At least fifteen Confederate companies were formed in Dyer County, including Capt. Otho F. Strahl's Co. K, 4th Tennessee Infantry, and Capt. Tyree H. Bell's Co. B, 12th Tennessee Infantry. Both men rose to the rank of brigadier general. Strahl was one of six Confederate generals to die at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. He is buried in Dyersburg's Old City Cemetery on East Court Street. Bell served under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and participated in the postwar Dyer County Aid Society to help former soldiers and their families.
