The Battle of King’s Tanyard: The Final Clash of Stoneman’s Raid

Hey!!! We would love to hear from you about any questions or topics or locations that you want to hear about. You are the reason that we do what we do!!! Before daylight on August 3, 1864, an exhausted Union cavalry command resting near King’s Tanyard was struck by Confederate pursuers. In this episode of Our Living History, we examine the Battle of King’s Tanyard, also known as the Battle of Jug Tavern. The engagement occurred near present-day Winder, Georgia, during the closing stages of Major General George Stoneman’s unsuccessful cavalry raid. After Stoneman surrendered at the Battle of Sunshine Church, parts of his command escaped and began retreating north. Colonel Horace Capron’s brigade was blocked from entering Athens by Georgia Home Guard units supported by artillery. Capron turned west, passed through Jug Tavern, and stopped his exhausted command at King’s Tanyard. The historical account also records that a large group of enslaved people seeking freedom had followed the Union column. Before dawn, Williams’ Confederate Kentucky brigade attacked by surprise, throwing Capron’s command into confusion. Approximately 430 Union soldiers were captured. Capron escaped with six men and reached Union lines near Marietta four days later on foot. This battle became the final action of Stoneman’s Raid and remains one of Georgia’s lesser-known Civil War engagements. Follow Our Living History for more military history, battlefield stories, historic sites, museums, and living-history  I'd like to take a moment to thank Albert Meyer for supporting Our Living History as a channel sponsor. Albert is an attorney serving clients throughout South Carolina in Criminal Defense, Immigration, and Personal Injury matters. If you'd like to learn more or get in touch with him, his contact information is below: Cell: (839) 292-6571 I appreciate his support of historical education, living history, museums, and the content we share here. Please join me in thanking him for helping make future projects possible. Support the show