John C . Vaughn John C . Vaughn ( Feb . 24 , 1824 - Sep . 10 , 1875 ) was a Confederate cavalry officer from East Tennessee . He served in the Mexican - American War , prospected in the California Gold Rush , and participated in American Civil War battles including First Manassas , Vicksburg , Piedmont , and Saltville . Vaughn raised Tennessee ' s first Confederate regiment and was with Jefferson Davis in the final days of the Civil War . His family was imprisoned by Union forces , and it was several years after the Civil War before he could safely return to Tennessee . Yet , he eventually was elected to the general assembly of his native Tennessee ( 1871 – 1873 ) . Early life and military career . John Crawford Vaughn was born in 1824 on a farm in Monroe County , Tennessee . He probably explored the hills and valleys of East Tennessee on horseback as a youth . From 1830 through 1841 he attended Bolivar Academy in Madisonville . He married in the 1840s , and at 23 in 1847 he volunteered to fight in the Mexican - American War . He was elected captain and marched to Mexico City , but his regiment saw no military action . He left the military in July , 1848 . In 1850 , Vaughn and seventeen other Monroe County men set out for California gold . No fortunes were found , and John was back in Tennessee by 1852 . He built a hotel in the new railroad town of Sweetwater . In 1856 he was elected sheriff of Monroe County . Civil War . 1861 Even before Tennessee had seceded , in early 1861 Vaughn recruited two units from Monroe County to support the southern cause . The recruits formed the 3rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment on May 29 , and Vaughn was elected colonel . On June 18 , Vaughn ' s men won a skirmish at New Creek near Maryland / West Virginia . On July 21 , Vaughn ' s regiment traveled by train from the Shenandoah Valley to Manassas Junction . The regiment participated in breaking the Union right at the First Battle of Bull Run . 1862 Colonel Vaughn ' s troops moved back to East Tennessee in 1862 and fought against Union factions in Scott County . In May , Vaughn ' s regiment patrolled the gaps in the northern Cumberland Mountains , winning battles in Tazewell in August and helping to regain control of Cumberland Gap . In September , Vaughn was promoted to brigadier general . In December , General Vaughn ' s east Tennesseans traveled by train to Jackson , Mississippi . 1863 Vaughn ' s brigade held heights north of Vicksburg for the first four months of 1863 . On May 17 , Grant ' s forces sliced through the Confederate line at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge forcing the surrender of two of Vaughn ' s regiments . The Confederates retreated into Vicksburg where they eventually surrendered on July 4 . Vaughn was paroled and in October began reassembling his troops . He won a skirmish against Union troops in Philadelphia , TN , and also combated marauders in his Monroe County . Working with Longstreet to try and take Knoxville in December , Vaughn was forced to retreat to upper East Tennessee . In late December , Vaughn was authorized to mount his brigade . 1864 In the summer of 1864 , Vaughn ' s cavalry moved to the Shenandoah Valley . On June 5 , the Union routed the Confederates at the Battle of Piedmont . The Confederates under Grumble Jones were poorly deployed , and some of Vaughn ' s cavalry failed to engage . Gordon argues that Vaughn was with his dismounted troops on the Confederate left and not responsible for the inactive units . In September , Vaughn returned to east Tennessee winning an October skirmish near Bull ' s Gap , but was routed at the " Battle of Morristown " . 1865 In April 1865 , Vaughn and his troops were near Christanburg , Virginia , moving towards North Carolina after news of Lee ' s surrender . On April 19 , Vaughn joined the Jefferson Davis escort in Charlotte . On May 10 , Vaughn surrendered . Later years . Indicted for treason in Tennessee , in October , 1865 , Vaughn moved his family to Thomas County in southern Georgia . By 1870 , Vaughn had returned to Sweetwater , Tennessee and was elected to the state general assembly ( 1871 – 1873 ) . In 1874 , he pleaded guilty to using bogus identities to defraud the widow ' s pension and was fined $ 1000 . In 1874 , Vaughn returned to southern Georgia . On September 10 , 1875 at the age of 51 , he died of meningitis and was buried with military honors at Greenwood , Georgia .