Battle of Nashville & Beyond

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Mount Olivet

Confederate Circle at Mt. Olivet Cemetery: 

 

1201 Lebanon Pike, Nashville, TN 37210

rebel
9′ Granite Soldier

After the Civil War, women  formed an association to raise funds to purchase a distinct plot of land at the cemetery for the interment of Confederate dead. It was used for the interment of soldiers who had died on nearby battlegrounds and as a memorial to their sacrifice. Women organized such memorial associations and raised money for interment of Southern soldiers in cities across the South and areas where there were concentrations of bodies. The Nashville memorial association arranged for burials of about 1,500 soldiers here. Confederate veterans were also eligible for burial. – Wikipedia 

Confederate Memorial Hall: The chamber was constructed in 1856, when Mount Olivet opened, as a holding vault. Underground, it allowed the deceased to be kept at cooler temperatures. Embalming procedures improved in the 1860’s, but the structure is believed to have been used well into the 20th Century. It is open to the public and includes a timeline of significant individuals related to the Civil War in Nashville. The Hall located on the left main drive, on the right side near the crest of the hill.

Notable Civil War Related Burials:

Confederate Circle

Seven Confederate generals are buried in or around the circle. They are William B. Bate, William N.R, Bealle, Benjamin Franklin Cheatham, William H. Jackson, George E. Maney, James E. Rains, and Thomas Benton Smith. Other prominent Nashville Confederates, Colonels Adolphus Heiman and Randall McGavock, lie nearby.

This 45-foot granite monument marks the center of the Confederate Circle.

 

3D like Virtual Tour of Confederate Circle and Confederate Memorial Hall

 

Find a Grave locator link

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Civil War Monument

The Battle of Nashville Peace Monument:

 

As the country erupts over American Civil War Confederate monuments, there is one that hopefully will endure the test of political sensibilities. The Peace Monument was originally created in 1927 by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Moretti, who was commissioned by the Tennessee based Ladies Battlefield Association. During 1927 Moretti came to Nashville and personally oversaw the construction of the 40 foot tall obelisk, and on Armistice Day, November 11, 1927 it was dedicated.

The bronze figure of a young man stands for Americans from north and south who fought again, now under a common flag of a reunited nation in the Spanish-American War and first World War.

In 1974 the monument was partially destroyed by a tornado. In 1998 it was rebuilt and moved from it’s original location on Franklin Pike, to it’s current location on Granny White Pike and Battlefield Drive… more

 

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Fort Moultrie

Fort Moultrie – Charleston, South Carolina:

 

In the months leading up to the Civil War John L. Gardner was in command at Fort Moultrie. With secession growing more imminent, Gardner had made several requests to Secretary of War John B. Floyd for more troops to garrison and defend the undermanned fortress. Each time his requests were ignored, as Floyd (who joined the Confederacy) was planning to hand the forts in Charleston Harbor over to the secessionists.

South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Around this time a Federal garrison from the 1st US Artillery was sent to Fort Moultrie. Unlike the state militia at the other forts, the Regular Army defenders of Fort Moultrie chose not to surrender to the South Carolina forces. On December 26, 1860, Union Major Robert Anderson moved his garrison from Fort Moultrie to the stronger Fort Sumter. On February 8, 1861, South Carolina joined other seceded Deep Southern states to form the Confederate States of America. In April 1861, Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter into submission and the American Civil War began.

In April 1863, Federal ironclads and shore batteries began a bombardment of Fort Moultrie and the other forts around Charleston harbor. Over the ensuing twenty months, Union bombardment reduced Fort Sumter to a rubble pile and pounded Fort Moultrie below a sand hill, which protected it against further bombardment. The Rifled cannon proved its superiority to brickwork fortifications but not to the endurance of the Confederate artillerymen who continued to man Fort Moultrie. In February 1865, the Confederate Army finally abandoned the rubble of Fort Moultrie and evacuated the city of Charleston. – wikipedia

Virtual Tour of Fort Moultrie and Garden Point Park:

 

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Pensacola Harbor

Fort Pickens – Pensacola, Florida:

After the War of 1812, the United States decided to fortify all of its major ports. French engineer Simon Bernard was appointed to design Fort Pickens. Construction lasted from 1829 to 1834, with 21.5 million bricks being used to build it. Much of the construction was done by slaves. Its construction was supervised by Colonel William H. Chase of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During the American Civil War, he sided with the Confederacy and was appointed to command Florida’s troops.

Sketch of Fort Pickens, Florida, by Lt. Langdon, 1861. 

Fort Pickens was the largest of a group of fortifications designed to defend Pensacola Harbor. It supplemented Fort Barrancas, Fort McRee, and the Navy Yard. Located at the western tip of Santa Rosa Island, just offshore from the mainland, Fort Pickens guarded the island and the entrance to the harbor.

By the time of the American Civil War, Fort Pickens had not been occupied since shortly after the Mexican–American War. Despite its dilapidated condition, Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer, in charge of United States forces at Fort Barrancas, decided the fort was the most defensible post in the area. He decided to abandon Barrancas when, around midnight of January 8, 1861, his guards repelled a group of local civilians who intended to occupy the fort. Some historians claim that these were the first shots fired in the Civil War.

On January 10, 1861, the day Florida declared its secession from the Union, Slemmer destroyed over 20,000 pounds of gunpowder at Fort McRee. He then spiked the guns at Fort Barrancas, and moved his 51 soldiers and 30 sailors to Fort Pickens. On January 15, 1861 and January 18, 1861, Slemmer refused surrender demands from Colonel William Henry Chase of the Florida militia. Ironically, Chase had designed and constructed the fort as captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Slemmer defended the fort against threat of attack until he was reinforced and relieved in April 1861 by Colonel Harvey Brown. Despite repeated Confederate threats, Fort Pickens was one of only three Southern forts to remain in Union hands throughout the war,[2]

Montgomery C. Meigs, an Army engineer, was ordered by President Lincoln and Secretary of War Seward to Fort Pickens. During the war, Meigs would also construct the Washington Aqueduct and the dome on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. – wikipedia

360º Virtual Tour of Fort Pickens

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William Wing Loring

“Old Blizzards”

Hero of 4 wars – Fought under 3 flags:

I have been to St. Augstine, Florida dozens of times, but exploring the Plaza de la Constitución with my son last week, I stumbled across the memorial to Floridian General W.W. Loring. This site on the St. Augustine town square, is also where he is interred.

Some amazing statistics on Floridian Loring:

  • Florida Militia 1st Seminole Indian War
  • Texas War for Independence
  • 2nd Seminole War
  • Florida bar in 1842
  • Florida House of Representatives

    Loring Pasha as a general in the Khedivate of Egypt
  • Regiment of Mounted Rifles, Oregon Territory
  • Mexican-American War
  • Comanches, Apaches, and Kiowas Skirmishes
  • Colonel at the age of 38 in December 1856, the youngest in the army.
  • American Civil War –
    • Army of the Northwest
    • Romney Expedition
    • Vicksburg Campaign
    • Battle of Champion Hill
    • Atlanta Champaign
    • Hood’s Middle Tennessee Champaign – Battle of Franklin
  • Egyptian invasion of Abyssinia – Chief of Staff
  • Egyptian Battle of Gura
  • Author – Confederate Soldier in Egypt (1884)

“He joined about fifty Union and Confederate veterans who had been recommended to the Khedive by William Tecumseh Sherman.” – more on wikipedia

360º Panorama of Loring Memorial

48 King St, St. Augustine, FL 32084

#loring #civilwar