During the Civil War, Park moved to his country home in Cedar Springs (in what is now West Knoxville). In late 1863, General James Longstreet, whose army was attempting to retake Knoxville from an occupying Union force, dined at Park's Cedar Springs house. Park later recalled that Longstreet had an inaccurate map that showed the confluence of the French Broad and Holston rivers to be below Knoxville, and refused to believe Park when he pointed out that the confluence was actually upriver from Knoxville.