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In 1895, the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship was discovered off the coast of Charleston. The craft was built by Sumner County native Horace Lawson Hunley.

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The similiarity of the Union and Confederate flags in the War Between the States led to tragic confusion during the first Battle of Bull Run. To avoid future disasters,

General P.G.T. Beauregard designed the Southern Cross Battleflag. He placed a blue Scottish Cross of St. Andrews on a field of red with 13 stars representing the 13 Confederate states. Its popularity as a southern symbol led to its incorporatation into the 4th Confederate National flag.

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Rogersville native A.P. Stewart was one of 51 Tennesseans to achieve the rank of General in the Confederate army. Stewart went on to become the highest ranking military officer from Tennessee.

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Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, Kuaff and Brakebill/Harris and Ewing (left).

Justice Edward Terry Sanford (right) was born in Knoxville July 23, 1865. He worked himself through the Tennessee judicial ranks to become a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. President Warren G. Harding appointed him in 1923. Sanford served Chief Justice William Howard Taft, the only former U.S. President to become Chief Justice. Both Sanford and Taft died on March 8, 1930.

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Tennessee was the first state created out of federal lands. The Statehood Proclamation was signed by President George Washington in 1796 and is now on display in the Museum of Tennessee history.

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1929 Cherokee High School Football Team.
Picture courtesy of the Cherokee Boys Club.
The first football team to play for Cherokee High School went undefeated and held all opponents scoreless except during their last game against Bryson City.

Cherokee 32, Bryson City 6

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The battles between Franklin (Tennessee's first attempt at statehood) and North Carolina led the Continental Congress to create laws to allow future states to join the Republic.

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In 1796, when Tennessee was admitted to the Republic, political newcomer Andrew Jackson was elected its first Congressman.

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During the Battle of Knoxville in 1863, Union troops burned the home of historian and Confederate sympathizer Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey to the ground. That single act destroyed most of Tennessee's early colonial records.