BONPS NEWSLETTER—January, 2012
A SUCCESSFUL YEAR
Greetings to all! I want to thank everyone who is a member who sent in their membership dues last year and I also want to thank those of you who made generous donations, the latest being Randy Kinnard for $ 250.00 and Clark Tidwell for
$ 1,000.00. It is only through your support through dues and donations, no matter how large or small, that we are able to pursue our common goal, to preserve Civil War Nashville sites and to tell her story. I will be sending a letter to each of our paid members that I have in our data base but if you will, and I may miss someone, please feel free to go ahead and “re-up” this month or in February by sending in your dues. Our cash flow report for 2011 was as follows: Total Inflows:
$ 16,970.10. Total expenses: $ 11,573.34. Our cash on hand as of 1/24/12 is $ 5,061.94. Of that $ 1,000.00 is earmarked for a payment to the Tennessee Land Trust as the 2nd installment on our TLT pledge; money has also been set aside for the appraisal that may have to be made for the Peach Orchard hill acquisition. If anyone desires a cash flow printout, please e-mail me at pwduer@gmail.com with your “snail mail” address, and I will try and send you one.
Last year was a successful year; our paying membership is way up and we have had some significant donations. We had a successful play, the resumption of our annual banquet, and a joint symposium with the Lotz House and Belmont Mansion dealing with the first year of the war.
We signed a permanent conservation easement with the Tennessee Land Trust protecting in perpetuity our properties from any development (REDOUBT 1 AND SHY’S HILL). Also, We are awaiting word from the State of Tennessee as to whether we will be able to purchase some excess property on the forward slope of Peach Orchard hill. It is a small piece and not easily interpreted but it is part of the battlefield area which we will add to battlefield preservation. We were featured by staff writer Nicole Young in a significant article which appeared in the Tennessean several weeks ago. There is also a video along with the article which you can link to on our site. A charter school history teacher just recently sent an email praising our website and thanking us for making her lesson plans much easier in preparing to teach the Civil War in her classes. This means a lot and confirms that we are on the right path as one of our missions is education. Jim Kay gave a wonderful talk at the top of Shy’s hill in December as part of Mayor Dean’s effort to get people outside and learn about their city. It was estimated that there were 300 people in attendance!
We have instituted a sponsored tour capability with local CW historian Ross Massey. With our new state of the art website, we are contacted on a daily basis for maps, queries as to CW burials, battle sites, etc. We have added many features to our website, particularly articles about CW medicine, the naval engagements here, the battle and CW burials in Nashville. We have also added many links to other important CW websites. From July to December 2011 we had over 34,000 hits! I would like to especially thank Tom Lawrence of our Board who runs our site and Jim Atkinson and John Allyn of our Board who have provided articles to the website and have answered questions from people around the country as to the Battle of Nashville and or the involvement respective ancestors. Tom has installed Pay Pal on our website …you can pay your dues or buy the items we have for sale in our web store with that convenient method.
For this year, we are working on:
1) The annual banquet — it looks like it will be in April;
2) A sponsored BONPS historical miniature and toy soldier show with emphasis on the Civil War although it will cover all periods; hopefully in July — stay tuned for date and location.
3) A joint presentation with The Nashville Civil War Roundtable and Gregg Biggs of a night with Ed Bearrs, noted Civil War historian, author, and speaker. He does not need an introduction and we are happy to work with Gregg to sponsor this event in July of this year, the date and times, and site to be determined…stay tuned; I would imagine a big turnout so once we firm up the date, you need to buy your tickets early!
4) A symposium dealing with the 2nd year of the war, the speakers, dates, and location to be determined….stay tuned;
5) This year or next, a CW clothing exhibit, Ellen McClanahan of our Board is working on this and we will have more details as they come due;
6) Continued work to get a sign on Polk Avenue dealing with the assault on Granbury’s Lunette.
