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Union raid captured McMinnville in 1863
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Nearly 150 years ago today, McMinnville made the front-page of the New York Times when over 6,000 Union soldiers descended on the town in a surprise raid.
Their target was Gen. John Hunt Morgan, who had penetrated deeper behind Union lines than any other Confederate general.
“Morgan’s headquarters was where Central Church of Christ is located today,” said local resident George McGlothin, who has done extensive Civil War research on Gen. Morgan. “He married Mattie Ready who was from Readyville and they had a three-month honeymoon in McMinnville. Virginia French planned a big ball for them here. The Union army sent 6,600 troops here to capture him.”
According to the report in the New York Times, the Union troops arrived in McMinnville at 1 a.m. on April 22, 1863, “taking the place almost entirely by surprise.”
The report said the Union troops, of the Ohio Calvary, struck the railroad, destroyed the telegraph, and also destroyed bridges between Morrison and Manchester en route to McMinnville. A locomotive and various buildings were burned.
Gen. Morgan was sought by Union forces because of his march through Middle Tennessee. Union troops has obtained victories in Nashville and Shiloh, before the Confederacy struck back with a victory in Murfreesboro under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Union soldiers captured during the battle in Murfreesboro were brought to McMinnville under Gen. Morgan’s supervision.
Gen. Morgan established such a stronghold in McMinnville, his brigade even published its own newspaper called The Vidette. According to the newspaper, it was “published occasionally as needed.”
During their surprise raid, Union troops were unable to capture Gen. Morgan in McMinnville, however McGlothin said they did find his wife.
“They ended up capturing Morgan’s wife around Sparta Street,” said McGlothin. “When they caught her, they called in a Union officer who told them to let her go. He said they weren’t in the business of capturing women.”
The New York Times story said Union soldiers were able to capture McMinnville without difficulty. Morgan was killed in Greeneville, Tenn.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Union raid on McMinnville, McGlothin will be holding an interactive play at his business, Falcon Rest Mansion & Gardens. The show is set for Saturday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. It’s called “The Honeymoon Ball of Gen. John Hunt Morgan” and is meant to represent the ball thrown for Gen. Morgan by Virginia French.
McGlothin says the menu will include items served at the ball itself, based on detailed accounts from French’s diary. For reservations, call 668-4444.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community