The Battle of Morristown took place during the American Civil War in present-day Hamblen County, Tennessee[a] on October 28, 1864.

Shortly after becoming Abraham Lincoln's running mate for the election of 1864, Andrew Johnson began working on removing Confederate resistance in East Tennessee.

Johnson sent Brigadier General Alvan C. Gillem to establish civil law and protect loyal mountaineers.

In October 1864, Brigadier General John C. Vaughn's Confederate forces captured the railroad depot at Bull's Gap, before taking up positions southwest at Morristown.

On the morning of October 28, 1864, Gillem's Union brigade arrived at the battlefield around 9 o'clock coming from the west.

The Confederates at first tried to have an orderly withdrawal, but pressure from the Union forces turned it into a full-blown rout towards Russellville, Tennessee.

Vaughn even admitted in his official report, "I regret to say that my command was stampeded at Morristown this morning."

They were heavily pursued by Union forces until the Confederates, freshly reinforced, made a stand at Russellville.

He would withdraw into northeast Tennessee and be reinforced under the command of former vice president Major General John C. Breckinridge.

The only remnants of the battle is Bethesda Presbyterian Church, which was a hospital used during the fighting, and numerous graveyards in Hamblen County.