I also want to mention the Nashville Civil War Roundtable: if you have not attended a meeting, you are missing a lot. The meetings are on the 3rd Monday of the month at 7:00 m at Fort Negley. Contact Krista Castillo, President and Museum Director at the fort or Gary Burke of the 13th USCT Living History Association, Vice President, if you have any questions. Gregg Biggs has secured great speakers each and every month. I guarantee you will enjoy it. Your first attendance is free; if you like it then you can join. Check our website for the NCWRT for more details.
I hope everyone has a great year and I look forward to seeing each of you at our events.
Philip Duer
President, BONPS
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December 10, 2011
Shy’s Hill: A History Walk With The Mayor
A throng of history-loving Nashvillians hiked to the summit of Shy’s Hill with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean on Saturday, December 10, 2011, as part of the Sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War. The hike occurred just days before the 147th anniversary of the vicious fighting that occurred on the hilltop and its surrounding area on the afternoon of December 16, 1864. At the summit, Battle of Nashville expert Jim Kay, past-president of BONPS, described the historic battle and its place in Nashville, Tennessee, and American history. [Photos by Elaine Kay]
Hikers join Mayor Dean in his "history walk" to the summit of Shy' Hill, under the shadow of the site's commemorative flags and a brilliant blue sky.
BONPS battle expert Jim Kay explains Shy's Hill's significance in the battle of Nashville and its place in history
Mayor Dean and past BONPS president Jim Kay commemorating the history of Shy's Hill, the summit of which was preserved by and is owned by the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society
Visitors congregate around a replica of one of the Napoleon field guns purchased and installed by BONPS on the Shy's Hill Summit
The loud report from the commemorative firing of this rifle as part of the Mayor's Day ceremony would have been magnified by the thousands at the height of battle on December 16, 1864
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September 24, 2011
“Living History & Skirmish”
Fort Negley Visitors Center, Nashville
Friends of Fort Negley hosted its annual “Living History & Skirmish” on Saturday, September 24, 2011. More than 400 visitors attended and were treated to reenactors displaying campsites, fighting skirmishes, firing cannons and related events. Below are photos including “antique” photos shot by professional photographer Paul Schatzkins of the “1861 Project” and others by Mrs. David M. DuBrucq.
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In Memoriam: Candace Page
The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society joins the family, friends and colleagues of Candace Page in mourning her passing on July 7, 2011. As Executive Director of Travellers Rest Plantation, she oversaw the maintenance and protection of this important historical site which played a significant role in the Battle of Nashville. During her years with TR, she worked closely and cordially with BONPS in the spirit of the common mission of both organizations. Personally and professionally, she will be deeply missed by BONPS and its members, officers and directors.
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“THE ANDERSONVILLE TRIAL”
Presented by BONPS & Lamplighters Theatre
BONPS continued its series of events recognizing the April 12, 2011 commencement of the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the Civil War on June 17 and 18, 2011, when it joined with Lamplighters Theatre to co-host and sponsor the thought-provoking Civil War play entitled “The Andersonville Trial,” featuring a dramatization of the famous trial of Captain Henry Wirz.
The play was performed in the historic sanctuary of the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville for three performances and featured preliminary comments by Historian Thomas Flagel, original music by The 1861 Project, and Union soldier reenactors as court room guards. For a report on the event, click on EVENTS or THE PLAY above.
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BONPS HOSTS ANNUAL BANQUET WITH GUEST SPEAKERS
On the evening of March 26, 2011, BONPS hosted its annual gathering at Travellers Rest, headquarters of Confederate General John Bell Hood during the pivotal Battle of Nashville in 1864. The program was highlighted by two sought-after speakers. Dennis Boggs, a renowned impersonator of President Abraham Lincoln, convincingly brought the President to life from the pages of history as he spoke of the burdensome problems which Lincoln struggled with during the days of secession and its aftermath.
Noted speaker and professor of history Thomas Flagel of Columbia State Community College gave an impassioned overview of the Civil War, using a slide show and shocking statistics to illustrate his explanation of the enormity of the war and its impact on the split country in which it occurred.
