Johnsonville in the Civil War:
Nashville was the spring board for the North in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Johnsonville was the logistic supply base that was it’s life-line. Due to the unpredictable water level of the Cumberland River at certain times of the year, a rail line was built to connect Nashville to the Tennessee River. This logistics infrastructure ran as far as South Carolina to Gen. Sherman. Gen. Hoods invasion of Tennessee in the fall of 1864, set out to disrupt and destroy it.
“During the Civil War, Johnsonville was the location of a Union supply depot that moved food, guns, uniforms and everything else needed to supply an army. Steamboats brought supplies up the Tennessee River to the Johnsonville Depot. The supplies were transferred on to railroad cars and transported along the 78 mile Nashville & Northwestern Military Railroad to Nashville, Tennessee and on to General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army in Georgia”…read more
This historical site was the location of the audacious raid by Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest in November of 1864. This was the commencement of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Tennessee champaign. Forrest’s raid here captured the U.S.S. Undine and resulted in the burning the 6 other naval warships and over 6.7 million dollars of U.S. Army supplies. The 2500 Johnsonville man garrison included the 12th, 13th, and 100th United States Colored Troops (USCT). These African American soldiers would go on to fight valiantly in the Battle of Nashville, having 5 consecutive color bearers shot down on Peach Orchard Hill.
Johnsonville State Historic Park, is located 3 miles north of Highway 70 in New Johnsonville, and has a new interpretive center (2013). The 527 wooded park offers some of the most well preserved earthworks in the country. Across the river near Camden, Tennessee, the Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park offers a commanding view of the area, located where the Confederate force attacked from.
Note: get the full screen mode by clicking the icon in the lower left of the video frame. A zoom option is available also. This virtual tour also includes other cavalry battle sites.
Suggested Reading:
#johnsonville #virtualtour
Leave a Reply