Edgar, I checked John Van Hoose's diary to see what he had to say about Cravens/Martins Mills. Stuff in parentheses is mine. Cagle January 1, 1863 through Jan. 11th, camped at Old Town (original county seat of Hardin Co. TN, 1822-1827). Jan. 12th, went to regiment, camped 20 miles toward Waynesboro (Clifton junction Hardin Cr.). Jan. 13th, went to Waynesboro, Ashland and Newburg. (not familiar with Newburg?). Jan. 14th, went to Mt. Pleasant, Columbia, Fayetteville, etc. (spent about a month and a half in middle Tennessee). Feb. 28th, Went to Hardin County and camped at Parson Bailey's (Rev. Robert P. Bailey lived on the farm where the Waynesboro-Savannah Stage Road, now US Highway 64, crosses Smith Fork Creek). Mar. 1st, went to Savannah. Mar. 2nd, camped at Old Town, remained through the 5th. (suspect every one went home for a few days). Mar. 6th, went to Cravens Mill. Mar 7th, camped at Martins Mill. Mar. 8th, went to Mark Hardins. Mar. 9th, went to Loweryville with Regiment, remained through the 11th. Mar. 12th, skirmished with Yankees across the river at Savannah, no one hurt. Mar. 13th, went to command camped on Green River 2 miles below Waynesboro. Mar. 14th, went to Linden. Mar 15th, went to Mr. McClains. Mar. 16th & 17th, camped on Green River south of Waynesboro. Mar. 18th, went 18 miles and camped on Butler Creek. Mar. 19th through 22nd, went to Waynesboro and camped 5 or 6 miles down Green River, Mar 23rd, went to Bob Ricketts' on Indian Creek. Mar. 24th, went to Pinhook. Mar. 25th & 26th, went to Loweryville and on to Miz Cantrell's and camped (Mrs. Lenoir Cantrell had three nephews in "G" Co.of the First Confederate Cavalry: Aaron V. Brown Cantrell, Olivar Hazard Perry Cantrell and James K, Polk Cantrell. Their sister was the wife of Bert Hays) Mar. 27th, went to Dorans and camped (This site is now proposed for the new Saannah North Elementary School) Mar. 28th, went to Savannah and then back to Grahams and camped. (Near the south end of the Savannah-Hardin Co., Airport) Mar. 29th & 30th, went to Loweryville. Mar. 31st & Apr. 1st, went to Second Creek. Apr. 2nd, Went to Frank's Stand (may have been near Gillis Mills?) Apr. 3rd through 5th, went to Mt. Hebron. Apr. 6th, went to Old Town. Apr. 7th through the 9th, went to Martins Mill. Apr. 10th, went to Waynesboro then down Green River 10 miles. (April 11th through April 17th, pages are missing) Apr. 18th and 19th, went to Ashland. Apr. 20th, went up Buffalo River, Apr. 21st, went near Flatwoods Store. Apr. 22nd, went to Palestine. The First Confederate continued on into Middle Tennessee then south to Huntsville where they crossed the Tennessee River and over Sand Mountain where they went as far south as Gadsden Al then went northeast to arrive in time for the battle of Chickamauga. As you can see by the Diary, the First Confederate, or at least perhaps "G" Company spent most of the first four months of 1863 in and around Hardin and Wayne County. Other than a skirmish or two, there didn't appear to be too much opposition. David ----- Original Message ----- From: Edgar D. Byler, III <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 8:41 AM Subject: Re: [TNWAYNE] Cravens Mills > Clay, > > I'm also sending this to the list as I think it would help a lot of people. > > Cravens Mills was in the same location as what was later called Martin's > Mills. > > The original name of the area, actually a post village, was Liddensville. It > was established by Benjamin Lidden as a post office and mill in 1829. > > Avery Craven became the owner of the mills and in the 1840's a new post > office was created under the name Cravens Mills. William J. Strayhorn, Jr. > of Maury Co., TN bought out the mills in 1854, but the name continued as > Cravens Mills until the mills were bought by Edwin B. Martin shortly before > the Civil war. However, the area was still known as Cravens Mills until > later when the post office was re-established after the war (1875) with > Edwin B. Martin as the postmaster. > > There is an interesting story about the burning of the Cravens (Martins) > Mills in 1863 during the Civil War. A union unit