Stones River / Fortress Rosecrans -21 Jan

As I headed Southeast from Nashville, I had about a 30 minute drive to reach the Stones River battlefield visitors center, and I arrived at 2pm.  It rained during part of the drive, and the temp continued to hover in the low 40s, but that was actually good because these are similar weather conditions to what the Soldiers experience during the battle.  After arriving, I spent about 30 minutes in the visitors center, where they have a good film about the battle, and I picked up a map of the 6 stop driving tour.  

My first stop is the area where the Union center camped the night before the battle.  Despite the freezing temperatures the night before the battle campfires were not allowed because the enemy was close by.  At this stop there is one sign, and a number you can call to get more info.  

Stop #2 is the area that became known as the slaughter pen.  Walking straight down from the parking area the trail then cuts into the woods, and goes through the area where Sheridan's and Negley's divisions fought a desperate struggle before being forced to fall back.  Sheridan sense that a Confederate attack was coming, and woke his troops up early, and had them on line when the attack began.  Negley's troops were able to hold out next to them for 2 hours, until Sheridan's troops ran out of Ammo and were forced to retreat.  This left Negley's troops exposed, and there were Confederates on 3 sides before they were able to fall back.  The stand here by these two divisions gave the Union time to reform the lines near the Nashville Pike and Railroad. Many of the Union troops fighting in this area were from Chicago and had seen the large meatpacking slaughter pens back home, and gave this area the name. 

After walking this approx 1/2 mile loop through the Slaughter Pen, my hands were pretty cold, and I was ready to jump back in the car, and continue moving.

Slaughter Pen

Area of Slaughter Pen where Union troops were almost surrounded

Limestone formations that Union Soldiers used for cover in the Slaughter Pen

Pulling up to the next stop I see a car running with a couple of ladies sitting in it obviously trying to stay warm, while someone they are with walks around the battlefield.  I start walking down the trail that looks out over the Cotton field.  From here you can see the Nashville Pike, and railroad where the Union troops rallied during the battle.  Over 30 cannon were lined up to sweep this field, as confederates tried to push the Union off the field.  The closest they got was about 60 yards from the Union lines, before they pulled back.

I walked along the rest of the trail, but there was only the one marker near the beginning, so I head back to the car to keep moving on.

Cotton Field where Confederate advance was stopped

Stop number 4 is the area where the Pioneer Brigade, and the Chicago Board of Trade Battery stopped the confederates short of the Nashville Pike.  A short walk through the woods takes you by what remains of the Pioneer Brigade's earthworks.   The National Park has put up several silhouettes to help show where the trenches are.  To get there you have to pass a couple of Cannons representing the Chicago Board of Trade Battery.  

Pioneer Brigade's Earthworks, where they held the line on the first day

The loop around the Pioneer Brigade's trenches and the battery is only a couple of hundred yards, but as I come back I see something running down the road running towards my car.  It turned out to be a big old turkey, that then cut back into the woods.

Now that is the right weapon for Turkey hunting

My next stop isn't one of the numbered stops on the tour, but is only about a mile down the road, and that is MG Rosecracs' HQ.  Not too much here, just a small monument, and a marker talking about the battle, so it is back on the road.

MG Rosecracs' HQ

I then take another quick stop as I pull into the Stones River National Cemetery, that was first started following the battle, it sits across from the Visitor Center, and between the Nashville Pike, and railroad.

Back to the numbered stops on the tour, the next stop is the fight for Round Forest, and the spot that is better known as Hell's half acre.  Here BG Hazen's BDE was the only Union unit that held it's position for the entire day.

Hell's Half Acre - The only part of the Union line to hold for the entire 1st day

Also at Hell's Half Acre is the oldest Civil War Monument in the country.  This was built 4 months after the battle in the Spring of 1863 by the veterans of the battle who fought at this spot.  Many members of their unit are buried around the monument.  The monument stands right next to the railroad, so that anyone passing by would see it, and remember the battle at this spot.

This is a small area, so I'm back in the car pretty quickly, and moving out again.  My next stop is McFadden's Ford.  I head over and down to a boat launch, where a short walking path usually connects this side of the road, with the markers up on the otherside, but due to flooding in the river, I have to jump back in the car and drive back around to the another parking area to check this site out.

Oldest Civil War monument - Built shortly after the battle in 1863 by the men who fought there

River was a little higher today then during the battle

When I get to the ridge overlooking McFadden's ford it is about 4:15pm.  From this spot 58 Union Artillery pieces crushed a Confederate attack trying to cross the river on the 3rd day of the battle.  The massive casualties caused by this concentration of artillery caused the confederates to pull back and head towards Chattanooga.

