Robert King Byrd served as 1st Lt., Co. C., 4th Tenn. Infantry in the Mexican War. During the Civil War he organized and was Col. of 1st Tenn. Infantry, USA. He later commanded a brigade and saw action in East Tenn., the Battle of Stones River, and in the Atlanta campaign. He was a member of the Union Party Convention of 1865, a State Senator in 1879, and owned land on which Harriman was later built.