"Stones River National Battlefield" Topic

A truly outstanding show in Kansas city is less then a month away and I can't wait. I will be running a huge WW1 Bolt action game on Saturday Night.

recruitsconvention.com

All,

I will be spending some time in the Nashville area soon and I wondered if the Stones Rive National Battlefield is a good stop to make and how much time to see it. Are there any other Civil War sites I should see?

Thanks!

Make the stop. It is worth the time. A bit of warning though a large portion of the battlefield consists of built up areas of Murfreesboro. But what there is is wonderful.

Terry

Ditto what Terry said. A half-day should suffice to explore what has been preserved.

Agree with Stones River. Just south of Nashville is Franklin, worth a detour. Nice town too. An hour or two will do for the battle site and the Confederate cemetery.
They are working to increase the preserved battle area. I was there perhaps 6 years ago.

I bought an otherwise excellent novel about the cemetery "Widow of the South" which has one error – saying Hood was dosing himself with laudanum.

I agree with the comments above.

Both Stones River and Franklin are worth visiting. Personally, I found Franklin more interesting and the sheer tragedy of what happened there is compelling.

The Stones River National Park is ok, but could use more interpretation markers and, as indicated above, it only covers part of the battlefield. The fort closer to the town is worth a look.

You can visit the Carter House and the Carnton Plantation at Franklin. Both are worth a look.

Regards

The development that has occurred around the Stones River National Park in the last 25 years has been tremendous. The park did purchase more land but they then built a new entrance thru that land which is smack dab in the middle of the preserved property. half of the property which you use to be able to drive around and visit is now only for walking. After seeing the new video at Shilo, the one shown at Stones River is poor in comparison. You use to be able to stop near the private farm where McCooks HQ was overrun, now it is an enormous Medical Center.
When I came to Tennessee back in 1988, much of the whole battlefield was little changed with road paving and fencing being the most noticeable change, maybe at most 70% of the battlefield was undeveloped. At best now I'd say it's 30%. The core positions are within the borders of the park and still worth the visit, I was just greatly shocked last year when I took family to the park and saw the latest changes that had occurred since my last visit 10 years ago.

You might want to visit Fort Negley in Nashville. It is a well preserved Civil War fort built to protect the city of Nashville.

Just know that the original Fort Negley was torn down and the stone used to contruct the nearby Nashville reservoir. The existing Fort Negley is a reconstruction built by the WPA during the Great Depression.

Also check out Fort Granger in Franklin.

Sad to hear about Stones Rive. I last visited in the early '80s and it was still accessible. Most development is detestable, especially on sacred ground.