Last year I spent two solid months going through every issue of Tennessee Civil War newspapers that TSLA in Nashville has! I was doing this for the TN flags book I am writing.

Sadly, many TN papers quit in 1861 or 1862 (like the two in Clarksville for example).

For East TN, it was pretty remote in many of those counties and the papers tended to be in towns along the railroad to Virginia - Knoxville (Brownlow's Whig & Rebel Ventilator is a waste of time - he ran more of his spewing than news). Athens, Cleveland (you might have to go to their library for that one), Chattanooga (which refugees out of the town in 1863 and published in Atlanta) - that's about it.

Historian Brian McKnight, very familiar with the war in this region, told me that the Abingdon, VA newspaper was very worthwhile for news from this region. I have not yet worked that paper.

Middle TN State University's Walker Library has the finest collection of Civil War newspapers from North and South in the state so there might be something there of use to you. I go there all the time. They are in Murfreesboro.

greg Biggs