HISTORY.

Tennessee originally formed a part of the province of North Carolina. It was, at the time of its settlement, a vast wilderness, which was claimed as a hunting ground by the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Shawnees, and the Six Nations. The Cherokees dwelt in the extreme southeast part, but no other tribe made the Territory a place of habitation. In 1756 Andrew Lewis was sent into this region for the purpose of settling it, by the Earl of Loudon, then the Governor of Virginia, and commander of the Royal forces in America. He built a post, which he called Fort Loudon, on the Wautauga or Little Tennessee, about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville. This settlement is now a thriving village. The fort was given a strong garrison of British troops, and, influenced by the sense of the protection which this force imparted, the region round about was soon partially settled by emigrants, and in the spring of 1758 the garrison of the fort was increased to 200 men.

In 1758, Colonel Bird built a post in what is now Sullivan county. This was for some time believed to be in Virginia, and was called Long Island Fort.

In 1768, many families came out to the new region, and settled along the Holston and Wautauga rivers. In 1769, or 1770, a party of 10 hunters descended the Cumberland River to the Ohio, in boats which they had built, stopping for a while at the site of the present city of Nashville. They descended the Ohio to the Mississippi, and passed down that river to Natchez, which was then a Spanish settlement. They were kindly treated by the Spaniards, and some of them remained there, but others returned to the settlements along the Wautauga.

In 1760, Fort Loudon was besieged by the Cherokees, and closely invested for a month. The garrison, 200 in number, consumed their horses and dogs, and finally, being on the point of starvation, surrendered upon condition that they should be allowed to return to Virginia. They were suffered to depart and to march 15 miles from the fort without being molested, but when they had accomplished that distance, were treacherously attacked and nearly all massacred on the spot. This outrage was avenged the next year by Colonel Grant, who, with a force of 2600 regular and provincial troops and friendly Indians, invaded the Cherokee country and laid waste their fields and villages. These severe measures compelled the savages to sue for peace.

By the outbreak of the Revolution the Tennessee country was quite thickly settled, and the population was increasing at an encouraging rate. In 1776, the Cherokees, incited by the British, waged a formidable war upon the settlers, but were defeated by the forces of Virginia and North Carolina. The Tennessee settlements, at this time known as the "District of Washington," were represented in the Convention which framed the Constitution of North Carolina, and, in 1780, the Tennessee militia, under Colonel Levier, bore a conspicuous part in the bloody battle of King's Mountain.

After the war lands in this region were offered the North Carolina troops in payment of the bounties due them. Many of them accepted the offer and settled on the lands. Others sold their warrants to actual settlers. Nashville had been settled by a party of two or three hundred, under Colonel Robertson, as early as 1780, and the rich lands of Davidson county, lying around it, now attracted the greater part of the holders of the military warrants.

In 1785, the inhabitants of the present counties of Sullivan, Washington, and Greene, attempted to set up an independent State Government, as they declared, and with truth, that the capital of North Carolina was too far away to benefit them. They called their new State Franklin. This course produced considerable confusion, which was not quieted until 1790, when North Carolina ceded the territory to the United States. Congress established a Territorial Government, and the region was called "The Territory of the United States southwest of the Ohio River."

In 1794, the Territory of Tennessee was organized, and the Legislature met at Knoxville. The next year it was found that it contained a population of 77,262, of which 10,613 were negro slaves. Efforts were now made to secure its erection into a State, and on the 1st of June, 1796, Tennessee was admitted into the Union.

The State took an active part in the second war with England, and contributed to the cause Andrew Jackson, who won the victory of New Orleans, and many of the hardy backwoodsmen who fought under him that day.