under the command of Capt. > Carmichael was sent from Clifton to destroy the mills and to round up > Confederates in the area. A Confederate group, under the command of Capt. W. > B. "Bert" Hayes reportedly was sent to protect the mills. When the two > groups met, a small battle (skirmish) ensued and Hayes lost the day, > retreating back to Hardin County. Carmichael set the mills ablaze and also > burned all the surrounding fields of corn and wheat. > > It is said that Hayes' sent a scout ahead to warn the people of the area > that Union forces were approaching intent on burning the mills. People from > the Houston area to what would later be called Lutts rushed to the mills and > loaded up all the flour and meal that could salvage. Several women filled > their aprons with flour. One story I heard reported that a woman (Catherine > Banks) and her children all ran as fast as they could to the warehouse by > the mill and filled up whatever container they had with all the flour and > corn meal the could carry. > > The mills were rebuilt by Edwin B. Martin following the war. The mills both > prior to the war and afterwards consisted of a flour mill, corn mill, cotton > gin, and sawmill. It is reported there was also a spinning mill and power > loom in operation there prior to the war, but I have no proof of that. > > I don't know if it existed prior to the war, but afterwards the village of > Martins Mills was actually laid out in streets and lots. > > None of that remains today. Even the last vestiges of the dams has been > removed by the Department of Conservation in their efforts to "improve" > Weatherford Creek. > > Benjamin Lidden left Wayne County shortly after 1830 moving to Mississippi. > I have not been able to locate Avery Craven after 1850. > > A detailed article on the Edwin B. Martin family and the mills was published > in the "Historian" several years ago. > > It is also important to note that Liddensville/Cravens Mills/Martins Mills > was located on an extremely important road - The Carrollville - Florence > Road. This road was established in 1820 and was the primary transportation > route between Florence, Alabama and Carrollville, Tennessee between 1820 and > 1836. The route was important because boats could not ascend or descend the > Tennessee river between Carrollville (Clifton) and Florence during dry > weather. Most business houses in Florence transported their goods to and > fro overland between Florence and Carrollville during dry weather. The route > of the Carrollville - Florence Road ran from Carrollville almost along the > route of TN 114 south, crossing the ridge between Hardin and Indian creeks > at the head of the Beckham Hollow. From the Beckham Hollow is followed the > course of Weatherford Creek through Martins Mills, present-day Lutts, all > the way up the creek to the ridge at Cypress Inn. At Cypress Inn, it crossed > Big Cypress Creek on one of the major bridges in the county prior to the > civil war (this bridge was burned in 1863 by Federal forces) and continued > south to Florence basically along the route of AL 157 today. > > The firm of Simpson Brothers of Florence AL (Hugh and James Simpson) had a > large warehouse in Carrollville as early as 1824, and James Irving of > Florence also had either an office or a warehouse in Carrollville in the > 1830's. > > Edgar > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Clay Daniels" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 4:44 AM > Subject: [TNWAYNE] Cravens Mills > > > > Where is, or was, Cravens Mills? > > > > I've got a pretty good map, and I do find Martins Mills north of Lutts on > > Weatherford Creek, but I can't seem to locate Cravens Mills. I have been > led > > to believe Cravens Mills is near Lutts, but do not find it on the map. Any > > suggestions? > > > > Clay Daniels > > > > > > ==== TNWAYNE Mailing List ==== > > Visit the Wayne County, Tennessee Genealogy and History Page at > > http://www.netease.net/wayne > > > > > > > > > > ==== TNWAYNE Mailing List ==== > Visit the Wayne County, Tennessee Genealogy and History Page at > http://www.netease.net/wayne > >