Felix Zollicoffer Felix Kirk Zollicoffer ( May 19 , 1812 – January 19 , 1862 ) was a newspaperman , three - term United States Congressman from Tennessee , officer in the United States Army , and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War . He led the first Confederate invasion of eastern Kentucky and was killed in action at the Battle of Mill Springs . Zollicoffer was the first Confederate general to die in the Western Theater . Early life and career . Felix Zollicoffer was born on a plantation in Bigbyville in Maury County , Tennessee , a son of John Jacob and Martha ( Kirk ) Zollicoffer . He was a descended from emigrants from Switzerland who had settled in North Carolina in 1710 . His grandfather , George Zollicoffer , had served as a captain in the Revolutionary War , and had been granted a tract of land in Tennessee as payment for his military service . Zollicoffer attended the local schools and studied for a year at Jackson College in Columbia , Tennessee . He left at age sixteen and became an apprentice printer , engaged in newspaper work in Paris , Tennessee , from 1828 to 1830 . When the newspaper closed , he moved to Knoxville in 1831 and worked for two years as a journeyman printer at the " Knoxville Register " . Three years later , he became editor and part owner of the " Columbia Observer " . Zollicoffer was elected State Printer of Tennessee in 1835 . On September 24 , 1835 , he married Louisa Pocahontas Gordon , with whom he had fourteen children . However , only six of them survived infancy . Louisa Zollicoffer died in 1857 . Zollicoffer also edited the " Mercury " for a time in Huntsville , Alabama . He volunteered for the army in 1836 and served as a second lieutenant in the Tennessee militia in the Second Seminole War in Florida . He then returned to Tennessee and became owner and editor of the " Columbia Observer " and the " Southern Agriculturist " and in 1843 the editor of the " Republican Banner " , the state organ of the Whig Party . This brought Zollicoffer into political circles , and he was Comptroller of the State Treasury from 1845 – 1849 , as well as Adjutant General for the state . He was a member of the State Senate from 1849 until 1852 , and was a delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1852 , supporting General Winfield Scott . Zollicoffer was himself elected as a Whig to the Thirty - third United States Congress and was reelected as a candidate of the American Party to the Thirty - fourth and Thirty - fifth Congresses ( March 4 , 1853 – March 3 , 1859 ) . During his first campaign , he fought a duel with the editor of the rival " Nashville Union " newspaper . He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1858 and retired to private life . He supported fellow Tennessee moderate John Bell ( CU ) for president in the election of 1860 . Following the secession of the Deep South in 1861 , Zollicoffer served on the peace convention in Washington , D . C . in an attempt to prevent the approaching civil war . A strong supporter of states rights , Zollicoffer nevertheless opposed Tennessee ' s secession from the Union . Civil War . Tennessee voters rejected the call for a secession convention in February 1861 . . Tennessee Governor Isham Harris soon began to maneuver the state into a position where secession would be inevitable . On May 6 , 1861 , the Tennessee legislature , urged on by Harris , adopted a " Declaration of Independence and Ordinance . " The people were to vote on the ratification of this measure on June 8 . A separate vote on the same date would determine if Tennessee should join the Confederacy if the voters approved the measure asserting independence of the State . On May 9 , a joint committee of the legislature issued an explanation sponsored by Harris of the military alliance Tennessee had entered into with the Confederacy on May 7 . During the period between April and July , Harris organized a state army , the Provisional Army of Tennessee . Upon the announcement of the formation of the Provisional Army of Tennessee , Zollicoffer offered his service to the state army . Despite only having brief combat experience , he was appointed as a brigadier general in the Provisional Army of Tennessee on May 9 , 1861 , by Governor Isham Harris . On July 9 , 1861 , Zollicoffer was commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army . Although the Confederate States Army began to absorb the Provisional Army of Tennessee on July 31 , 1861 , Zollicoffer ' s troops were not mustered into Confederate service until the end of October . For almost four months , Zollicoffer was in the strange position of being a Confederate Army general in charge of state troops . Harris initially tried