Brown's Spring, at the base of Sand Mountain, was a major landmark used by the Federal Army during the occupation of Dade County in September 1863, when a key logistical concern was securing enough water for camps, soldiers, and the many draft animals of the supply trains. Shown on existing maps and believed capable of supplying a large group, it became a stopping point for two divisions of General George Thomas' 14th Army Corps after they crossed the rugged slopes of Sand Mountain. On September 3, 1863, Thomas reported to General James Garfield that General Negley's Second Division would reach Brown's Spring the following night, and that same day he directed Negley to encamp there until he could overtake him. On September 4, Thomas informed Garfield that the First Division under Baird would follow Negley and reach Brown's Spring Sunday night, while Negley's division would be there that night. Negley reported on September 4 that his command arrived at Brown's Spring at the foot of the mountain, where a small spring, after being excavated and dammed, provided sufficient water for his command, and by 8 p.m. his entire train except eight supply wagons was parked there, with those wagons left on the other side of the mountain at Moore's Spring. Thomas reported that corps headquarters was still at Brown's Spring on September 7. While the army camped there, it captured several Confederate soldiers trying to visit their families in the area after being paroled from capture at Vicksburg, unaware that Dade County had also been occupied; several spent the rest of the war in prison, and a few died there. General Philip Sheridan also brought his division of the 20th Army Corps over Sand Mountain by the same route, and for a few days all available space around Brown's Spring was filled with camps. Reconnaissance patrols sent out by Negley found adequate water at Cureton's Mill and on Hurricane Creek near the foot of Lookout Mountain, and the troops eventually moved down the valley to Johnson's Crook for the crossing of Lookout Mountain.