Looking around us

[larry_cockerham]

I was recently on the 8th floor of Nashville's Baptist Hospital looking out a large window which happens to be aimed at downtown and the capitol from 20th Avenue North. It suddenly occurred to me that I was looking at most of the area in which federal troops camped during the 2-3 years Nashville was "occupied." Hundreds of thousands of soldiers walked around that area performing numerous tasks, many of them necessary, and spent the rest of their time in boredom when no one was looking. Today it is a sea of rooftops and asphalt. I know the back basement wall of the Jack Morris Glass Co. was part of the prison during this time. It's still there but gets no publicity and certainly isn't visible from the street. Hooker's "girls" were once 'resting' on the hill around the capitol. Today that's a cluster of ugly government buildings probably not really doing anyone much good, aside from the State Archives. The thought actually came to me as to what is buried or still lying around that has not been recently discovered? One would never suspect the civil war ever touched Nashville looking at it today, yet the history here is rich if one knows where to look.

Are there other places like this? Tell us about your town???

 

[matthew mckeon]

Good post.

The discovery of Camp Lawton recently makes one think what's under the earth.

 

[PlowKing]

Well, the CW didn't really affect Reading, but when I visit my brother in Westminster, MD, I always imagine the huge number of troops in and out of that place,plus the street battles that happened there. The downtown looks a lot like it did back in the day.

 

[hlightcap]

In downtown Charlotte, you can find two civil war historical spots. The First was where the Confederate Cabinet met for the last time and authorized the surrender of General Johnston. Secondly, where Jefferson Davis was when he heard that Lincoln was assassinated…pretty cool.

 

[bama46]

Florence, Alabama, has a number of spots...some well known, others not so much..
First of all, one must understand the geography. Florence is on the Tennessee river at the point of a wide shoals. In fact today it is still called "The Shoals" even tho modern **** have submerged them. There was no river traffic around Florence until the completion of a canal in the 1820's, IIRC. It remained a choke point for river traffic, seperating Knoxville, Chattanooga and upstream from the mouth of the river at Paducah Ky, and the Ohio river downstream.

During the war, there were several Federal gunboat shellings of the townanswered by canon on a high point just north of the river. In addition it was contested and occupied by both sides at various times. Pope's Tavern, the oldest structure, served as both a Confederate and Union hospital depending on who was in town.

General Forrest spent considerable time in the area and at one point Sherman threatened to burn the town and send the population north of the Ohio if Forrest launched a raid from the town into Tennessee ( a distance of about 15-20 miles). It was also defended by co K of the 4th Alabama, Roddy's Cavalry, and by a unit known as the Florence Guards.
A medium sised creek, Cypress Creek, is the location of a confederate gunboat that was driven up the creek and scuttled at a local ford. It sunk to the gunnels and the road in that area is known today as Gunnelsford road. Further on up the creek is the location of the plantation "Forks of Cypress". To viewers of TV, the author of "Roots", Alex Hailey, wrote a sequal called "Queen" Queen was his grandmother who was born at the Forks of Cypress into slavery.

My uncle is a cattle rancher and has several pastures to the east of Florence that has the remnants of breastworks running thru them. They have been written up several times by the local newspapers.

Just accross the river to the south is the town of Tuscumbia, alabama. Birthplace of Hellen Keller, it also figured in the war. It too was occupied several times and as a railroad town was a supply center for that area. It was protected from the river by high bluffs and the fact that it sits 4 or so miles from the river's edge.

Finally, Florence is home to an outstanding musician. Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy, is a native and his home ( a cabin) is now a museum. He is well known thru the area, and all who love blues will recognize the "Saint Louis Blues", his most famous work.

 

[ole]

And wasn't General Hood's invasion of Tennessee at least mostly delayed near Tuscumbia trying to get across the Tennessee?

 

[bama46]

And wasn't General Hood's invasion of Tennessee at least mostly delayed near Tuscumbia trying to get across the Tennessee?

It took several weeks. I have looked at the river from several miles east of Florence all the way to Pickwick Dam, just upstream from Shiloh, and have tried to picture what the river would have looked like prior to the d*a*m*s along the river. It must have been a wonderous sight when it was wild. If fell over 100 feet from Guntersville to Florence, a distance of about 75 miles and then spread out into the shoals. When wild, flooding, mosquitoes, diseases such as yellow fever, and other maladies were common, but still it must have been a sight to see.

