Zollicoffer’s Headquarters

One-half mile southeast of here, near Maple Hill Cemetery, stood the home of Thomas Buntin, founder of Richland Station and a Confederate sympathizer. In the spring of 1861, the Buntin residence was headquarters of Brigadier General Felix K. Zollicoffer, commander of nearby Camp Trousdale, a Confederate training camp. On July 26, 1861, General Zollicoffer was ordered to East Tennessee to command that department. Reverse: His orders were "to preserve the peace, protect the railroad and repel invasion." On January 19, 1862, General Zollicoffer was killed at the Battle of Mill Springs (or Fishing Creek), Kentucky. The popular ex-congressman, newspaper editor, and orator became the first Confederate general to die in the Western theater. After lying in state at the State Capitol, he was buried in Nashville's old City Cemetery.