The Battle in Gatlinburg by Bill Morris is a very small booklet about a Civil War skirmish which happened in Gatlinburg, about Light #3 and Anakeesta. The Cherokee Confederates were having breakfast one morning when two columns of Union soldiers surprised them.
The Roaring Fork River at Zoder’s Inn and Suites in Gatlinburg
Leaving their corncakes in the skillet over the fire, the Cherokees retreated into the forest. The Union soldiers ate the corncakes and then pursued the Cherokees up the hill, in a tree-by-tree skirmish. Eventually, the Cherokees ran away and disappeared into the Smoky Mountains.
It was strange to read about a Civil War battle which happened right here where I live. Very impressively, the two columns of Union soldiers met up at Light #3 at the same time, with no GPS or cell phones for communication. One came from Sevierville, the other from Wears Valley Road.
Since there were Confederate spies in Sevierville who could have warned the Cherokees, the Union soldiers left some guards on the road from Sevierville to Gatlinburg. They did not allow anybody to leave Sevierville in the direction of Gatlinburg that morning.
