Widow Gibson Cabin

In 1862, widow Mary Jane Gibson and her children lived in a small cabin as poor tenant farmers on land owned by their first cousin, Henry Bottom. On October 8, their household was thrown into confusion as Union troops swarmed around the house, and soon Donelson's Confederate brigade attacked. Federal soldiers fell back to the ridge and reformed on the high ground around the cabin. Artillery shells exploded overhead, bullets struck the cabin walls, and wounded Union troops crowded around the structure seeking shelter. Widow Gibson took an axe, chopped a hole in the floor, and hid with her family beneath the house. They were so frightened that they refused to come out for several days. Because barns, homes, churches, and stables were used as field hospitals after the battle, the cabin likely also served as a hospital. Archeological work has shown that cannon fire damaged the cabin so badly that the Gibson family abandoned it shortly after the battle.

Kentucky · United States