Battle of Nashville & Beyond

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Kingsley Plantation

The Oldest Plantation Mansion in Florida

11676 Palmetto Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32226

“Zephaniah Kingsley relocated to Spanish Florida in 1803 and became a successful merchant and planter. His African wife, Anta Madgigine Jai, was from Senegal. Kingsley purchased her as a slave in Havana, Cuba in 1806. He freed Anna (as she became known) and their children in 1811. In 1814 he moved his family to Fort George Island. Anna took advantage of Spanish views on race and society, which enabled her to own her own plantation and slaves. She also was her husband’s business partner.

When Spain lost control of Florida in 1821, legislators in the new United States Territory quickly enacted laws that greatly reduced the civil liberties of free blacks, such as Kingsley’s family members. His campaign to keep a system of society where people were judged by class, and not by color, was largely ignored. By 1832 the harsh laws restricting the rights of all “persons of color” became intolerable. Faced with the reality of his family losing their freedom upon his death, he began looking for a country where they could live without restrictions.

By 1837, Kingsley moved Anna, their two sons, and 50 of his now freed slaves to Haiti, a free black republic. Their two daughters remained in Jacksonville, married to wealthy white men. Zephaniah Kingsley died in 1843 knowing that his family was secure.

The Kingsley story is a window into a period of sweeping change in Florida’s history. The new territorial laws forced free and enslaved people to adapt to reforms in which some gained, but many lost, personal liberties.” – National Park Service

Take a 360º Virtual Tour of the Kingsley Plantation below:


#floridaplantation

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Civil War Navy

National Civil War Naval Museum:

Home of the best American Civil War Navy collection in the country: Confederate warship, CSS Jackson, and the wreckage of the CSS Chattahoochee. A full scale ship replica of the USS Water Witch, a replica of the USS Hartford, a full scale replica of the USS Monitor’s famous turret. A dockside exhibit recreating Plymouth, NC, with an interior and exterior view of the CSS Albemarle.

Columbus, Georgia is on the Alabama – Georgia state line, which runs down the Chattahoochee River there. The Battle of Columbus is also known as the Battle of Girard, Alabama (now Phenix City, Alabama). The US Cavalry attacked the Confederates from the Alabama side of the river. The scenic Chattahoochee Riverwalk on the Georgia side, has many historical markers interpreting this last battle of the Civil War.

The Chattahoochee Riverwalk is bicycle friendly.

National Civil War Naval Museum: 

1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, Georgia 31901

Phone: (706) 327-9798

http://www.portcolumbus.org

CSS Albemarle

The scene is Plymouth, North Carolina in October, 1864, as we see the famous Confederate Ironclad, CSS Albemarle sitting dockside. The ship is open to view both inside and out; a rare opportunity to get a glimpse inside a unique craft. The Albemarle is a classic Confederate Navy design, with a diamond hull and armored casemate. It was 150 feet long and carried two 6.4 inch Brooke Rifles mounted fore and aft, each able to pivot and shoot out of its three gunports. Take a 360º 3D like tour of the ship below.

© Bob Henderson

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General’s Night Fight

Rear Guard Action at the West Harpeth River

December 17, 1864

 

Updated: 8 JUN 2017

John B. Hood’s 100 mile running rear guard, led for the most part by Lt. General Bedford Forrest*, is one of the most amazing feats of the war. Although it is some of the most daring fighting of the Army of Tennessee, it may never be fully appreciated as real estate worthy of preservation. It is that fear, that led me into Virtual Reality photography for battlefield preservation.

Given the fact that the actions at the West Harpeth River are so close to the relatively new I-840 corridor, this land will more than likely be lost in the next decade. As of June, 2017 core battlefield property is for sale.

To categorize these heroic clashes as delaying actions, is a disservice to the men that fought on both sides.

From ‘In the Lions Mouth’:

“In the gathering darkness, the Confederates at first were unsure if the approaching horsemen were friend or foe since so many Southern cavalrymen, like the rest of Hood’s army, wore captured Union clothing. ‘This was a critical moment, and I felt great anxiety as to its effect upon the men, who, fewer in numbers, had just had the shameful example of the cavalry added to the terrible trial of the day before, Stevenson [Major General Carter Stevenson] noted.”

“… the gray cavalry was immersed in some of the toughest combat in this phase of the retreat, with their generals just as – or more – involved in actual fighting than their infantry counterparts. Abraham Buford was assailed by a Union trooper, who twice slashed at him over the shoulder with a saber. General Chalmers quickly came to Buford’s aid, killing the Federal with two revolver shots. Chalmers also captured another Union soldier amid the engagement. Apparently in the same encounter, another bluecoat swung his saber at Buford, but the blade was diverted by a Confederate trooper using the barrel of his empty carbine. Buford, a big man, weighing about 300 pounds, then grabbed his assailant and yanked him from his horse. Squeezing him so tightly that the Federal later said it, was like being ‘hugged by a bear,’ Buford spurred to safety, with his prisoner.”

