For the Union: Historic Roane County Courthouse

On June 7, 1861, future president Andrew Johnson spoke forcefully against secession on the steps of this building, the Roane County Courthouse. Along with many others in East Tennessee, a majority in Roane County opposed separation from the Union, and its citizens voted 1,568 to 454 against secession the following day. Nevertheless, the state as a whole voted to join the Confederacy. Kingston was important strategically during the Civil War because of its location near the confluence of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers and the roads leading from Knoxville to Nashville. At different times both armies occupied the town.