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BONPS DIRECTOR TAKES POSITION AT HISTORIC LOTZ HOUSE
BONPS Board Member and Events Coordinator Ellen Duer McClanahan has taken the position of Director of Education at The Lotz House in Franklin. She had previously served as a Deputy County Clerk for the Criminal Court Clerk’s Office in Davidson County for the past 9 years. In addition to her work with BONPS, Ellen was a founding member and past interim President of Friends of Fort Negley. She is also a member of Historic Nashville, Inc. and the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Trust. Lotz House was the home of German immigrant Johann Albert Lotz, a master carpenter and piano maker whose home and surrounding five acres was at the heart and on the line of the violent Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. It has been on the National Historic Register since 1976. For more details on this historic house and museum, go to http://www.lotzhouse.com/.
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TENNESSEE BATTERY FIRES ON FORT SUMTER TO OPEN SESQUICENTENNIAL
A Tennessee Civil War artillery battery was on the firing line in Charleston, SC on April 12, 2011, exactly 150years from the day the Civil War started with the firing of heavy guns on Fort Sumter. B.F. White’s Battery of Tennessee Artillery was the only Tennessee artillery unit present. The Battery’s brass-barrelled 24 pound Howitzer was among 21 guns positioned at the Patriot’s Point location to commemorate the Civil War Sesquicentennial.
At Patriots Point, South Carolina
From 9 April 2011 to 12 April 2011
Tuesday 12 April 2011
The men of White’s Battery were at full strength with 17 men on the field at 4:00 AM in anxious anticipation of the day’s activities. The men let out a mighty cheer as the light at Fort Sumter split to two separate rays. As the dark of night lifted to expose the fort, the men finished preparations and at the command began an artillery assault that continued for 90 minutes firing 28 rounds. Men were swapped out to keep them fresh. The men averaged three minutes and 21 seconds per round sent down range during this time.
A cease fire was called. The men were ordered to begin firing again at 8:00 AM. In the next 15 minutes 4 rounds were sent before a cease fire was called. At 8:30 the men were ordered to begin fire again and 5 rounds were sent before a cease fire was called. A total of 9 rounds were sent during this barrage.
Summary:
The men of White’s Battery considered the event a success with 47 total rounds being fired with no mishaps, misfires or injuries
Men present and accounted:
Todd Kiscaden, Battery Commander
John Westerfield, Captain
Charles Callaway, First Lieutenant
Paul Tittsworth, Sergeant/Provost
Deborah Teague, Gunner
Jimmy Walker, Gunner
Brian Corley, Gunner
Jason Boshers, Adjutant/Gunner
Paul Windrow, Artillerist:
Tom Potette
Kurt Huskey
Linda Boshers
Vickie Flamion
Margie Potts
Alton Farrell
Jack Walls
Tarry Beasley
Men not present: Steve Turner
Summary:
The men of White’s Battery considered the event a success with 47 total rounds being fired with no mishaps, misfires or injuries.
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CANNONADE COMMEMORATES 146th ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE
On December 12, 2009, BONPS invited a number of Civil War artillery companies to set up their field pieces on the lawn of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, in the shadow of Shy’s Hill. Nearly a dozen guns were present with full crews of reenactors. The rumble of guns across Green Hills was only a hint of the din of noise and smoke that accompanied the attack here at Shy’s Hill on December 16, 1864. BONPS is greatly appreciative of the St. Bartholomew’s Church and the neighbors who live on this part of the battlefield for permitting this unique rememberance of the Union and Confederate men who fought on this ground 146 years ago.
Lined up for action, with Shy's Hill in background
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Smoke clears after first volley
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Attendees examine various types of shoulder arms during the BONPS meeting of Nov. 6, 2008 in which Jim Kay and Doug Jones presented the topic “The Battle Through Green Hills” at the Covenant Presbyterian Church. Approximately 135 people attended. The one-hour program, which was free and open to the public, covered the battlefield through present-day Green Hills and Burton Hills as well as the history of the Compton Farm.
