"Sites in Tennessee" Topic

I may be in Nashville Tennessee at the end of Sept, so what are the best historical sites?…i have cigars and a car, so a few hour drive is not out of the question …thanks in advance

larry

Stones River NMP, Battle of Franklin sites, including Carter House, Carnton, and Fort Granger. About 1.5 hours NW is Dover, the location of Fort Donelson NMP. About 2.5 hours SW is Shiloh NMP. In Nashville is the reconstructed Fort Negley. The Tennessee State Museum has an excellent ACW section.

There is also a great site at Parkers Crossroads about 1.5 hours west of Nashville. A great little site with some good walking tours. It is split by I-40, but is a good small battlefield to enjoy.

Not acw but definitely see the Parthenon

Don't forget Andrew Jackson's Hermitage too.
Larry

Stones River (Murfreesboro)is probably the best preserved battlefield in a reasonable drive from Nashville. Franklin is worth the visit, but there isn't much filed left to see.

A lot depends on how much time you have. Tennessee had the second most battles of any state so you can't swing a cat without hitting an historic site.

Drive west on I-24 to Clarksville and take Hwy 76 West to Dover where the Fort Donelson National Park is located. Maybe an 1 1/2 hour drive from Nashville.

Chickamauga (north Georgia) and Chattanooga. Two hours via I-24 and it is a pretty drive to boot.

Fort Donelson, as mentioned, isn't far, and it is a great site, but the visitor's center is undergoing some work and they have a temp facility. Might take away from the experience.

Stones River only interprets about 20% of the battle, all the early morning attack by the Rebs is no longer accessible, but it is only 30 minutes from Nashville.

Perryville in central KY is a worthy site, but it would be a drive from Nashville (3 hours). A smaller site in Munfordville might be a nice stop, north of Mammoth Cave. Covers three small actions. Their website is not updated, but gives you some info: battleforthebridge.org

Chickamauga and Shiloh are definitely worth the drive. Within Nashville is a tiny little site on the left flank of Hoods line during the battle of Nashville. It's tiny but gives you an appreciation of the difficulty involved in assaulting the hill. Unfortunately the right flank is now a football field…

bonps.org/shys-hill

There are some small state run sites that are from the Tullahoma Campaign at Hoovers Gap link

and Liberty Gap that are near I-24 if you travel south of Murfressboro towards Chattanooga.

Near Knoxville there is a site for the battles there when Bragg sent Longstreet north from Chattanooga to battle Burnside. About a 2 hour drive.
link

I second the Chickamauga-Chattanooga battlefield. And you can't beat the scenery!

Jack Daniels distillers in Lynchburg.

Shiloh and Chickamauga. Definitely worth a few hours drive if you have the time.

ALL these places are good -- if you had the time do the / nashville/ stones river / chattanooga/ Chickamauga treck BUT if you want to go to ONE place that dominates everything and will just blow you away -- go to Savannah Tn. // put yourself near the cherry mansion which still stands and listen for the cannons downriver, go to Crumps landing and eat some catfish and see if you can see lew Wallace wandering in the woods. THEN go to Shiloh. go to Shiloh. Its pristine. Just go there. Everything pales by comparison.

As always – Nashville speaks truth:

Not sure if this link to my facebook page will work, but a visit to Shiloh with my family was one of my best days ever. Bushwacking through the woods along historic traces to come out into an open field where you can just sense the soldiers must have paused, before heading out into a devastating field of fire.

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Unfortunately, most of these sites are all in opposite directions of one another. Since Nashville is your starting point, I would go to Murfreesboro and see Stones River. Also in the 'boro is Fortress Rosecran, which has some massive earthworks. I would then take highway 96 over to Franklin. There has been millions of dollars spent on battlefield preservation in Franklin in recent years, and it's now worth seeing. The Carter House tour is very good, and the grounds of nearby Carton mansion are very nice. It's very moving to stand on that back porch where Cleburne and others lay, or to walk through the nearby Confederate cemetery.

Travel south down the Columbia Pike. Stop at the Winstead Hill site and take in the view that Hood had during the battle. keep going south from there to Spring Hill and visit Ripavilla Mansion, where Hood sealed the fate of his army the next day at Franklin. You can do all that easily in a day.

