On February 22, 1864 several companies of the 5 th Tennessee Cavalry, USA commanded by Col. William Stokes were ambushed by Confederate guerillas operating near Sparta at Dug Hill. Reports of casualties vary but may have been as high as 40 Federal troopers killed in the engagement.
Blountville
Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Department of the Ohio, undertook an expedition into East Tennessee to clear the