From the Official Record:

“HDQRS. CAVALRY CORPS, MIL. DIV. OF THE MISSISSIPPI, Three Miles North of Thompson’s Station, on West Harpeth, December 17, 1864-6 p. m.

Brigadier General W. D. WHIPPLE,

Chief of Staff:

GENERAL: We have “bust up” Stevenson’s division of infantry, a brigade of cavalry, and taken three guns. The Fourth Cavalry and Hatch’s division, supported by Knipe, made several beautiful charges, breaking the rebel infantry in all directions. There has been a great deal of night firing, volleys and cannonading from our guns – the rebels have none. It is very dark, and our men are considerably scattered, but I’ll collect them on this bank of the stream – West Harpeth. Hatch is a brick!

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. H. WILSON,

Brevet Major-General, Commanding.”

Tennessee 3D 17 – Hood’s Retreat – December 17, 1864

Columbia Pike

“Moving rapidly south through Franklin, Stephen D. Lee’s Corps with Chalmers’ Cavalry Division attached, took up a delaying position in this area about 1:00 PM They beat off attacks by Wood’s IV Corps & Wilson’s Cavalry. Here, Gen. Lee was wounded; command passed to Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson. The Army of Tennessee bivouacked that night around Spring Hill.”

Location: North Side of the West Harpeth River:

4443-4479 Columbia Pike
Franklin, TN 37064

 

Highly Recommended Reading:

 

*Forrest was in route to join up with Hood’s Army when the Battle at the West Harpeth River occurred. Coming from Murfreesboro, he would catch up at the Duck River, in Columbia a few days later. Major General Carter Stevenson, was in command of Lee’s Corp here after Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee was wounded. Lee was hit in the foot by shell fragments here December 17.

#hoodsretreat #battleofnashville

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Zion

Sam Watkins Church and Cemetery

Private Sam Watkins

2322 Zion Rd, Columbia, TN 38401

“The Zion Presbyterian Church is a historic building in Maury County, Tennessee. The church was built between 1847 and 1849 of brick in the Greek Revival style. President James K. Polk attended a school conducted by the church. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1972.”

It is believed to be the oldest Church in Maury County, Tennessee.

“Zion Presbyterian Church was established in the early 19th-century by Scots-Irish families from South Carolina who moved to Maury County, Tennessee. In 1807, they organized and built a structure on 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land they purchased from heirs of Major-General Nathanael Greene, who had received the land as part of a 25,000-acre (100 km²) American Revolutionary War land grant. The original building was replaced with a brick structure in 1813. The present building was constructed in the Greek Revival style by members and their slaves using brick, limestone, and timber. The architectural styling features stepped gables and a recessed open vestibule. A gallery was also provided for slaves to attend service. In the 1880s, Tiffany Stained Glass windows were added to the church building.

With over 1,500 graves, the Zion Presbyterian Church cemetery of is also of historical significance. In addition to many of the church’s founding members, soldiers from the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War are also interred there. The church cemetery contains a monument to “Daddy Ben,” a slave who, during the Revolutionary War, refused to tell the British where his master was hiding, and survived three hanging attempts by the British Army.” – Wikipedia

It is the final resting place of Private Sam Watkins, who was raised near by:

“Samuel Rush “Sam” Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was an American writer and humorist. He fought through the entire Civil War and saw action in many major battles. Today, he is best known for his enduring memoir, “Co. Aytch,” which recounts his life as a soldier in the Confederate States Army.” – Wikipedia

NOTE: I would like to add one footnote about Sam Watkins’ narrative: Col Robert Farquharson is mentioned twice in “Co. Aytch” leading the 4th Tennessee. He was actually Colonel of the 41st Tennessee. My GGF Capt. Walter Scott Bearden served as an officer under his command. They apparently fought together at the Bloody Angle at Kennesaw Mountain.

360º Panorama of The Zion Presbyterian Church

#zionchurch

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End of Reconstruction

The Election of 1876 – end of the Reconstruction Era

Margaret Kerr Bearden circa 1920

I was looking through my grandparents photographs from the 1920’s and ran across this photo of my Grandmother Margaret Kerr Bearden. Curious about the underlined phrase, I looked up the Democratic nominee for President in the election of 1876.

“An informal deal was struck to resolve the dispute: the Compromise of 1877, which awarded all 20 electoral votes to Hayes. In return for the Democrats’ acquiescence to Hayes’s election, the Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South to end the Reconstruction Era of the United States. The Compromise effectively ceded power in the Southern states to the Democratic Redeemers, who went on to pursue their agenda of returning the South to a political economy resembling that of its pre-war condition, including the disenfranchisement of black voters.” – Wikipedia

Ironically, President Hays was a US Army Brevet Major General in the American Civil War, wounded 5 times.

Margaret and Julian Bearden were grandchildren of Union & Confederate soldiers. They were also life-long Democrats.

#reconstruction