Battle of Nashville & Beyond

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Bennett Place

The place that saved America: 

 

April 26, 1865: 90,000 Confederate soldiers were surrendered by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. It effectively ended the American Civil War after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia (April 9, 1865). It was the conclusion of Maj. Gen. Williams T. Sherman’s military champaign from Georgia thru the Carolinas.

The dramatic negotiations started on April 17th, 1865. It was intensified by the telegram Sherman handed to Johnston, informing of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (April 14). Many, including the newly sworn President Andrew Johnson, wanted the heads of the rebel leaders.

A must read about this pivotal American 30 day turning point is April 1865: The Month That Saved America By Jay Winik.

Bennett Place 360º Virtual Reality Tour

Bennett Place has a wonderful guided tour of the property. Located at 4409 Bennett Memorial Rd, Durham, NC 27705

bennettplacehistoricsite.com
(919) 383-4345
 
 

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Fort Negley Park Saved

St. Cloud Hill development backs off the Fort Negley Park Plan

 

Updated: 08 Feb 2018

Act Four:

Saint Cloud Hill abandons controversial proposal for Nashville’s Greer Stadium – The Tennessean

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CGI 3D Model

Fort Negley (Harker) in Nashville, Tennessee by belmontguy on Sketchfab

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Statues Come Down

Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis Statues Removed

Wednesday December 20, 2017: Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest‘s statue on Union Street in Memphis, Tennessee was removed around 9 p.m. local time.

“By 10:30 p.m., cranes had maneuvered into Memphis Park and around a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War. About 15 minutes later, a crane hoisted the statue onto a truck as a crowd cheered and struck up songs, including Hit the road Jack.” …read more

The statues where removed to an undisclosed location. What will become of General Forrest and his wife? They are buried underneath the pedestal at the former Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, now the Health Sciences Park (Madison Ave & S Dunlap Street).

Jefferson Davis Park is now named Memphis Park (North Front Street).

Exclusive Virtual Reality Tour of General Forrest’s Statue prior to the removal, and the pedestal a few days latter.

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#confederatestatues

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PETITION UPDATE

They’ve noticed our efforts – we’re not giving our park away without a fight!

From Change.org

Keep an Urban Park in Nashville
JUL 20, 2017 — Friends,

We are rattling the cages of the back-room-deal power brokers in Nashville who thought giving away public and historic park land worth $30million for about $1million might go without notice (or that we probably can’t put a price on the history of this inland fort).

Just like the fight to save Radnor Lake and the Ryman – there comes a time when thinking people sit up and say “this makes no sense” — why, as so many other Nashville mayors did, are we not adding to and protecting our city land instead of giving it away to private developers?

So, while the challenge to this award is being worked through in a formal complaint process with the city, our collective efforts are shining a light on the importance of this issue to Nashville and our region.

Please read expert opinions from Ridley Wills II, David Ewing, the Walker Collaborative, The National Civil War Trust and more at the link below.

Tomorrow we will share information on the Legal Defense Fund which has been set up to fight this.

Keep sharing this petition, asking friends to sign, caring.

Together we can make this right.

 #thisplacematters

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Fort Negley Desecration

Nashville moves backwards on Civil War Preservation 

14 July 2017 Update: Letter to the Nashville Mayor by the Civil War Trust CWT Comments – Fort Negley

8 July 2017:

Almost 20 years ago, I submitted Fort Negley to the Civil War Preservation Trust as one of this most endangered sites in the United States. It was selected #1. The Purcell administration had an immediate response to resuscitate the moth-balled city park. In December 2004 it reopened after 60 years.

Jim Lighthizer (still President of the Civil War Trust) flew to the press conference in Nashville. He praised the city, and those of us active in the preservation effort. It’s ironic that he chastised the Franklin and Murfreesboro municipalities for not doing more to save their hallowed battlefields. His quote, I remember, was “get into politics, or get out of preservation”.

Ironic, at least in Franklin, people listened. 20 years later, I can count at least 5 tracts of commercial property that have been reclaimed, cleared and turned back into core battlefield grassland.

I remember attending the victory party for Bill Purcell in 1999. We had met at a Greenways fundraiser when he was running for office. After moving back to Nashville from Denver, Colorado I wondered how long it would take Nashville to catch up with the Greenways network that city had developed.

Mayors Bill Purcell and Karl Dean can take credit for many miles of true green space and green ways. This is not the time to reverse this course, and even more abhorrent, is the desecration of this extremely important part of African American history. Hundreds died at Fort Negley in the service to this country!

I thought this city had matured beyond the power of property development influence. Shame on you that do nothing to stop this.

“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything” – Albert Einstein.

Nashville Scene: The Value of Fort Negley is Not Just at the Top of St. Cloud Hill

 

@savingplaces #thisplacematters #civilwar