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Nolensville Tennessee "A Great Place to Live"
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As the prosperous 1850's came to a close around the thriving agricultural community of Nolensville, the 1860's saw the beginnings of the bloodiest wars on American soil...the American Civil War.

In April , 1861, Joel Battle raised a company of Confederate soldiers, Company B-20th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry (or Zollicoffer Guards as he called them) at Nolensville.  Joel Battle served as Colonel of the entire regiment.  The 20th Tennessee Infantry participated in the majority of the battles in the western theatre of the Civil War.  The 20th Tennessee Infantry was legendary in their courage and gallantry in battle.  Even the Union Army did not want to oppose them.  Following the Battle of Stone's River (Murfreesboro, TN), the 20th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry was presented a Confederate battle flag for their gallant efforts in battle.  The flag was made from General John Breckinridge's wife's wedding gown and presented to the hardest fighting regiment in his division.

Active around Nolensville were Coleman's Scouts, a Confederate spy network which were the "eyes and ears" for General Braxton Bragg.  The Scouts operated behind enemy lines and were used extensively during the time when the Union troops were encamped near Triune.  When captured, as was Sam Davis and Dewitt Smith Jobe, Scouts would rather die than betray their Confederacy.

December, 1862 saw Nolensville occupied by Confederate General John Wharton.  Main camp was located on the Page plantation between Nolensville and Triune with advanced camps at Knob Gap and Nolensville.  On December 26, 1862, the Union Army, under the command of General Rosecrans, began a southern advance from Nashville which would eventually culminate in the Battle of Stone's River in Murfreesboro.  General Alexander McCook commanded the Union 14th Army to advance directly down Nolensville Pike.  At mid-morning on Friday, December 26, 1862, the Union 14th Army encountered General Wharton's Confederate cavalry at Nolensville.  After a sharp skirmish and several rounds of artillery, the Confederates became quickly outnumbered over ten to one and fell back to Knob Gap and then further back to Triune.  Over the next several days, Union and Confederate troops made their way towards Murfreesboro where they collided in the Battle of Stone's River on December 31, 1862, leaving over 22,000 killed, wounded, or missing - one out of four who entered the battle.

On December 30, 1862, General Joe Wheeler and his Confederate Cavalry were sent on a raid behind Union lines with instructions to destroy as many Union supplies as possible before the battle the following day.  Wheeler's cavalry destroyed wagon trains at Jefferson, Lavergne, and Rock Springs before destroying another supply train at Nolensville and capturing over 200 prisoners.

After the Battle of Stone's River, the Union Army maintained camp along a line extending from Readyville, TN, through Murfreesboro, Triune, to Franklin.  With the Union infantry posted near Triune and Nolensville, the citizens of Nolensville were ideal "advisors" to the Coleman Scouts about Union reinforcements and movements.

As the war lengthened, Nolensville slipped further behind Union lines as the battles worked their way to the south.  Two years later, the war finally ended and the Confederate soldiers were able to return to their homes and rebuild their lives.  Post-war rebuilding was even more difficult because of the destruction of homes and property, the lack of crops and labor, and the worthless money and high taxes that had to be endured.

Dewitt Smith Jobe

Born in Rutherford County, joined Company D, 20th Tennessee Infantry Regiment in 1861.  In 1863, Dewitt was transferred to Coleman's Scouts, a Confederate spy network for General Braxton Bragg.

In the summer of 1864, Dewitt, along with other Scouts, were scouting around College Grove, Triune, and Nolensville, and would frequently separate when in danger of capture by the Union patrols.  On August 29, 1864, Dewitt Jobe, after riding all night, stopped at the home of William Moss, halfway between Nolensville and Triune, and was given breakfast.  Later, Jobe rode west into a cornfield located on Sam Water's farm, hiding from the Union patrol party of about fifteen men.  Dewitt Jobe, carrying some very important dispatches that would condemn him and several others, tore and chewed the papers to keep them from being discovered.  When the Union scout troop of the 115th Ohio Calvary captured Jobe, they tried to make him tell the contents of the papers, but he refused.

As a result of his refusal to tell, the Union Army tied his hands and his neck with a leather strap to choke him.  Refusing to give in, Jobe was beaten over the head, knocking out his front teeth, and dragged by the leather straps around his neck until he was strangled to death.  Dewitt Jobe was buried in his family cemetery.

Dewitt Jobe had two cousins who also served in the Confederate Army.  Dewitt Smith waged his own personal war for two months against the Union Army to avenge his cousin's death.  After killing nearly fifty (50) Union soldiers, Dewitt Smith was captured near Nolensville and was taken to Murfreesboro to be hanged.  He died just hours before his execution from wounds he received the day before.

Tom Benton Smith, another cousin, was forced to surrender to the Union Army after the battle of Nashville.