The Free and Independent State of Scott

        As I read Confederate Outlaw and we discussed the life of Champ Ferguson, one aspect of the book really stuck out to me. Scott County, Tennessee, which is mentioned briefly in the book caught my eye. This is because when Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, Scott County did not. The county passed a resolution that called for the establishment of the “Free and Independent State of Scott”. Their story really perked my interest and hopefully catches yours as well!

Scott county was created in 1849 from Anderson, Campbell, Fentress, and Morgan Counties and was named for General Winfield Scott. At the time of the civil war, it was one of 84 counties in Tennessee. Yet when the next census came out, there was only 83 counties and Scott was not one of them. What happened?

Tennessee was the last state to secede from the union, joining the others once Lincoln called for the 75,000 troops. This was passed by an overwhelming margin and with little opposition. However, Scott county citizens overwhelmingly against secession and later they would approve a resolution that stated Scott County was seceding from Tennessee and form the Independent State of Scott.  

On June 4, 1861 United States Senator Andrew Johnson was at the courthouse at Huntsville in Scott county. Here he delivered a speech against separation. Obviously his speech had a major affect on the people because just four days later Scott County voted against secession by the largest percentage of any county of Tennessee. 

Once Tennessee actually seceded in the later months, Scott county voted to leave Tennessee and formed the “Free and Independent State of Scott.” Scott county never saw an actual battle but did see a lot of “bushwacking” and guerrilla warfare like most of Tennessee and Kentucky experienced. County historian, Paul Ray said in his book, Scot County in the Civil War that Scott County was isolated from both the North and South during the war. However it provided a key place for loyal Tennesseeans, who hoped to join the Union. It was a safe haven for them and provided a route for them to get into Kentucky to join the Union. Furthermore, it was through Scott County that General Ambrose Burnside marched through to seize Knoxville form the grasp of the confederacy. Even though they never saw a real battle, the “Free and Independent State of Scott” was a very important part of the war in the theatre. 

The State of Scott was a lot like the other counties during the war because of the Guerrilla warfare people would scrounge for food and would hide all of their valuables in fear of them being stolen. So even though they were “independent” they faced the same problems the other counties faced. People were terrified to leave their homes, or would go into hiding because of people like Champ Ferguson and other guerrilla warfare, and from fear of being conscripted.

In conclusion, Scott County took a stand and seceded from Tennessee to stay with the Union thanks in large part to Andrew Johnson’s speech convincing them that the Union needed to stay together. They did not rejoin the union till May 1986. So for over a hundred years the “State of Scott” existed within the United States. They even declared war on Germany in World War I and still technically at war with them. One thing that intrigues me the most about this story is, is it still possible for a county to secede from a state? And in reality what is the point of Scott County seceding, was it more symbolic or did they actually think that it would have an affect on the war? 

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Source: 

http://www.scottcounty.com/about/history

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Scott_County,_Tennessee.html

http://www.tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/secessedStates.html