From the December 24, 2008 Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Fort Negley is located on St. Cloud Hill and from it you can see the battle sites at Shy's Hill and Peach Orchard Hill, two parts of the Battle of Nashville. Downtown Nashville is two miles to the north and cars hurtle by on nearby I-65. The fort has become part of Nashville's efforts to preserve what is left of the Battle of Nashville, which has been largely lost to growth.
The fort was built by Union forces who took over the city in February 1862 and held it for the remainder of the war. It was a 600 by 300 foot stone, log, iron and earth work built by blacks. The outer walls zig-zagged in a v-shape for crossfire. It was never attacked but its cannons fired at Confederates during the December 15-16, battle.
It was closed and abandoned in 1945. Brush and trees soon overtook it and it began to crumble. In 2004, it was reopened as a historical park after the city spent $1 million stabilizing the remains and building walkways and trails. Another $1 million was spent on a visitors center which has displays and an 18-minute film on the Battle of Nashville. The center gets an average of 20 visitors a day and as many as 600 on occasion.
The Bureau of US Colored Troops opened a recruiting office in Nashville in 1863 and by the end of the war, some 20,000 black Tennesseans were wearing Union blue.
I must admit that I am unfamiliar with the site, although I have heard of Fort Negley. Next time through Nashville, I'll have to stop by and take a look.
A Little-Known Civil War Site. --B-R'er
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