Exciting Opportunity for Landowners and Conservation Passes Congress
On May 23, 2008, Congress passed legislation to renew the enhanced tax incentives for private landowners conserving their land through conservation easements. The legislation, included in the Farm Bill, provides farmers, historic land owners, wildlife enthusiasts, recreational sportsmen and owners of lands with a variety of other benefits for conserving our state with an opportunity that is set to expire December 31, 2009. This critical achievement would not have been possible without the hard work of The Land Trust Alliance and its coalition colleagues or without the support of Tennessee’s delegation, the majority of whom voted to renew these enhanced deductions. This is a great victory for conservation in our state. We cannot afford to miss this window—so please help spread the word.
For more information please visit The Land Trust for Tennessee’s website at http://www.landtrusttn.org/news_taxbenefits.html or contact The Land Trust at (615) 244-LAND.
Devereaux Cannon
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Devereaux Cannon, a friend, member, and supporter of BONPS and historic preservation. He passed away suddenly on Dec. 29, 2007. Services were held Jan. 2, 2008 at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Gallatin, Tenn. Devereaux was a friend and the creator of the TaxFreeTennessee web site that was so helpful during the State Income Tax protests. He was an extraordinary father to Devereaux III and Katherine, grandfather to Devereaux IV, political activist, historian, prominent Nashville Attorney, and husband to Nora. The picture is Devereaux teaching people about the history of flags. He wrote several books on the subject.
Two Flags Atop Shy’s Hill
A record crowd attended anniversary ceremonies by the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society atop Shy’s Hill the afternoon of Dec. 16, 2007.
“Two Flags Across Tennessee,” a preservation awareness program of the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, were planted on top of Shy’s Hill as the program concludes its journey across the state. The flags are reproductions of the 1861 Stars and Stripes and the 1861 First National Confederate Flag. The flags have traveled to about 40 significant battlefield sites in Tennessee.
It was at Shy’s Hill on the afternoon of Dec. 16, 1864 that Union troops broke the Confederate lines, sent Gen. John B. Hood’s troops into retreat, and produced a major victory for US Gen. George Thomas.
Work projects by BONPS to enhance the visitor’s experience at Shy’s Hill continue.
Jim and Elaine Kay of BONPS meet with Jody Powell, second from right, a Civil War Preservation Trust Board Member, and author/historian Frank O’Reilly at the Powell Farm in Maryland in September 2007. Mr. Powell served as the White House Press Secretary during the Carter Administration. CWPT is America’s largest non-profit organization (501-C3) devoted to the preservation of our nation’s endangered Civil War battlefields.
From The Tennessean
Fort Negley Visitors Center Nears Public Opening
Attending the advanced opening of the new Fort Negley Visitors Center are, left to right, BONPS President Jim Kay, museum curator, historian and author Jim Hoobler, and Mayor Bill Purcell. The fort itself opened to the public for the first time in 60 years in November 2004.
Metro Parks offered residents a sneak peak of the new Visitors Center at Fort Negley, before its official opening.
The tour offered visitors a chance to preview the 4,605-square-foot facility, which includes a small multipurpose theater, exhibit space, meeting room, staff space and outdoor plaza.
The $1 million upgrades complete phase two of the project. Metro Parks is partnering with Traveller’s Rest Plantation and Museum to create educational opportunities and programs for group tours, as well. The Fort Negley Center will feature exhibits, monthly activities, monthly events and self-guided tours.
The exhibit gallery will include touch-screen displays and other interactive elements that tell the story of Fort Negley and the Civil War in Nashville. Topics addressed will include the War in the West, Armies of Invasion, Fighting for Freedom and Occupied Nashville. To commemorate the event, outgoing mayor Bill Purcell sealed a time capsule containing items such as copies of news publications, photographs of Nashville and a list of political personnel. The items in the capsule will remain encapsulated until the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Nashville, December 2064.