to sway eastern Tennessee ' s pro - Union population with a lenient policy and the stationing of only fifteen companies of troops in the region . On July 26 , 1861 , Harris , who was still in charge of the Tennessee state force , ordered Zollicoffer and 4 , 000 raw recruits to Knoxville to be in position to suppress resistance to secession in East Tennessee , appointing him to command the District of East Tennessee . Harris was re - elected governor on August 8 , 1861 and on August 18 , he ordered Zollicoffer to arrest and , if necessary , banish leaders of pro - Union factions from the State , changing his policy from leniency to force . In an effort to prevent a Union Army incursion into East Tennessee , Zollicoffer took the initiative and occupied Cumberland Gap on September 14 , 1861 . Zollicoffer then was responsible for guarding the 128 miles of Confedrate line between Cumberland Gap and Tompkinsville , Kentucky . For 71 miles , this line crossed the Cumberland Mountains . On September 15 , 1861 , General Albert Sidney Johnston assumed command of Confederate forces in the Western Theater between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River . He retained Zollicoffer as district commander in east Tennessee . On September 17 , 1861 , Zollicoffer sent a force through the Cumberland Gap along the Wilderness Road to drive the Union Army from Barbourville , Kentucky , relieve pressure on the recently established Confederate line at Bowling Green , Kentucky and thwart an expected drive by Union Brigadier General George H . Thomas into eastern Tennessee and the Cumberland Gap by forcing him to retain his force in Kentucky . On September 19 , 800 of Zollicoffer ' s men under Colonel Joel Battle ambushed the Union force of about 150 home guards while they were foraging and pushed them out of Barbourville at the minor Battle of Barbourville . Another detachment of Zollicoffer ' s force under Colonel James Rains dispersed an encampment of Union recruits at Laurel Bridge , Kentucky on September 26 , 1861 while the Goose Creek Salt Works were attacked by a second Confederate unit under Colonel D . H . Cummings who carried off 200 barrels of salt . Zollicoffer ' s force was essentially on a raid and soon withdrew . In mid - October 1861 , a large part of Zollicoffer ' s force marched from Cumberland Gap to London , Kentucky . At the Battle of Wildcat Mountain on October 21 , Zollicoffer ' s force was stymied by a prepared Union force fighting on rugged terrain and he soon retreated into rural eastern Tennessee , which remained rife with Union sentiment . In November 1861 , Zollicoffer changed strategy and advanced westward , then back into southeastern Kentucky to strengthen Confederate control in the area just south of Somerset . He hoped this would put him in a position to be reinforced by Confederate forces from Bowling Green and to drive Thomas ' s force from the area . Before he moved west , Zollicoffer left forces to guard the Cumberland Gap and three other approaches to east Tennessee . Zollicoffer moved west and established an encampment at Mill Springs , Kentucky ( near present day Nancy , Kentucky ) on the south bank of the Cumberland River . By December 6 , he moved his force to the north bank of the river where he thought he could better support the supply of his men , build fortifications and keep watch on Thomas ' s force . This was a risky tactic because Zollicoffer ' s men were poorly equipped , ill - trained and ill - disciplined . They were not properly prepared to meet the growing Union threat and Zollicoffer ' s expectation that he would solve this problem by receiving supplies and reinforcements at Beech Grove , opposite Mill Springs , was too optimistic . Many of the men in Confederate service in Tennessee who could have reinforced Zollicoffer ' s force remained unarmed . Zollicoffer ' s own reserve force at Knoxville was mostly unarmed . Under the circumstances in December 1861 , without needed supplies or reserves , Zollicoffer was in no position to move against the Union force . On December 20 , 1861 , Zollicoffer did not respond to a movement by a force under Brigadier General Albin F . Schoepf who was attempting to provoke Zollicoffer to commit his force to an engagement in the open . Colonel William H . Carroll did not leave Knoxville with his brigade to join Zollicoffer until January 16 , 1862 . Ultimately , he could bring only a single regiment to Mill Springs , having been ordered to send the rest of his men to Bowling Green . Unaware of the situation in east Tennessee and of Zollicoffer ' s plan , on December 8 , 1861 , Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Major General George B . Crittenden to command the district