The Rhea County Spartans: The South's All-Female Cavalry Unit

The Rhea County Spartans: The South's All-Female Cavalry Unit

In the final years of the Civil War, a group of young women in Rhea County, Tennessee, made American history as the only known all-female cavalry unit: the Rhea County Spartans. Born from loyalty to their Confederate fathers, brothers, and sweethearts, they rode sidesaddle into history, carrying supplies, letters, and, according to some accounts, intelligence for the Confederate cause.

As Union forces swept through East Tennessee, these women defied the odds, and the rules, to keep their mission alive. But in April 1865, just days before Lee’s surrender, Union Captain John Walker made them his personal target, arresting sixteen Spartans in a dramatic march through cold rain and mud. What happened next surprised everyone, including their captors.

In this episode, Rod and Steve tell the story of the rise, arrest, and legacy of the Rhea County Spartans. You’ll hear how wartime loyalties split communities, how women stepped into unconventional roles, and how one small group of women from East Tennessee left a mark on Civil War history.

Perfect for fans of Civil War history, Appalachian heritage, and untold stories of women in wartime.

Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Thanks for listening!

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(604)

The Marrying Parson: The Preacher at the Train Station

The Marrying Parson: The Preacher at the Train Station

For decades a preacher would come to the Bristol, Virginia, train station to meet the incoming trains, looking for couples who’d come to the city to elope.  He claimed to have married 5,142 couples, o...

29 Aug 22min

The Whiskey Rebellion

The Whiskey Rebellion

In 1794, thousands of federalized militia marched into western Pennsylvania to put down an uprising by American farmers. Their crime? Making whiskey and refusing to pay a federal tax on it.The Whiskey...

22 Aug 29min

Old Dill Asher: The Kentucky Pioneer Who Became a Legend

Old Dill Asher: The Kentucky Pioneer Who Became a Legend

Dillion “Old Dill” Asher was one of the early pioneers of southeastern Kentucky, a frontier soldier and farmer who became the toll keeper at the Cumberland River ford at what’s now Pineville, giving h...

15 Aug 14min

The Frontier's Most Dangerous Woman: The Story of Nancy Hart

The Frontier's Most Dangerous Woman: The Story of Nancy Hart

In 1779, on the Georgia frontier, a group of armed Loyalist soldiers forced their way into Nancy Hart's cabin, demanding a hot meal from a helpless woman and her daughter.Instead, they found themselve...

8 Aug 15min

The Taylor-Mullins Feud: The Road to the Killing Rock

The Taylor-Mullins Feud: The Road to the Killing Rock

The infamous Killing Rock massacre ended with the deaths of a moonshiner and his wife and several of their friends on a mountain along the Virginia-Kentucky border. It began years earlier with a lawsu...

1 Aug 22min

Franklin's Last Battle: Sevier's Attack at Flint Creek

Franklin's Last Battle: Sevier's Attack at Flint Creek

In the winter of 1789, Cherokee war leader John Watts made a daring decision. Instead of returning to the Chickamauga towns as he usually did for the winter, he established a hidden winter camp deep i...

25 Jul 21min

47 Years a Hermit: The Strange Afterlife of William Hewitt

47 Years a Hermit: The Strange Afterlife of William Hewitt

In the late 1780s a man from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, William Hewitt, crossed the Ohio River seeking to find solitude in the Appalachian wilderness after heartbreak changed his life forever. Livi...

18 Jul 15min

The Untamable Monster Well of 1894: Big Moses

The Untamable Monster Well of 1894: Big Moses

In September 1894, a routine drilling operation on a Tyler County, West Virginia, farm broke into a massive natural gas pocket, unleashing one of the most powerful and uncontrollable wells the world h...

11 Jul 14min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
fladseth
min-barneoppdragelse
alt-fortalt
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
frokostshowet-pa-p5
opptur-med-annette-og-ingeborg
rss-herrepanelet