Battle of Nashville & Beyond

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The Last Ironclad

The Last Brown Water Navy Gunboat: 

 

Vicksburg National Battlefield Virtual Tour

 

3201 Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Recommended Reading

Torpedoed in 1862, and raised a half century later, the U.S.S. Cairo is the only remaining American Civil War vessel remaining of the vast river Brown Water Navy.  Seven City Class riverboat monitors were requisitioned in the summer of 1961. They were constructed in 100 days at a cost of about $100,000 each. All other river monitors were lost for scrap metal during WWI.

Take a look inside of the reconstructed warship in 3D, and follow the rest of the Vicksburg National Battlefield virtual tour on the Google Maps portal below the virtual gunboat tour.

Suggested reading on the significance of this fighting force through a biography of one of it’s front-line commanders: Lt. Cdr. Le Roy Fitch. An unsung naval leader that in many ways, founded inland waterway insurgency tactics.

 

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Tonnage: 512
Length: 175 ft (53 m)
Beam: 51 ft 2 in (15.60 m)
Draught: 6 ft (1.8 m)
Propulsion:
  • Steam engine with 22 inches (560 mm) cylinder and stroke of 6 feet (1.8 m), fed by five fire-tube boilers at 140 psi (970 kPa)[1][2]
  • paddle wheel-propelled
Speed: 4 knots (7.4 km/h)
Complement: 251 officers and men
Armament: (see section below)
Armour:
  • forward casemate: 2.5 inches (64 mm)
  • pilot house: 2.5 inches (64 mm)
  • 60 feet (18 m) of the side covering the machinery: 2.5 inches (64 mm).
  • forward part of casemate sides: 3.5 inches (89 mm) railroad iron[1]

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Fort Morton

Fort #3 in the Nashville defenses: 

 

fort morton

Rose Park: 1000 Edgehill Ave, Nashville, TN 37203

Fort Morton (3) (1862-1867) – A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1862 in present day Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. Named Fort Morton after Brigadier General USV, James St. Clair Morton, who was killed before Petersburg 17 Jun 1864. The fort was abandoned by Union troops in 1867 after the end of the war and after Tennessee had returned to the Union. – fortwiki.com

morton location
Possible location of Fort Morton at the Rose Park Pavilion

 

Federal Tour of Forts, earthworks and Headquarters:

Note: get the full screen experience by clicking the icon in the lower left of the video frame. A zoom option is available also for reading the historical signage. Some markers are embedded in the floating icons.

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Reading:

 

 

 

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Fort Gillem

The Legacy of the Gillem Generals: 

 

Fisk University: 1000 17th Ave North, Nashville, TN 37208

fort gillem

Fort Gillem (1862-1865) – A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1862 in present day Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. Named Fort Gillem after Union Brigadier General Alvan C. Gillem*, who supervised construction of the fort. Renamed Fort Sill in 1863 probably after Brigadier General Joshua W. Sill, who was killed on 31 Dec 1862 at the Battle of Stone’s River. The fort was abandoned by Union troops in 1865 after the end of the war. – fortwiki.com

The “Fisk Free Colored School” was started in 1866 in the abandoned former military hospital barracks (aka Railroad Hospital) located on 12th Street, becoming Fisk University in 1867. One of the original barracks, relocated in 1873, has been used by the university’s performing arts department since 1935, known as the “Little Theatre”.

gen. gillem

This is Civil Rights story that seems to have gone unnoticed, at least in it’s broader scope. The connection from the American Civil War to WWII and Fisk University is remarkable:

 * It is ironic that his son Lt. General Alvan Cullom Gillem, Jr. would chair the Board for Utilization of Negro Manpower (1945-1946) “to introduce equal opportunity, as that would be the best use of military manpower”. World War II opended up many opportunities for African Americans. General Gillem may have been one of the most powerful players in the early Civil Rights movement.

Recommendations by the Board for Utilization of Negro Manpower:
  • The number of black enlisted men should meet a quota of at least 10% of the Army’s size. This would be proportional to the national population.
  • Black troops would serve in all-black platoons or companies that would be integrated into all-white battalions. This would be done to share experience and knowledge, which would improve unit quality.
  • Black enlisted men who were qualified should attend specialty and technical schools.
  • Black commissioned officers would be promoted by the same standards as their white counterparts.

Both Gillem’s were from Gainesboro, Tennessee. The III was born on a military base in Arizona. Lieutenant General Alvan C. Gillem III was the third generation of Gillem generals. He was a fighter pilot in WWII and commanded the 8th Air Force, among many other duties.

Note: get the virtual tour full screen experience by clicking the icon in the lower left of the video frame. A zoom option is available also for reading the historical signage. Some markers are embedded in the floating icons.

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Readings:

 

 

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Carnton Panorama

Civil War Plantation Virtual Tour:

Revised: 27Sep16 with additional tour spots of the Eastern Flank Battle Field Park.

1345 Eastern Flank Circle | Franklin, TN 37064

carnton-minie-ball

This home was used as a field hospital during the epic Battle of Franklin. Tour the grounds in a 360° view from 12 points on the battlefield. The site is also home to nearly 1500 Confederate soldiers buried here from the battle. It is the largest privately owned Confederate cemetery. Tour the Eastern Flank battlefield of Franklin, with interpretive signs embedded in the virtual tour.

Beginning at 4 p.m. on November 30, 1864, Carnton was witness to one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War. Everything the McGavock family ever knew was forever changed… read more

Note: get the full screen mode by clicking the icon in the lower left of the video frame. A zoom option is available also for reading the historical signage. Some markers are embedded in the floating icons.

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Suggested Reading:

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© Bob Henderson | Athens-South

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Knob Creek

Lincoln’s Boyhood home on Knob Creek

 

Take a virtual tour of Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home at Knob Creek in Larue County Kentucky near Hodgenville. There are two Lincoln historical home sites in Kentucky:

The family left Knob Creek and Kentucky in December 1816 moving to Spencer County, Indiana when Abraham was 8 years old. – NPS

None of the structures are authentic to the Lincoln Family, but you can get a good look at the land as it would have appeared then. The creek trail is a 1.3 mile scenic hike, but has a very steep ascent.

“Knob Creek Farm has been a noncontinuous section of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park since 2001; prior to that date it was privately owned. From 1811 to 1816, it was the childhood homestead of the future President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, who said it was his “earliest recollection”. The site consists of four buildings, two of which are historical in nature.” more on Wikipedia

To read the historical signage, try the full view icon at the lower left of the panorama.

Rev: 11.21.16

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Suggested Reading:

 

 

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