Union Batteries overlooking McFadden's Ford

It is about 4:30, getting dark, and still cold as I finish up walking around McFadden's ford, as I get back in the car.  I still have a couple of stops to make before making the 2 hour drive home.  I want to head down the road a little bit to see the earthworks that remain from the massive Fortress Rosecrans.  Fortress Rosecrans was a massive series of earthworks designed to protect the Union Army that would operate out of the area.   Inside was several redoubts that would allow it to protect the supplies stored there should the outer walls be overrun.  A section of the earthworks is still in pretty good shape, and there are several markers along the way to explain what it looked like while the Army was there.  As I walked around it started to rain a little bit, and now it was getting pretty dark, so I decided to head for the car and head home.

Earthworks at Fortress Rosecrans

Redoubt Brannan inside Fortress Rosecrans

Overall a great trip to the Murfeesboro's area to see the battlefield, and I would recommend it if you are passing through the area.  I did it in 3 hours, I could have easily spent at least another hour walking some of the trails, and spending some more time outside.   

Fort Negley - 21 Jan 2012

20 Jan - I've been looking for an excuse to go to Nashville since I moved to Huntsville, and the UFC show tonight was just what I needed.  Get off of work a few hours early, a 2 hour drive north, and arriving at the Bridgestone Arena just as the first fighters walk to the cage.  Luckily I was smart enough to throw my Tennessee Civil War trails pamphlet in the car, so I can figure out the plan of attack for tomorrow

Entrance to Fort Negley Park

21 Jan - Up early, I've planned a busy day.  The first stop in the Country Music Hall of Fame, then Fort Negley, and finishing up with a trip to the Stones River Battlefield this afternoon.  I'm in the Country Music Hall of fame at 9am just as it opens, there is a little bite in the air as I walked over.  Looks like the high for the day is only going to be in the 40's.  Luckily the HOF isn't crowded, and I'm able to work my way through it in a little under 2 hours.  A quick walk back to the hotel to check out, and pick up the car and I'm on my way to Fort Negley.

Sallyport Entrence to the Fort

Fort Negley is about a 5 minute drive from downtown, and is right next to the baseball stadium for the minor league Nashville Sound.  There is not much traffic in this part of town which is nice, and there are only two other cars in the parking lot as I pull up.  The lady at the front desk is very helpful as I walk in, and directs me to the video that just started talking about the Fort.   The video is good it uses a handful of re-enactors, along with some historians to tell the story of building, and living at Fort Negley.

Fort Negley was built as part of a larger series of Fortifications that made Nashville the second most fortified city in the war, just behind Washington, D.C.  It was placed to deny access to any Confederate forces that would be coming directly up from the South.  The Union was forced to impress many free blacks, and slaves into service to carry the limestone rocks, wood, and other building supplies up the hill to complete the construction.

View looking South 

After the first video finished up, I was told that there was a 2nd twenty minute video, that talked about the campaign that lead to the Union capturing Nashville, so i decided to sit back down and check that out.  This video talked about the Union victories at Fort Henry, and Donelson, and the chaos that erupted in Nashville as citizens tried to escape ahead of advancing Union forces.

Covered tunnels that would allow Soldiers to move under fire

Now with the second video complete, I headed outside to walk around the fort, and I'm pretty sure the temperature has dropped at least 5-10 degrees since I walked in.  It is also very hazy across the horizon, and looks like it could start raining at any moment.  The park has a very good path that circles around the fort, and then enters through the Sallyport to the inside of the fort.  Along the way there are signs giving basic facts about the war around Nashville, the fort, and some of the Key personnel responsible for building it.  I spend about an hour walking up and around the fort reading the different signs, and checking the place out, and it is now time to get to my car and get warmed up.

The fort had 3 tiers of defense, and each was elevated so that Soldiers and Artillery could support the lower tiers.  Heavy Siege Cannons were part of the defense, to include a 32lbs Parrot Cannon, with a range of 3 miles.   lived inside the fort, and if the fort was attacked had covered tunnels that they could use to move into position, or shift around inside the fort.

Looking back towards Downtown Nashville

I put the address for the Stones River visitor center in my GPS, and get on the road just about 1pm, but I'm keeping my eye out for somewhere to eat.  A quick left out the Fort Negley parking lot, and then another left at the light, and a quarter mile down the road it is right in front of me.  At the next stop light there is a small place called "Gabby's Burgers and Fries" now this sounds just like what I'm looking for.  The place is packed, and only get fuller as I'm ordering and eating.  The Seamus burger with sweet potato fries is worth it, and makes a great lunch.  After a little lunch it is back to the car and on the way to Stones River, about 30 minutes away.

Fort Negley was never attacked, but it's artillery did play a role in supporting US troops during the battle of Nashville in December 1864.  The fort for the most part was dismantled in 1867, and much of what you can see today at the fort was rebuilt in the 1930, as part of the New Deal programs that put people back to work.

