Last Civil War site you visited?

I was in the town of Culpepper VA. Confederate soldiers monument.

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This week, I visited the site of the Battles of Collierville, TN, and the battle of Holly Springs, MS.

The town’s water tower is a recognized landmark for our town. However, when I see it---which is almost everyday---I think of it as the approximate location of a small earth fort where General Wm T. Sherman took refuge during an attack on 11 October 1863. The town was garrisoned by the 66th Indiana Regiment when General Sherman's train arrived with his staff and a battalion of the 13th US Regulars.
Interesting pictures. I think it's great that you know the location of these Civil War events on today's landscape. Are there any areas in the town where preservation work as been done -- buildings, earthworks, that kind of thing? I mean other than historical markers. I'm always interested to see how CW sites are preserved in different communities.

Roy B.
 
Are there any areas in the town where preservation work as been done -- buildings, earthworks, that kind of thing?
There are several signs or earth formations and relics found in the town but I don't think there is any building that still exists. There was one house that was lost in the 1940's which the family said they had bullet holes from the battle. There was another house that General Grant had stopped for a visit and it was falling apart. A hospital was built next to it and everyone wanted to save the house but no one could afford the costs. It was eventually torn down and a marker erected in its place. During the War, this town was small so most of the old homes are post war.

There are other sites in the neighboring towns and county. Germantown has a reconstructed fort but they did not have a battle as the one that occurred here. Germantown also has a church that was present during the War.
There are other signs of forts in Moscow and one that is further East which is being held confidential until the owner can decide if they can open it up to the public.
Holly Springs has several old antebellum homes. They give a spring home tour each year. One home that I want to tour is one in Byhalia, MS, (about 20 miles away) belonging to General James R. Chalmers' father and it eventually became his home.

I will have to think about it and see if I can recall something that was restored.

The restored fort at Germantown sits only yards from a bend in the M&C RR. The RR from the old marshaling yards in Memphis out to Rossville has not changed course in 170 years.
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There are several signs or earth formations and relics found in the town but I don't think there is any building that still exists. There was one house that was lost in the 1940's which the family said they had bullet holes from the battle. There was another house that General Grant had stopped for a visit and it was falling apart. A hospital was built next to it and everyone wanted to save the house but no one could afford the costs. It was eventually torn down and a marker erected in its place. During the War, this town was small so most of the old homes are post war.

That's great that you know all this about the town and the region! I'm interested in knowing how various communities approach CW historic preservation. Several of us here in Raleigh NC are interested in the ring of fortifications that was built here in 1863. Not much remains, and the only kind of preservation that's been done is to erect a historic marker on Wake Forest Rd north of downtown (in my mind a marker like that is a kind of limited preservation). There are Civil-War-era buildings that are protected, which is commendable, but the earthworks have continued to erode and get razed for development. Anyway, I'm interested in seeing what kinds of things are done in other places to at least mark locations and maybe provide some educational kiosks or reconstructions -- maybe setting up mini-parks here and there.

Roy B.
 
That's great that you know all this about the town and the region! I'm interested in knowing how various communities approach CW historic preservation. Several of us here in Raleigh NC are interested in the ring of fortifications that was built here in 1863. Not much remains, and the only kind of preservation that's been done is to erect a historic marker on Wake Forest Rd north of downtown (in my mind a marker like that is a kind of limited preservation). There are Civil-War-era buildings that are protected, which is commendable, but the earthworks have continued to erode and get razed for development. Anyway, I'm interested in seeing what kinds of things are done in other places to at least mark locations and maybe provide some educational kiosks or reconstructions -- maybe setting up mini-parks here and there.
I was asked to join a volunteer group that was lead by a staff who works for the Town. This was during the 150 Anniversary and our first goal was to research anything and everything about our town during the war. Tennessee was erecting Civil War Trails signs throughout the state and some were added that directed you to our town square where the battle occurred. We also were using this research to apply for State grants. There was a possibility of creating an Interpretive Center. The State also showed interest in building a RailRoad Museum for West Tennessee, as they were building one for East and Middle Tennessee. I think the Town decided they could not support this effort. We were able to obtain funds to erect a walking trail of 6 color tablets. (2 shown below) Our group wrote the history and the town Historical Committee approved and contracted to have the tablets erected, which included a kiosk and printed maps.

Our next goal was to write a history of the town and events during the Civil War. It is difficult to write a book by a committee. We didn't have a clear direction as to size of the book or quality, etc. It has been 8 years now and we have re-convened to try again. Now we have someone giving us direction and we established a size and type of book. Our goal is to have the book published by October of this year---just in time to put under the tree.

I just can't recall any new work done to restore a building or earthworks.
BTW, my photo of the Germantown fort in my previous post doesn't do it justice----the ground looks flat. They re-built a square fort with walls about 4 feet high and it had a raised embankment at one (or 2) corners for a gun. A short length of timber wall was built to represent a portion of a wall. The SCV used to hold reenactments out at this location.

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I was asked to join a volunteer group that was lead by a staff who works for the Town. This was during the 150 Anniversary and our first goal was to research anything and everything about our town during the war. Tennessee was erecting Civil War Trails signs throughout the state and some were added that directed you to our town square where the battle occurred. We also were using this research to apply for State grants. There was a possibility of creating an Interpretive Center. The State also showed interest in building a RailRoad Museum for West Tennessee, as they were building one for East and Middle Tennessee. I think the Town decided they could not support this effort. We were able to obtain funds to erect a walking trail of 6 color tablets. (2 shown below) Our group wrote the history and the town Historical Committee approved and contracted to have the tablets erected, which included a kiosk and printed maps.

Our next goal was to write a history of the town and events during the Civil War. It is difficult to write a book by a committee. We didn't have a clear direction as to size of the book or quality, etc. It has been 8 years now and we have re-convened to try again. Now we have someone giving us direction and we established a size and type of book. Our goal is to have the book published by October of this year---just in time to put under the tree.

I just can't recall any new work done to restore a building or earthworks.
BTW, my photo of the Germantown fort in my previous post doesn't do it justice----the ground looks flat. They re-built a square fort with walls about 4 feet high and it had a raised embankment at one (or 2) corners for a gun. A short length of timber wall was built to represent a portion of a wall. The SCV used to hold reenactments out at this location.

These seem like fantastic efforts, although I can see it hasn't always been easy to get things done. I like the "walking trail" project. I could see something along those lines being done here. The earthworks around Raleigh were kind of a circle about 5-6 miles in circumference. Today that circle (an oblong, really) covers a great diversity of ground, from people's backyards to cemeteries, to university and school campuses, to vacant lots covered by kudzu, to homeless encampments. One of the redan locations was likely where the front yard of the state prison is today!

Thanks so much for detailing all of this!

Roy B.
 
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