Tennessee’s newest roadside historic marker, marking Civil War events in the area, will be dedicated in Bradley County later this week.
The dedication ceremony will be held between 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, along Dalton Pike near the Highway 317 intersection.
The marker will be located near the spot that the home of pioneer settler Joseph Lusk II once stood. The marker is being sponsored by Tim McCoy, a former Cleveland resident and the great-great-great-grandson of Lusk.
Speakers for Saturday’s program will include Sam Elliott, immediate past chairman of the Tennessee Historical Commission; Jim Ogden, historian at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park; Mary Ann Peckham, executive director of the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association; and D. Bryan Reed, history professor and chair of the Humanities Department at Cleveland State Community College.
McCoy will also be speaking along with Melissa Woody, vice president of Tourism for the Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce.
Flag-bearers at the event will be Cub Scout Pack 3477 of Maranatha Baptist Church.
The unique marker designates the area in southern Bradley County unofficially known as “No Man’s Land” during the American Civil War. It was an area of split sympathies with pro-Confederate forces to the South toward Dalton, Georgia, and pro-Union forces to the North near Cleveland.
In addition to the opposing armies in the area, there were guerilla bands which belonged to neither side. These lawless individuals caused considerable problems for settlers in the area, as well as for Union and Confederate troops.
Lusk’s old home place was approximately in the middle of the fighting. He was a strong supporter of the Union, probably because of his father, according to historians.
Joseph Lusk I was a Revolutionary War hero who was an ordinance captain for Capt. John Sevier, and fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain, in North Carolina.
The elder Lusk came to live with his son late in life at the Bradley County homestead, and is reportedly buried there.
The younger Lusk was involved in repeated incidents in “No Man’s Land” during the civil strife. He first refused to gives up his guns after a Confederate decree to do so, and then fought off ruffians who were attempting to steal his only remaining horses (or mules).
Despite being over 70 years of age, Lusk killed one of the potential thieves, and the rest ran away.
The group later returned in search of him and burned down his home. He and his family were later protected by Union forces that moved into the area. His sons were attached to the Union group.
The “No Man’s Land” marker will be another significant Civil War site in Bradley County. There are several others located throughout the community, in and around Cleveland and Charleston.
The number of these markers, and the recorded battles, help to explain why President Abraham Lincoln placed a high priority upon capturing and controlling the railroads in Cleveland, which was the county seat, and elsewhere in the South.
This would enable Union troops to control the supply lines to the looming battle in Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain in November 1863.
The 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War was recently commemorated.
Leave a Reply