If you have more than one day then I would make the trip to Chickamauga or Shiloh or Fort Donelson, but unfortunately each of those parks are in opposite directions from Nashville. If you go to Chickamauga (which is huge), you could also go to Missionary Ridge, which has a few preserved sites, and Lookout Mountain, which will give you a spectacular view of Chattanooga. I would recommend taking the Incline Railroad up to the top of the mountain, and then make the short walk to Point park. I know some of the rangers at Chickamauga/Chattanooga, and they are a great bunch who are very knowledgeable and friendly.

I agree with Nashville that the catfish place near Shiloh is some good eating.

Ft. Donelson is worth a visit, but it would be a distant fourth behind Murfreesboro/Franklin, Chickamauga/Chattanooga, and Shiloh.

Noble Crow is right about Battle of Franklin. if you just have a few hours go there. Shiloh is a day. That said here is a photo of the restaurant at the landing literally right on the river link

On the morning of April 6, around 8:00 or 8:30 a.m., Grant's flagship stopped alongside Wallace's boat moored at Crump's Landing and gave orders for the 3rd Division to be held ready to move in any direction. Wallace concentrated his troops at Stoney Lonesome, although his westernmost brigade remained at Adamsville. He then waited for further orders, which arrived between 11 and 11:30 a.m.[55] Grant ordered Wallace to move his unit up to join the Union right, a move that would have been in support of Sherman's 5th Division, which was encamped around Shiloh Church when the battle began. The written orders, transcribed from verbal orders that Grant gave to an aide, were lost during the battle and controversy remains over their wording.[56] Wallace maintained that he was not ordered to Pittsburg Landing, which was to the left rear of the army, or told which road to use. Grant later claimed that he ordered Wallace to Pittsburg Landing by way of the River Road (also called the Hamburg–Savannah Road).[57]

Around noon, Wallace began the journey along the Shunpike, a route familiar to his men.[58] A member of Grant's staff, William Rowley, found Wallace between 2 and 2:30 p.m. on the Shunpike, after Grant wondered where Wallace was and why he had not arrived on the battlefield, while the main Union force was being slowly pressed backward. Rowley told Wallace that the Union army had retreated, Sherman was no longer fighting at Shiloh Church, and the battle line had moved northeast toward Pittsburg Landing.[59] If Wallace continued in the same direction, he would have found himself in the rear of the advancing Confederate troops.[60]

Wallace had to make a choice: he could launch an attack and fight through the Confederate rear to reach Grant's forces closer to Pittsburg Landing, or reverse his direction and march toward Pittsburg Landing via a crossroads to the River Road. Wallace chose the second option.[60][61] (After the war, Wallace claimed that his division might have attacked and defeated the Confederates if his advance had not been interrupted,[62] but later conceded that the move would not have been successful.[61]) Rather than realign his troops so the rear guard would be in the front, Wallace made a controversial decision to countermarch his troops to maintain the original order, only facing in the other direction. The move further delayed Wallace's troops as they marched north along the Shunpike road, then took a crossover to reach the River Road to the east, and headed south toward the battlefield.
Wallace's division began arriving at Grant's position about 6:30 p.m., after a march of about 14 miles (23 km) in seven hours over poor and muddy roads. It formed line on the battlefield about 7 p.m., when the fighting was nearly over for the day.[63] Although Grant showed no disapproval at the time, his later endorsement of Wallace's battle report was negative enough to severely damage Wallace's military career.[64] Today, Wallace is better remembered as the author of Ben-Hur.

FYI, I have been to Chickamauga, and i think it is great

Jack Daniels distillers in Lynchburg.

If you go on a liquor side trip, Tullahoma has George Dickel not too far from Jack's. And you can actually buy either one in Coffee County.

Years ago, the ACW fife and drum corps I was in played a series of concerts in the Shiloh NMP. We were allowed to camp on the battlefield itself. There are no street lamps in the park, and I cannot remember a darker night. You literally could not see your hand in front of your face.

And then a remarkable thing occurred. As total darkness set in, the fields began to glow green and purple. Foxfire! I've never seen a more otherworldly sight. It was if the battlefield itself was paying homage to the brave men and boys who gave their all so many years ago. Only silence would befit this event, and it was with silence we – the musicians – saluted the dead.

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