The Outer Bastions of the Fort

Fort Negley
1100 Fort Negley BLVD
Nashville, TN 37203

Civil Wargasm

When I was 9 years old I piled into a car with My Uncle Frank, and older cousins Greg, and Matt for a trip to Gettysburg.  It was the summer, and my interest in the Civil War had already been stoked at that point.  I don't remember everything from that trip, but I know that it led to more trips over the next couple of summers, and the group got bigger with my two older
brothers joining in.  Fast forward about 15 years, and I found myself stationed at FT. Lee, Virginia in the middle of it all.  Less than a half mile from my apartment in Chester, VA there were multiple confederate works that held the line extending out to the James river, and then running south towards Petersburg.  I only lived there for 6 months, but it was a good bet
that on my weekends I could be found heading out to another Civil War Battlefield.  All my friends generally thought I was a little weird for this, and only on a weekend trip to Gettysburg did I get any of them to tag along.  Seven Days, Cold Harbor, Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Petersburg, Manassas, Gettysburg, Appomatix, and countless smaller ones in between, it was an interesting few months.  All indications were that my next assignment was going to be to Alaska, not much going on with the civil war up there, but then in early July I was diverted to Huntsville, Alabama, making it a prime time to start exploring the Civil War in the deep south.  I've already visted Chickamaga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Shiloh and I realized that my only regret was that I hadn't been keep a log of my travels.  So here starts a log of my "Civil
Wargasm" across the deep south, as I visit many of the sites throughout Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi.  

Corinth with a quick stop at Iuka

Corinth was the key railroad town in Northern Mississippi that was quickly identified as a key piece of terrain for both sides during the Civil War.  Troops marched from here to attack Grant's army at Shiloh, and then retreated back to it's defense after they were defeated.  The Union Army moved slowly from Shiloh after the battle, and laid siege to Corinth, but a majority of the defenders were able to escape when their position became futile.   In October of 1862 the confederates tried to win it back, and fought a desperate battle there against very well entrenched Union troops on 3-4 October.  The result was a decisive Union victory, and control of Corinth was not seriously contested for the rest of the war.  

Thursday 5 Jan

Rain for the weekend, blah... Thank you very much weather.com that means

skydiving is out of the question, and there is no way in hell I'm staying

home for the whole weekend, especially when the NFL playoff games don't

start until 430pm.  I still need to go to Corinth, it is about a 2 hour

drive, but if I get after it first thing in the morning I should be able to

get up there and back by 5 or 6pm, and if the rain holds off I can walk

around the battlefield in the rain.  Sarah is going to think that I'm such a

nerd for this, but I better take advantage of living here the best that I

can. 

Corinth Railroad Depot

Saturday 7 Jan

It would be nice to stay in bed all day, but I know if I don't get going

that I'm going to be pissed at myself all day.  At least I can reward myself

with some delicious pancakes, and bacon before I take off.  I also need to

top off the gas tank, and check the tires.  The air gauge is on, but all the

tires are fine, the same thing happened last year the first time it got very

cold.  Out of the apartment by 8am, not too bad, a few minutes to gas, and

go and on the road. 

Nothing like some over analysis of the upcoming playoff games on ESPNradio

to help kill the time on my drive.  ESPNradio actually has a very good

line-up for Saturdays, this is something I learned while driving back and

forth to West Point Skydiving in Virginia.  Mel and Dari are up first, and

then later on it is the Coach and Coleman show, which really should be given

a regular weekday spot.  Those guys are much better than Scott Van Pelt, and

at least as good a Gottlieb.  I'm getting off topic, so back to the trip. 

It rains on and off the whole way to Corinth, mostly on, and very heavy in a

few spots.  Either way I get to the visitors center around 1030, and I'm the

only car in the Parking lot.  No big deal, at least I will not have too many

people there being loud. 

The visitor center is impressive from the outside, it is on one of the key

pieces of terrain for the battle, a spot know as Battery Robinett. The

building is pretty big, and right next to it is a set of rebuilt earthworks,

with artillery pieces to  The walkway criss crosses its way up a small hill

to the front door.  It is raining again, so I make sure to grab the big

camera on the way up. All along the walkway there are bronze items cast to

show what the Soldiers of the day would carry, and leave in battle.  A belt

buckle, cap, backpack, musket, ram rod, and buttons are some of the items I

passed on the way inside. 

As I walked into the Visitor center I was greeted by the Park Ranger with “Braved the weather did we?” 

“Of course, I’ve been wanting to check this battlefield out.”  Was my response. 

The Visitor center is very impressive, I thought it did a better job of telling the story of not only the siege, and battle for Corinth, but the whole campaign that involved Shiloh, and Davis Bridge.   A couple of short movies, and displays latter I was starting to push an hour in the visitors center, and decided to check out the gift shop and then move on.  The gift shop is always a dangerous place for me, because all the books look interesting, and I could easily start dropping a lot of money in there.  

