Tennessee ACW Battlefield Tour Day 1

So I find myself in Tennessee for a couple of weeks hopefully visiting as many American Civil War locations as I can. Feedback from my regular followers seems that few of you have been to the western theatre although the history is well known, so I will share where I go with any reflections.

So first up I am starting in Nashville, capital of Tennessee, perhaps better known as the Mecca for Country music. It saw a significant battle towards the end of the civil war in 1864. Nashville had been in the hands of the Federals for most of the war having been the first rebel state capital to be capture. Unfortunately the expansion of the city has all but eliminated any evidence of the battle.

The state capital building, built before the war, but fighting never got very close so was Undamaged. Worth doing the free tour but sadly they don’t let you go up the tower 

The peace monument to commemorate the fallen from thenCivil war was moved to this location well out of the centre of town close to where the fighting actually took place

The preservation trust has done a lot to keep a couple of key locations safe, one of them is Shy’s hill it marker the extreme left edge of the confederate line 

Looking up the hill from the confederate side, the stone commemorates the efforts by the federal troops to capture the high ground

The summit no trees I suspect back in 1864 and sadly they completely block any views.

Another preserved site is redoubt number 1 very small block in a suburban district , not much to see but some useful period photos on the display board putting the battle in context.

The state have just literally this weekend opened a brand new State Museum, some nice exhibits but doesn’t really go into any detail on the part Tennessee played in the war, but it is still. Worth a visit especially as it is free !

Captured Tennessee volunteer flag

and a union pennant captured at Chickamauga 

A nice little copy of their drill book.

Finally I visited Fort Negley, they have put a lot of money into getting this open to the public, gives great views, but the fort is slightly overgrown

You can just make out the design

Looking SE

Downtown to the north

Perhaps the best shot to give a sense of the angled design of the fort based of course on the European Vauban forts

So that was Nashville a great place to start the tour, just enough to get me in the swing of things.

 😀