Battle of Nashville & Beyond

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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.

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© Bob Henderson

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Cavalry Tour

Civil War Cavalry Virtual Tours: 

09 MAR 17

Cavalry operations in the western theater of the United States Civil War.cavalry

Some tours have expanded links to the battlefields*

* Brices Crossroads – Forrest vs Sturgis

* Davis Bridge – Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn vs Maj. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord

Johnsonville Battlefield and Tennessee River Naval Battle – November 4–5, 1864. Forrest’s Cavalry raid on the U.S. Navy and the Army supply base at Johnsonville, Tennessee:

  • West Bank of the Tennessee River at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park
  • Upper Redoubt
  • Tennessee River Front

Clifton, Tennessee – Forrest Cavalry crossing of the Tennessee River – Dec. 15, 1862 – Jan. 3, 1863

* Parkers Crossroads – Forrest’s Cavalry Raid into West Tennessee – December 31, 1862 

* Kelley’s Point – Cumberland River Nashville Naval Battle Dec. 2-15, 1864

  • Look for the icons that open to display the historical signage.
  • The lower left corner of the display has a full screen option hot spot.

* Hood’s Retreat – Battle of Nashville Rear Guard

* John Hunt Morgan Raid’s – Munfordville and Tebb’s Bend

 

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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Recommended Reading:

#virtualtour #civilwar #johnsonville #nbforrest #cavalry

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Gibraltar of the West

Columbus-Belmont Battlefield: 

Early in the war, troops under Confederate General Leonidas Polk fortified a strategic line on the bluff’s of the Mississippi River here. In September of 1861, it marked the South’s first move into Kentucky. To prevent passage of Union gunboats downstream, a huge chain was stretched across the river. Soon after it was deployed, it broke due to the shear force of the river. A section of the chain and massive anchor is on display in the park.

After the Federal successes in Tennessee at Forts Donelson and Henry, Confederates evacuated Columbus on March 2, 1862. U.S. Army troops moved in the next day, holding the fortress for the remainder of the war.

This was the northern most fortification held by the Confederates on the Mississippi River. It was literally the high-water mark on the Mississippi for the South. It was also one of General U.S. Grant’s first major operations.

Columbus-Belmont State Park: 350 Park Road, Columbus, KY 42032 

Take a 360º augmented virtual tour of the site below. Click on the full screen icon at the bottom of the panorama for a full size few.

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Google has mapped the trails here:

 

#columbus #belmont #civilwar

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Nashville Virtual Tour

Confederate Battle of Nashville Virtual Tour:  

 Revised: 7 July 2017

 

360º Virtual Tour starting point: Kelley’s Point: 7002 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209

From Kelley’s Point, to Granbury’s Lunette, the Nashville American Civil War battlefield is one of the largest in the United States. It’s over nine miles as the crow nashville-tour-imgflies. This virtual tour starts with Kelley’s Point on the Cumberland River on the west side of Nashville, and goes to the Belle Meade Plantation, Redoubt #1, Redoubt #, Travelers Rest, Granbury’s Lunette, Sunnyside, Shy’s Hill, Peach Orchard Hill and the Peace Monument Park. There are interconnecting tours to the Nashville National Cemetery, Fort Negley, Belmont Mansion, Love Circle and the Mount Olivet Cemetery. 

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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#battleofnashville #virtualtour

Tour Stop locations: 

Kelley’s Point: 7002 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209

Belle Meade Plantation: 5025 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37205

Redoubt #1: 3421 Benham Ave, Nashville, TN 37215

Wikipedia

Redoubt #4: private property

Travelers Rest: 636 Farrell Pkwy, Nashville, TN 37220

Granbury’s Lunette: 190-194 Polk Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210

Shy’s Hill: 4615 Benton Smith Rd, Nashville, TN 37215

Peach Orchard Hill:  4700 Franklin Pike, Nashville, TN 37220

Sunnyside: 3000 Granny White Pike, Nashville, TN 37204

Peace Monument Park: 1200 Clifton Lane, Nashville, TN 37215

Fort Casino Park: 824 W Argyle Ave, Nashville, TN 37203

Suggested readings:

#battleofnashville

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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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#vicksburg

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]