of East Tennessee in order to lead a force into Kentucky . Crittenden assumed command of the district only to find that the ten regiments of soldiers he expected to find there did not exist . Crittenden retained Zollicoffer as commander of the 1st Brigade in his army . On December 15 , Zollicoffer sent word to Crittenden that Thomas had ten regiments under his command . While lingering at Knoxville for two more weeks , Crittenden sent word to Zollicoffer to move back to the south side of the Cumberland River . Zollicoffer now had only two rafts to cross the swollen river which was nearly at flood stage . So he stayed at Beech Grove on the north side of the river . On January 1 , 1862 , Thomas moved from his camp at Lebanon , Kentucky to join with Schoepf ' s troops from Somerset . On January 2 , Crittenden arrived at Mill Springs and decided the Confederates should attack Thomas before he could join with Schoepf . The Confederate force of about 6 , 500 men might have withstood an attack within their fortifications but Thomas ' s larger force would have the advantage in an open field . Because of the incessant rain and resulting mud , Thomas needed 18 days to move his force and equipment from Lebanon to Logan ' s Crossroads . On January 18 , 1862 , Crittenden ordered an advance at midnight while the two Union forces under Thomas and Schoepf were separated by the rain - swollen Fishing Creek . Zollicoffer commanded the first brigade toward Logan ' s Crossroads while Carroll commanded the following brigade . After marching in a driving rain , Zollicoffer ' s skirmishers attacked the Union pickets south of the intersection of the Mill Springs and Columbia - Somerset roads . The Battle of Mill Springs , sometimes called the Battle of Fishing Creek or the Battle of Logan ' s Crossroads , a three - hour fight in driving rain , fog and the smoke of battle over thickly wooded ground , followed . The untrained Confederates were totally confused in this situation and their organization was lost . Adding to the confusion , some of the Confederates were wearing blue uniforms . The 15th Mississippi Infantry Regiment mistook the Union 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment for blue - clad Confederates . In the confusion , the near - sighted Zollicoffer , wearing a white raincoat , rode into the lines of the 4th Kentucky and began to discuss the problem with the Union colonel , Speed S . Fry . A Confederate aide then rode out of the fog firing at the Union force . Union soldiers returned fire , killing Zollicoffer who had begun to ride away as the incident unfolded . Historian Larry J . Daniel follows some other accounts which claim that Fry recognized and shot Zollicoffer . He further stated that Fry , not Zollicoffer , had ridden into the enemy lines and had begun the conversation , only turning upon Zollicoffer when the Confederate aide rode up . Historian Stuart W . Sanders discusses the encounter at the greatest length and also quotes a subsequent account by Colonel Fry . He states that both officers rode out from their lines and that Fry initially thought Zollicoffer was a Union officer . Fry claimed to have shot Zollicoffer . Other accounts state that Fry also called to a few of his men to fire , although Fry later denied this . Many of the old Confederate flintlock weapons would not fire in the wet conditions and Zollicoffer ' s death caused his demoralized men to start a retreat . Thomas sent six regiments against the weak Confederate flank causing the Confederate line to collapse and retreat to Beech Grove . Crittenden removed the remaining force across the Cumberland River overnight on a small steamboat and a few barges . He left his artillery , mules , equipment and most of his food supply on the north bank . The Union had gained a significant victory and boost in morale while the Confederates had lost a brave , if unskilled , general along with about 500 men and the small army ' s equipment and supplies . Interment . The Federals treated Zollicoffer ' s body with respect . He was embalmed by a Union surgeon and was eventually returned to Tennessee and interred in the Old City Cemetery in Nashville . Zollicoffer Park . Zollicoffer Park , a Confederate cemetery containing a mass grave of the Confederate fallen , lies just outside of Nancy . ( There is also a Union cemetery located in Nancy , Mill Springs National Cemetery , the oldest of all National Cemeteries still receiving burials other than Arlington National Cemetery ) . This public park receives at least two memorial events each year , one on January 19 , ( " that somber sabbath morn " ) and the other on Memorial Day . There have also been re - enactments of the Battle of Mill Springs .