Shoat's Fort in Sullivan County became Bluff City. I include this description because my fourth great grandfather William Cross the Revolutionary War Drummer Boy served part of his tour of duty at Shoat's Fort. Also, Shoat's Fort may have been named for some of my other ancestors, except that the more correct modern spelling of the surname is Choate.
Southern Choate Famly Association Bulletin page 2
Shoat's Ford
Sullivan County, Tennessee
by Mary Margaret Elliot
This little town, situated on the South branch of the Holston River was once in the heart of the old Watauga Settlement.
First called Shoat's Fort, then Middletown, then Union Station, then Union, then Zellicoffer, then Union again, and finally Bluff City.
The Sullivan County, Tennessee Map of 1832 shows Middletown,.
Shoat's Ford received its name for a member of the Choate family from Virginia.
This place played a small part in Tennessee History. A link on the Wilderness Road of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the first route opened across the Appalachain barrier. From 1775 to 1800 was the principal overland entry into the limitless reaches of the West, and during the Civil War it was of strategic importance in the movement of armies.
The following events explain the changing of the names given to Shoat's Ford.
Union Station came about probably when the railroad bridge was built near the ford, across the Holston River. Later the railroad station was known as just Union.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Tennessee was split in its feelings and although Gov. Isham Harris tried to get the whole State to join the Confederacy, Eastern Tennessee revolted. The governor asked for help and Jefferson Davis sent his General, Flex K. Zollicoffer, with troops to quiet the revolt.
You cn clearly see why the name Union was changed to Zollicoffer. Certainly not by choice of the Tennessee people.
During the war, General Carter sent a Union Troop into (Union) and blew up a 600-foot railroad bridge, which spanned the South Fork of the Holston River. Captured three companys of Confederate soldiers, which he immediately paroled due to the fact most were willing to give up their arms and not fight, or joined the Union Army.
The success of this capture as well as others along the Wilderness Trail gave General Carter and his Calvery troops the well known name of "Sailors on Horseback".
After the close of the Civil War, Shoat's Ford was again called Union, and as the area became more settled it became known as Bluff City.
Much has been written on the Watauga Settlements. Most of the earliest settlers were Virginians, who later found they were living in North Carolina. Been there as early as 1770, not receiving their North Carolina Land Grants until the 1780's. By 1800 when some of these Grants were sold, they were found to be over in the State of Virginia.
As an added note, Zollicoffer was killed at the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads, Kentucky January 19, 1862. This Battle cleared the way for Union advances into East Tennessee. Union Col. Speed S. Fry, because of the poor condition of Zellocoffer's uniform, ordered him reclothed in Fry's civilian clothes. The body then shipped in a wooden coffin to Lebanon. Then to Danville where the body was transferred into a metal coffin and forwarded to Nashville, where it now rests.
This page last edited on 23 Jul 2006.