Front Porch to the Region's History

Geography defines East Tennessee as a land of mountains and valleys and with a history and heritage apart from the rest of the state. The East Tennessee Historical Society recognizes this distinctiveness with programs and exhibitions uniquely tailored to the region. Our educational mission is to engage the public with the message that history is important. 

This Day In East Tennessee History

  • May 11, 1862

    Edmund Kirby Smith, leader of the Confederacy out of Knoxville, ordered the Fourth Tennessee Regiment of the Confederate Army, one of the units most suspected of sympathizing with the Union, to Georgia on this day in 1862.