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BONPS loses good friend and supporter, Mr. Bob Brown
Our advisory board member, Bob Brown, died Sunday after a long fight with cancer. He loved our group and Shys Hill. We will miss him.–BONPS President James Kay
Bob Brown, a retired banker and Nashvillian, played a key role in the preservation of Tennessee wildlands and was a co-founder of the Tennessee Trails Association. He was also a lay historian with a particular interest in the Civil War and the roads of early frontier Tennessee. Mr. Brown served on the boards of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, the state chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and the Metro Greenways Commission. Bob was also a major supporter of the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society and the Tennessee Historical Society. He designed the new trail that now leads to the top of Shy’s Hill, one of the few remaining sites from the Battle of Nashville. A lifelong bachelor, Mr. Brown planned legacy gifts to the organizations to which he had already given so much. He will be missed by many devoted friends.
–Ann Toplovich, Executive Director, Tennessee Historical Society
Tuesday Tennessean, 05/15/07
Bob Brown was friend of nature
By ANNE PAINE
Staff Writer
Bob Brown, remembered as a noble and gentle man who spread his interest in saving natural areas to others, died at his Nashville home Sunday night, May 13, 2007, of cancer at age 77. Brown, who never married, worked before retirement as a trust official at what
was then Third National Bank.
He became best known, however, for his quiet pursuit of protecting the state’s
hills, wildflowers and streams. He is known for that and for his dog Trouble. Trouble, who died in September of cancer, was by his side for 16 years — on hikes and in boardrooms. The pair, icons in the local conservation movement, received the “Best Friend” award last year from the Friends of Warner Parks.
“Bob Brown was one of the most noble men I’ve ever known,” said former Gov. Winfield Dunn. “He had an inquiring mind and an appreciation of nature’s gifts to all of us — in the fields and woods and flowers and natural areas. “And he shared it. He took great joy in raising the level of appreciation of other people in this wonderful gift.”
Brown co-founded the Tennessee Trails Association and helped inspire and plan the 300-mile Cumberland Trail that will stretch from the Tennessee River Gorge near Chattanooga to the Kentucky-Virginia border.
An “amateur” botanist who provided Latin names of plants with ease, Brown was honored recently by a 315-acre donation on Brady Mountain in his and a colleague’s name. It is now part of the Cumberland Trail State Park.
“He was an unbelievably good man in so many ways …,” said John Eddie Cain, a friend since first grade at Parmer School. “He was a forerunner on just about every issue you could think of that’s really worthwhile.”
Boards on which he served included those of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, the Tennessee Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and the Metro Greenways Commission. Tennessee Environment and Conservation Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan described him as “soft spoken, always courteous, always curious to learn more.”
He was a “virtual encyclopedia” of the state’s trails and historical and natural features, Sloan said. “Bob wasn’t a member of a political party,” he said. “He never wavered from just a straight, honest love for conservation and he understood how important it was and gave his whole life for it.”
Park Day volunteers enhance Shy’s Hill summit, walking trail
By Lacy Broemel
On Saturday, April 7, 2007 many dedicated preservers of Shy’s Hill turned out to clear brush and improve the trail. This important battle site, the place where the Union troops broke through the Confederate line on December 16, 1864, is being preserved by a group of Battle of Nashville enthusiasts, the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society. This local group carried out “Park Day,” a national day of cleaning and restoring battlefields, in our community.
The summit of Shy’s Hill has previously been cleared, except for five large brush piles on the top. Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, a group began to clear these piles and bring them to the side of the hill, creating a screen from the neighbors. The group successfully cleared three of the piles from the summit in four hours.
While one group was clearing brush, another group was improving the trail to the summit. A visible trail has already been made, but Mr. Bob Slaydon, a pioneer in making trails, led a group in flattening and improving the trail. These workers dug out roots and made the trail easier to walk on.
Prior to this workday, two supporters, The Parke Company and Vermeer, donated equipment to help this day go more smoothly.
Shy’s Hill, a key battlefield in the Battle of Nashville, is alive and well, thanks to dedicated workers. Improving the site is no easy job, but on Saturday everyone at the site felt the importance of the job at hand. All the workers made a huge improvement on the hill, clearing brush from the top and making the trail more accessible.
