Limestone Cove Tragedy

Limestone Cove Tragedy is a Tennessee historical marker in Unicoi County.

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Here are buried the eight civilians killed at the home of Dr. David Bell in November, 1863. Enroute to Kentucky to join Federal forces, they were found by a detachment of Col. W.A. Witcher's Confederate cavalry, while waiting for breakfast. They were; B. Blackburn, Calvin Cantrel, Elijah Gentry, Jacob Lyons, Wiley Royal, John Sparks and two unknown. Buried nearby is Dr. Bell's brother, James, killed at the same time.

The Tennessee Historical Commission's records list this marker as not standing. Note from the marker program.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1844 · Kentucky (H. S. Tanner, 1844) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1847 · Virginia (H. S. Tanner, 1847) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1891 · Roan Mountain, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1895 · Gen. map VII. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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