The Skirmish at the Irish Shanty
A Presentation by Dr. Calvin James
Houston County Historical Society
City Hall, Erin Tennessee
Tuesday, April 13, 2004, 2:00 p.m.
Public Invited
On July 2, 1863, a Union Calvary unit dispatched from Clarksville, Tennessee disembarked from their boat at Cumberland City on the Cumberland River. The unit traveled south following the Yellow Creek Road. The evidence suggests its mission was to capture southern guerillas said to be frequenting a location known as the Irish Settlement.
On that same morning, a small band of men (Dr. Aaron James, Dr. Peyton Washburn, Jonas, Spicer, William Few, James Washington Shelton, Euphrates Shelton and John Box) from Dickson and Humphreys Counties had assembled at a drinking establishment known as the Irish Shanty. This location is at or near the present site of Tennessee City in Dickson County. Several were boiling eggs over an open fire in the yard in front of the shanty.
Upon the arrival of the forward elements of the union troops a skirmish ensued and 6 men were captured. They were returned to Clarksville to stand trial as southern guerillas before a military commission. Later that year, "The New York Times" reported that President Abraham Lincoln disallowed one conviction & sentence of death handed down by that commission. Abraham Lincoln did, in fact, disallow the conviction of Dr. Aaron James of Dickson County (later of Humphreys Co.).
Dr. Calvin James is a great, great grandson of Dr. Aaron James. He researched the people and events surrounding the episode finding the complete trial transcripts at the National Archives in Washington D. C.
The trial transcripts discovered by Dr. James provide an insightful look at guerilla activity along Yellow Creek during the Civil War and provide some perspective of attitudes and loyalties of area citizens. Numerous Dickson and Humphreys citizens were called as witnesses as were the union soldiers involved in the skirmish. The surprising verdicts and the aftermath of the trials are equally intriguing.
The public is invited to this first public presentation of Dr. James' research.
For further information call: (931) 764-0473