We bought our tickets to the Dickson Williams Mansion at the General Morgan Hotel. This was very convenient, and you could buy tickets for other tours at the hotel! PLUS, the Dickson Williams Mansion is right behind the hotel!
A very friendly lady introduced herself to us as Patty, our guide. From there we were off for a marathon tour!
She took us over at 1. I told her we like the "weird stories" and trivia relating to a historic home. She delivered. I told her she was giving us a great story in each room. In the first room, there was a white couch and 2 chairs donated by the Johnson family that had been to the White House! She knew something cool about each room!
She talked about how the house had been built, with a generous portion built for servants. The family housed both Union and Confederate soldiers here at different times during the war (the family had 1 child fighting for the north, and 2 for the south).
People visit this house because of Morgan. John Hunt Morgan was a legendary Confederate General who operated in a very rough way. Anyway, Patty pointed out the areas (outside of the home) where he was chased, and gave us a very vivid account of his final moments. After the tour, we were able to retrace Morgan’s last moments.
The last room you really tour is the room where John Hunt Morgan spent his last night. Patty talked about Morgan’s body being displayed there the next day. Morgan had no descendants (though Patty did have someone come through claiming to be a descendant- and that person said they would never take a DNA test).
Patty asked if we were on a time limit, and I told her not really. Well, we ended the tour well after 3! This was a great tour, of a cool home with a great Civil War connection. PLUS, the one hour tour ended up being much longer, and we LOVED THAT! With Patty, we got way more than our money’s worth and we felt like we truly understood the Dickson Williams Mansion AND Greeneville in the Civil War. This tour gets my highest possible recommendation!
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