As I walked out of the gift shop, I looked out the back door and saw a fountain, and memorial.  It was pretty impressive, in the flow of water were blocks that represented all the major battles of the war.  The size of the block was proportional to the number of casualties that were suffered at each battle, it is a must see.  I decided to pull out my camera at this point and snap a picture, only to find out that I had violated one of the golden rules “Always check your equipment”… yes my battery was dead.  I realized that I hadn’t charged the battery after my Shiloh trip 2 weeks prior, and now I just had a paperweight in my hand.  Oh well, my small camera was also in the car, so I thought I’d walk around and then grab that.   Out the back gate of the Visitor Center are some monuments to the Soldiers that fought on this ground, and died fighting for control of Battery Robinett.   As I walked back to my car to get the other camera the sky totally opened up, and a major downpour commenced, I decided that the picture wasn’t that important, and decided to start driving the battlefield to see what I could find. 

Following the sign out of the Visitor center, I headed for Battery F., one of the key points of defense for the Union troops on the first day of the battle.  Here Union Soldiers fought a delaying action, until flanked and forced to fall back towards town.  The signs talking about the fighting are in the middle of an open field, surrounded by a residential neighborhood.  A look back into the trees shows the ground still built up to defend the battery.  A quick walk back in there shows not too much, as it is clear that people walk all over what is left of the defenses.  Back to the car, and on to another stop.

Battery F

The next stop is trailhead park at the location that was the reason for the entire battle, the intersection of the Memphis & Charleston railroad, with the Mobile & Ohio railroad.  These were the only two standard-gauge railroads in the Confederacy, and vital to move supplies around for both sides.  Some signs in the park show artist drawings of what the town looked like during the battle, and point out the positions of Union defenses in the area.  

The Railroad Crossing

Next to Trailhead Park is the Crossroads Museum, it was $3 to get in with my Military ID, and worth it if you have the time.  If you are pressed for time, then don’t worry about this stop.  There is a little bit about the civil war battle in there, but it mainly focuses on local people who became famous in some way, shape, or form, and the origins of the city.   Now I decided to walk a few blocks and see the town, it was a very nice town, and quite on a rainy Saturday.  Not too many people out, so I decided to head back to my car, before the next downpour hits.  

I start to follow the civil war tour signs again, but couldn’t help to feel like I was missing stops.  I somehow went from stop 2 to the next location I saw was stop 7, the union siege line from May 3, 1862.  The trenches are still very visible, but there is only a small area to pull the car into, no additional signs, or markers to tell you the significance of what you are looking at, and I didn’t see it until I was another 100 yards down the road, but there is another very well preserved section of trenches not too far away. 

Moving on I then ran into stop number 8, the Farmington Baptist Church where skirmishes were fought as the Union moved it’s siege lines closer to the town through the month of May 1862.  There is a marker on the side of the road that gives a brief description of the events there. 

More rain as I load back up, and I’m getting hungry now, but I decide to follow the signs again, the next stop I run into it the stop for the Corinth Contraband Camp.  This was one of the most well organized “contraband” camps for runaway slaves.   The Union commander organized the houses, with street names, a police force, and self functioning society that sold crops and good to the Union Soldiers.  It is about a mile walk back along a trail, and about 100 yards into my walk the light rain started to turn into a very heavy rain.  The trail was quickly turning to mud, and I decided pretty quickly that I’d seen enough to be happy. 

Back at the car I looked up a BBQ joint on the GPS , and started to drive the 2 miles to this place, only to be disappointed when it turned out to just be someone’s house.  The next closest food place was Subway so I decided to hit that up. 

I finished up my meal around 3pm, and decided it was time to start working my way home.   The rain remained steady, and the interesting sites left to see all involved some walking  from what I could tell.   Two hours of driving with wet feet, and cloths all of a sudden didn’t seem too appealing.  In my guidebook, it mentioned that there was a small museum in Iuka, about a 30 minute drive back towards Huntsville, so I punched the address into my GPS.   Upon arriving in Iuka, my first impression was that this place looks closed, and sure enough it was.  Turns out it is only open during the week, oh well, these things happen sometime. 

Back into the car, as the light began to fade away, at least the traffic wasn’t too bad, and it is pretty much a straight shot home on US-72.   I got home right around 545pm, just in time to get totally relaxed and enjoy what was left of the Bengals/Texans game, and then the Saints/Lions game. 

All in all, a good trip to Corinth.  If I’m passing through the area again, I will probably stop if the weather is a little better, just to check out a few more of the sites.  The current city is built up around much of the battlefield, but there are still things to see, so hopefully you can go check it out.