroe County, Tennessee, Feb. 24, 1824. Vaughn was raised in Madisonville, Tennessee. He was a captain in the Mexican War, but did not see combat. Vaughn and his family settled in Sweet Water (now Sweetwater), Tennessee. Prior to the Civil War, he was sheriff of Monroe County and delegate to the first 1860 Democratic Convention. A witness to the bombardment of Fort Sumter the next month, he hurried back to Tennessee to recruit a regiment for Confederate service from Monroe, Meigs, Polk and Sullivan counties. The regiment was mustered into service as the 3rd Tennessee Infantry in Lynchburg, Va., June 6, 1861, and was sent to Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of the Shenandoah. Assigned to the forces of Col. A.P. Hill at Romney, Virginia, the regiment won a skirmish at New Creek June 18. Ordered to Manassas July 18, the 3rd Tennessee moved to Piedmont Station and were moved by train, arriving just after noon on the day of the battle. As the two armies fought on Henry House Hill, Vaughn’s regiment moved into position. The 3rd Tennessee participated in an attack which routed the Federals. On Feb. 16, 1862, the regiment was returned to Tennessee, where it was assigned to break up Unionist partisans in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. His men opened the Cumberland Gap for the Confederate invasion of Kentucky, earning Vaughn promotion to brigadier general Sept. 22, 1862. Vaughn was given command of the 60th, 61st and 62nd Tennessee regiments recruited (most enlisted to escape conscription) from East Tennessee. Vaughn’s brigade was assigned to the command of Gen. Pemberton (Maj. Gen. Martin Smith’s division) in Mississippi and saw first action at Chickasaw Bayou Dec. 28-29, 1862. The brigade was mauled at Big Black Bridge (May 17, 1863). Caught in the siege of Vicksburg, Vaughn surrendered with his men July 4, 1863, and paroled and exchanged the next day. After reorganization, Vaughn’s was given his 3rd Tennessee along with the other three regiments. This force was sent into action around Knoxville as the Federals campaigned there. On Dec. 23, 1863, Vaughn’s brigade was ordered to convert to mounted infantry. The brigade reorganized in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. About this time, Vaughn’s family was imprisoned for the first time (they would be jailed again). At the end of May, 1864, Vaughn’s men received orders to move to the Shenandoah Valley to oppose the Federals. At Piedmont, June 5, 1864, Vaughn’s men were dismounted and called up to shore up the line under Brig. Gen. “Grumble” Jones. Vaughn was wounded and the Confederates routed. After that, Vaughn’s men went to Lynchburg, Virginia, where they came under the command of Maj. Gen. John Breckinridge, where they fought in Lt. Gen. Jubal Early’s Valley Campaign. On Sept. 7, 1864, Vaughn was sent back to east Tennessee. For the rest of the war, Vaughn’s men mainly were involved in hit-and-run actions in Tennessee and Virginia. Vaughn, retreated into North Carolina, looking to join Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, but ended up becoming escort for President Davis and other leaders during his escape south. Vaughn was paroled at Washington, Ga., May 9, 1865. Following the war, the resided both in Georgia and Tennessee. He was the presiding officer of the Tennessee Senate for one term. He died near Thomasville, Ga., Sept. 10, 1875.