Christopher Alexander "Alex" Haun (September 14, 1821 – December 11, 1861) was a potter from

Greene County, Tennessee Greene County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,152. Its county seat is Greeneville. Greene County comprises the Greeneville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

, regarded as one of the most notable and skilled of the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum arc ...

period. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, he was executed by the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confede ...

for participation in the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy. Haun was one of many examples in 19th century

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

of what were later referred to as family potters, rural potters who ran businesses, often part-time as a supplement to farming and with the aid of their families, supplying practical vessels for local use. Stephen T. Rogers of the

Tennessee Historical Commission The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) is the State Historic Preservation Office for the U.S. state of Tennessee. Headquartered in Nashville, it is an independent state agency, administratively attached to the Department of Environment and C ...

writes that Haun "produced some of the most beautiful and finely crafted lead-glazed earthenware in Tennessee". Haun and a number of potters lived in a part of Greene County referred to as Pottertown, using local clay found near Lick Creek. Pottertown was a staunchly Unionist enclave in a Confederate State. Union supporter Reverend William Blount Carter launched a plan, with the approval of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, to destroy Tennessee bridges in order to disrupt the Confederate railroad system. Haun and other local potters were recruited to destroy the bridge over Lick Creek. On November 8, 1861, after being sworn into Company F of the

2nd Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Infantry The 2nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 2nd Tennessee Infantry was organized at Camp Dick Robinson in Garrard County, Kentucky and at Somerset, Kentucky ...

, they proceeded to the bridge and destroyed it. There they captured Confederate sentries and released them after they swore an oath to the union. The Confederate soldiers, however, informed the authorities and Haun and four others were captured. Haun and three of the others were hanged at the

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

jail on December 11. Before he died, he wrote to his wife regarding the disposition of his pottery business and concluded:

I have the promise that my body will be sent home to you. O live for heaven, Oh my bosom friend and children, Live for heaven I pray. My time is almost out, dear friend, farewell to this world — farewell to earth and earthly troubles.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haun, Christopher Alexander 1821 births 1861 deaths American potters People from Greene County, Tennessee People executed by the Confederate States of America by hanging Artists from Tennessee Executed people from Tennessee 19th-century executions of American people Southern Unionists in the American Civil War