Plans for Fort Negley Visitors Center proceed
Waiting for Sounds, Metro proceeds with Fort Negley
By Bill Harless,
Nashville City Paper,
bharless@nashvillecitypaper.com
March 13, 2007
Despite some fretting in the city over the future of the proposed Nashville Sounds ballpark downtown, Metro is proceeding with plans to build a visitors center for the Fort Negley park atop a portion of Greer Stadium’s parking lot.
The Sounds play at Greer Stadium and have said they hope to open their new ballpark in time for the 2009 baseball season.
Metro Parks Department spokeswoman Jackie Jones said Tuesday that construction of the $2 million, 4,500-square-foot visitors center will likely begin in early spring and said the center is scheduled to open in September.
“I think the Parks Department will compensate for any impact it has on the parking,” said Metro Finance Director David Manning when asked what Metro would do with the visitors center if the new Sounds stadium does not materialize. Manning noted that construction of the center would not affect the stadium itself in any way. “I’m sure that in a construction situation, they will provide a reasonable solution for the Sounds to the extent that there’s any kind of overlap there.”
“… It’s something that will continue even if the Sounds do stay at Greer Stadium,” said Molly Sudderth, Mayor Bill Purcell’s spokeswoman, when asked the same question.
Jones said design of the visitors center, by Buchart-Horn, Inc, is complete. Meanwhile, the construction contract for the center was awarded in November to the Powell Building Group of Goodlettsville, according to Metro. The contract calls for the building to include exhibit space, a small theater, a meeting room, public restrooms and an outdoor plaza.
Metro in 2003, under Purcell’s leadership, undertook a $2 million preservation-restoration effort to re-open Fort Negley Park, the site of what was the largest inland stone fortification built during the Civil War. The park, opening in 2004, had been closed for 60 years. It sits between Greer Stadium and the Adventure Science Center.
The Sounds and Baltimore Developer Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse have until mid-April to complete financing and design work for the new downtown ballpark and also the $200 million retail-hotel-office-residential development that would surround it, and they must submit any proposed amendments to their agreement with the city for developing the site — between the Gateway and Shelby Street bridges — to the Metro Council office by March 23.
BONPS co-hosts successful symposium on Civil War cavalry
The featured speakers for the symposium were, left to right, Eric J. Wittenburg, Brian Steel Wills, Myers Brown, and Greg Biggs.
Approximately 50 Civil War cavalry enthusiasts attended the Third Annual Civil War Symposium, Sat., March 10, 2007, at Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum, co-hosted by BONPS and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. In addition to tours of the Travellers Rest property and lively panel discussions, the four main speakers at the symposium were:
- Myers Brown, a curator at the Tennessee State Museum, who spoke on Fightin’ Joe Wheeler, one of the major cavalry leaders in the Western Theater. A diminutive man, Wheeler performed in a variety of roles associated with the Army of Tennessee. Mr. Brown was well informed on Gen. Wheeler, being the former curator of Pond Spring, the Wheeler home in northern Alabama. Wheeler, who also fought in the Spanish-American War, is the only former Confederate general buried at Arlington Naitonal Cemetery. Mr. Brown also displayed an exhibit, “Hoofbeats in the Heartland: Civil War Cavalry in Tennessee,” which is a traveling exhibition of the State Museum.
- Brian Steel Wills spoke on the exploits of famed cavalry leader Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, having written one of the best biographies of the controversial general. Professor Wills teaches history at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. Forrest was a fearless warrior who personally killed 30 of the enemy but he was also satisfied with bloodless victories. He liked to win. He was also an expert at psychological warfare, a master at getting his enemies to doubt themselves. Forrest admitted defeat only once, to Gen. James H. Wilson at Selma, Ala. in April 1865, and stated that he was afraid of only one man–his brother William.
