__NOTOC__ Fielding Jackson Hurst (born

Claiborne County, Tennessee Claiborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,043. Its county seat is Tazewell and its largest city is Harrogate. History Claiborne County was established on October 29, 18 ...

1810, died McNairy County, Tennessee 1882) was a surveyor and planter who served as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Union Army, commanding the 6th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He later served as a Unionist member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...

and as a judge. As a

Southern Unionist In the United States, Southern Unionists were white Southerners living in the Confederate States of America and the Southern Border States opposed to secession. Many fought for the Union during the Civil War. These people are also referred t ...

and slaveholder, he remains a controversial figure. Hurst was born in 1810. Around 1834, he and his wife Melocky moved to McNairy County. He worked as a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

and owned a plantation with several families of slaves. In 1861, Tennessee voted to

secede Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the c ...

from the United States and join the fledgling

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

as its last state. Hurst remained steadfastly Unionist, and was imprisoned in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

along with many other prominent Unionist Tennesseans after the vote. After Tennessee was retaken by Union troops in 1862, Hurst was freed. Hurst formed a unit of mounted scouts. They served as self-funded

irregulars Irregular military is any military component distinct from a country's regular armed forces, representing non-standard militant elements outside of conventional governmental backing. Irregular elements can consist of militias, private army, pr ...

until Tennessee military governor

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

commissioned Hurst as commander of the newly formed First West Tennessee Cavalry, later known as the 6th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry. Hurst and his unit gained a reputation for harsh tactics, angering Confederates and even leading to his brief reimprisonment by Union officials. However, recent scholarship has proven that Lt. Colonel William K.M. Breckenridge, the regiment's second-in-command, was largely responsible for the unit's formation and effective leadership through October 1863, when Breckenridge died on disease in Grand Junction, Tennessee. Unbeknownst until 2012, Breckenridge had maintained a diary that documented the regiment's history from formation through Breckenridge's death. That diary revealed new details pertaining to Hurst's unsavory wartime activities and his lack of actual leadership in the regiment's day to day activities. The diary became the basis of ''In The Shadow of the Devil: William K.M. Breckenridge in Fielding Hurst's First West Tennessee U.S. Cavalry.'' Breckenridge's diary further provided evidence that the ill reputation gained by the regiment was largely due to the actions of Hurst and his fellow officer, William Jay Smith, as well as a handful of their direct subordinates. Otherwise, the regiment appears now to have been composed of otherwise dedicated Unionists. The First West Tennessee U.S. Cavalry/6th Tennessee U.S. Cavalry clashed several times with the forces of Confederate general

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

. Hurst resigned his commission in December 1864, citing poor health, but largely because of his humiliating defeat at the battle of Bolivar, Tennessee, which resulted largely from his acts of insubordination. On March 4, 1865, he was elected as a UnionistBlack, Diane. ''Tennessee Senators Alphabetical Listing – Individual Names'' Nashville: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 2012; p. 38
/ref> to represent District 21 of the

, which at that time consisted of Hardeman, Hardin and McNairy counties. His first vote was to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. He resigned after the Senate session ended on June 12, 1865, to accept a position as circuit judge. The book, ''In the Shadow of the Devil,'' further details Hurst's colorful postwar career. Hurst was a local leader of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

. He died in poverty in 1882 and remained a hated figure among Confederate sympathizers.

References

External links

Archived website devoted to Fielding Hurst and the 6th Tennessee Cavalry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Fielding 1810 births 1882 deaths American slave owners Tennessee state senators People from Claiborne County, Tennessee People from McNairy County, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Union army colonels Tennessee Unionists 19th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly

See also

References

Further reading

External links