At the Sullivan County Courthouse in Blountville, the interior was burned during the Union attack on September 22, 1863, when Confederate and Federal forces struggled for control of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad a few miles east. Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside needed the railroad as a supply line to Knoxville, while the Confederates wanted it as a supply line to Virginia. After several days of skirmishing at Blountville and along the railroad at Carter’s Depot and Zollicoffer, the Confederates occupied Blountville and Federal forces held the south bank of the Watauga River. Union Col. John W. Foster led his cavalry brigade across the river at 9 A.M. on September 22, and Confederate Col. James E. Carter’s 1st Tennessee Cavalry defended Blountville. For four hours that afternoon, after Foster occupied Cemetery Hill, the two sides fought an artillery duel until Foster ordered a charge that drove Carter’s men out of town. During the fighting, exploding shells set fire to the courthouse and other buildings, and much of the town was destroyed.