This is where Union forces stood as they attacked Blountville on September 22, 1863, during a campaign to control the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. On the day of the attack, the Confederates occupied Blountville while Federal forces held the south bank of the Watauga River. Union Col. John W. Foster led his cavalry brigade across the river at 9 A.M., drove off pickets from Confederate Col. James E. Carter's 1st Tennessee Cavalry, and then occupied Cemetery Hill.
