During the Civil War the Williams home was truly a “House Divided.”
Catharine was educated at Salem Academy in North Carolina and attended finishing school in Philadelphia, lending to a broad view of national issues. Catharine Williams entertained both Union and Confederate officers when they were in Greeneville. Union Generals Ambrose Burnside and Alvan C. Gillem, as well as Confederate Generals James Longstreet and John Hunt Morgan, visited the home.
Catharine’s daughter, Elizabeth, married William Sneed, a former U.S. congressman. Catharine’s son, William Dickson Williams, was a supporter of the Confederacy. Another son, Joseph Alexander Williams, was a Union soldier. A third son, Thomas Lanier Williams was a Captain in the Confederate army.
General Morgan spent his last night in the home. A Federal raid on Greeneville on September 4, 1864, targeted the Dickson - Williams home, where Gen. Morgan was killed on the property.