After the return of peace, Tennessee entered upon a career of prosperity, which was checked by the Rebellion. Being a slaveholding State, it was expected that the people would take sides with the extreme pro-slavery party. When the Gulf States seceded from the Union in the winter of 1860-61, Tennessee was urged to join them. The Legislature submitted to the people the call for a Convention, for

the purpose of seceding, and this call was defeated by a popular majority of 64,114. After the fall of Fort Sumter, however, the Governor convened the Legislature in extra-session, and on the 9th of May, 1861, that body adopted an Ordinance of Secession, and sent representatives and senators to the Confederate Congress. Western and Middle Tennessee were very clearly in sympathy with this action of the Legislature, but East Tennessee was loyal to the Union.

The State was at once occupied by the Confederates, and in the spring of 1862, the western and northern portions fell into the hands of the Union forces. Volunteers enlisted on each side, and the State became the western battle-field of both armies. The severe battles of Fort Donnelson, Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville, were fought within the limits of the State.

After the close of the war, a Provisional Governor was appointed, and the State was restored to its former position in the Union on the 24th of July, 1866.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

Besides the capital, the principal cities and towns of the State are, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Murfreesboro.

NASHVILLE,

The capital and second city of the State, is situated in Davidson county, on the left bank of the Cumberland River, at the head of steamboat navigation, about 200 miles from the mouth of that stream, 230 miles east-northeast of Memphis, and 684 miles southwest of Washington. Latitude 36° 9' N; longitude 86° 49′ W.

The city is delightfully situated in a beautiful, healthy, and fertile country, and has long been one of the most important places in the southwest. It is built on an elevated bluff of limestone, and commands fine views of the river and vicinity. It is regularly laid off, and contains many handsome edifices. Many of the residences are palatial in their character.

The public buildings are handsome. The Capitol is one of the finest edifices on the continent. It stands on an eminence 197 feet above the river, and is built of fine fossilated limestone, much like marble, which was quarried on the spot. Many of the blocks weigh 10 tons each. Its dimensions are 270 by 140 feet. "Its architecture is Grecian, consisting of a Doric basement, and supporting on its four fronts, Ionic porticoes, modelled after those of the Erechtheum at Athens." In the centre of the building is a tower 80 feet high. The halls of the Legislature are among the handsomest in the country, being surpassed only by those of the two Houses of Congress. The cost of the capitol was $1,000,000 in gold. The Lunatic Asylum, and the State Penitentiary are imposing buildings. The latter contains 200 cells. The City Hall is also a handsome building.

The schools of the city are noted for their excellence. It has several public schools in operation, and one for colored children. The University of Nashville, founded in 1806, is an institution of high character. Its Medical Department is regarded as an excellent school. The female schools are considered the best in the State. The State Library contains over 12,000 volumes.

The Cumberland River is crossed here by a fine bridge. The river is navigable for steamers during the greater part of the year, and Nashville is the seat of a heavy river trade. It has railway communication with all parts of the State and country. It contains about 14 churches, and about 8 newspaper and 4 magazine offices. It is lighted with gas, is supplied with water from the Cumberland River, and possesses a steam fire-engine department, and an efficient police force. It is governed by a Mayor and Council. In 1870, the population was 25,865.

Nashville has long been noted for its enterprising spirit, literary taste, and polished society. It is in everything but geographical position a Southern rather than a Western city. It was founded in 1779, by a party of emigrants from North Carolina, and established as a town by the Assembly of that State, in 1784. It was named in honor of Colonel Francis Nash, who fell at the head of his regiment at Germantown. It suffered very greatly during the civil war. It was occupied by the United States army in February, 1862, and held until the close of the war. On the 16th of December, 1864, General Thomas, in command of the United States forces, inflicted a bloody defeat upon the Confederate army, under General Hood, in the vicinity.

MEMPHIS,

The largest city in the State, is situated in Shelby county, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, just below the mouth of Wolf River, 420 miles below St. Louis, 956 miles above New Orleans, and 230 miles west-southwest of Nashville. It stands on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, and possesses the only convenient location for a commercial city between the mouth of the Ohio and Vicksburg, Mississippi, a distance of 650 miles. Possessing this, it has become the most populous and important place on the river, between St. Louis and New Orleans.