- Greg Biggs, the founder and president of the Clarksville Civil War Roundtable, spoke on the Union cavalry action at Shelbyville, Tenn. during the Tullahoma Campaign of Summer 1863. In about ten days of rainy weather and miserable mud, making full use of his cavalry, Union Gen. W.S. Rosecrans drove the Confederate Army of Tennessee from Middle Tennessee. The U.S. suffered only 569 casualties while capturing 1,600 Confederates. The first use of lightning cavalry was at Hoover’s Gap by Col. John Wilder’s mounted infantry armed with Spencer repeating rifles. Lincoln praised the campaign as one of the most successful strategic operations of the war but the campaign received little recognition, coming at the same time as Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg and involving relatively little bloodshed.
- Eric Wittenburg of Columbus, Ohio, an attorney, publisher, and author of 13 books on Civil War cavalry, talked about a variety of Civil War cavalry commanders, many of whom served poorly in the East and were transferred to the West. He noted that JEB Stuart, for all his performances, represented the cavalry of the past using Napoleanic tactics, while Gen. James H. Wilson, US cavalry leader at the Battle of Nashville, represented the future of cavalry. Bested by Forrest at Spring Hill and the Nashville retreat, Wilson led his troopers in the spring of 1865 on a highly successful cavalry raid through Alabama and Georgia, overrunning Forrest’s men at Selma and nearly capturing their leader.
BONPS Banquet guests hear Hicks speak on Widow of the South;
J.T. Thompson hands gavel to incoming president James Kay
Robert Hicks, author of the best-selling historical novel Widow of the South, autographed his book for attendees at the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society’s Annual Banquet held Feb. 8, 2007 at the Travellers Rest auditorium.
Battle of Nashville Monument Vandalized; Reward Offered for Information
The Tennessean; Tuesday, 12/12/06
Vandals deface Civil War statue
Police suspect teens did graffiti
By KEVIN WALTERS
Staff Writer
Vandals struck the city’s Battle of Nashville statue during the weekend, splashing graffiti on three sides of its base.
The spray-painted symbols were first found on the Civil War memorial Sunday morning. Other graffiti was discovered on a concrete wall near Granny White Pike as well. The granite obelisk, which features a bronze statue depicting a young man as the “Spirit of Unity” flanked by two horses representing the North and the South, stands along Granny White Pike near Battlefield Drive.
Metro police believe the vandalism is the handiwork of local teenagers and not organized gangs, said Don Aaron, Metro police spokesman. They have no suspects. There are teens that are known to hang out in that area and at the park,” Aaron said.
Perhaps coincidentally, the defacement comes on the week marking the 142nd anniversary of the Battle of Nashville, which was fought Dec. 15-16, 1864. “I will personally offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of these thugs,” said Jim Kay, president elect of the private nonprofit Battle of Nashville Preservation Society Inc.
He said he was “disgusted” by the damage to a statue that is considered among the first in the nation to commemorate the unity of the country in the wake of the Civil War. Nashville preservationists worked for years to raise money for the statue’s 1999 rededication.
The statue was created by Italian master sculptor Giuseppe Moretti, who also cast the city of Birmingham’s Vulcan statue, and was dedicated on Armistice Day, 1927. Its base and the angel atop the obelisk were replaced after a tornado destroyed them in 1974. The statue was later relocated from Franklin Road to its current site.
“It’s a monument to preserve the memory of the men who fought and died at the Battle of Nashville,” said Wes Shofner, a Battle of Nashville Preservation Society board member. “The entire city should be incensed.” Spray-painted graffiti has previously been removed from the statue, which is owned by the state Historical Commission, said Richard Tune, acting executive director.
Battle at Barricade Program Attracts Overflow Crowd
BONPS Vice-President Jim Kay presented a program on The Battle at the Barricade at the October 19th BONPS meeting at Richland Country Club which attracted a large crowd of 125 attendees. The battle occurred Dec. 16, 1864 on Granny White Pike near the present-day site of Richland C.C. between Union and Confederate cavalry forces. The delaying action by Col. Rucker’s men quite possibly saved Gen. John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee from complete destruction.
Mr. Kay also discussed the early history of the area around Granny White Pike and the adventures of Lucinda “Lucy” White, the brave pioneer woman who operated a traveler’s inn on the site and for whom the pike is named.