 

[diddyriddick]

Richmond County North Carolina saw Sherman's Bummers in the Spring of 1865. There was a small skirmish at nearby Rockingham, but other than that, not so much.

I live in a really boring little town!

 

[ole]

I have looked at the river from several miles east of Florence all the way to Pickwick Dam, just upstream from Shiloh, and have tried to picture what the river would have looked like prior to the d*a*m*s along the river.

Sounds like it had quite a current, even through the Shoals. It didn't help that some sneaky yanks cut loose his bridge. And thanks for reminding me that "The Suck" made it possible to get gunboats up as far as Chattanooga.

 

[bama46]

Sounds like it had quite a current, even through the Shoals. It didn't help that some sneaky yanks cut loose his bridge. And thanks for reminding me that "The Suck" made it possible to get gunboats up as far as Chattanooga.

Well, now..
I did some checking and now am uncertain of my facts. I was pretty close in that the canal was begun in the 1830's, which is close to the 1820's, but there is no mention of the completion...
The completed canal was begun anew in 1875 or so and completed in 1890. At the time of the completion, there were 6 locks covering 80 feet of drop

Now I don't know how gunboats got upriver from Florence... the Confederate boat that was scuttled on Cyoress creek was scuttled because it could not get away from the federal gunboats due to the shoals, and they did not want it to fall into union hands

 

[larry_cockerham]

And wasn't General Hood's invasion of Tennessee at least mostly delayed near Tuscumbia trying to get across the Tennessee?

Hood's crossing was delayed back near Decatur and perhaps another place or two west of there. The bridge at Florence was intact in Oct 1864. Weather was lousy and water may have been high, but the bridge was open.

 

[ole]

Hood's crossing was delayed back near Decatur and perhaps another place or two west of there. The bridge at Florence was intact in Oct 1864.

Had read, in one of the Atlanta Campaign books, that the point at which he wanted to cross (Decatur?) had a population of gunboats. So he shifted west to another crossing and the opposit bank had a population of Union Cavalry. There might have been third on the way to Tuscumbia. But we might discuss why he didn't cross if the bridge was open.

Weather was lousy and water may have been high, but the bridge was open.

In the same book (or maybe another), Hood had a few other reasons for not crossing: a) his supplies would be coming up through Corinth; b) as it was, there was a pretty big gap in the rail from Corinth to Tuscumbia, so he wanted to fix that as much as possible; c) he was waiting for Forrest to join him. There may be more, but if the bridge was open, why was there an attempt to build a pontoon bridge?

Ole

 

[larry_cockerham]

Had read, in one of the Atlanta Campaign books, that the point at which he wanted to cross (Decatur?) had a population of gunboats. So he shifted west to another crossing and the opposit bank had a population of Union Cavalry. There might have been third on the way to Tuscumbia. But we might discuss why he didn't cross if the bridge was open.

In the same book (or maybe another), Hood had a few other reasons for not crossing: a) his supplies would be coming up through Corinth; b) as it was, there was a pretty big gap in the rail from Corinth to Tuscumbia, so he wanted to fix that as much as possible; c) he was waiting for Forrest to join him. There may be more, but if the bridge was open, why was there an attempt to build a pontoon bridge?

Ole

I'm an old man. You're confusing me, or it could just be I'm confusing myself? You are correct that the yankees were on the north bank and may have been in the water. Richard Young is our resident authority on this area and this specific window of time. Hopefully, he will straighten us out. I'll check my Hood biography in a moment and see what it tells us and will post some of that. Schofield, later to gain notoriety for the Battle of Franklin, was headquartered in Pulaski at the time and had patrols constantly on the north bank of the Tennessee in Northern Alabama. GG grandpa Cockerham was to join that cavalry in the fall of 1864. Forrest was having a great time downstream watching the yankees blow up their own ammo (with a few prompts by Morton) at New Johnsonville. Forrest quickly showed up at Florence when ordered by Beauregard. There was little if any delay because of Forrest, he was only a day away. I think the weather was more of a problem than the railroad. I'll be back, sorry.

 

[larry_cockerham]

In McMurry's biography of Hood he gives Beauregard credit for helping with logistics. He says that Hood had forgotten to remove the pontoon bridge at Gadsden on the Coosa River, so he ordered it removed and shipped after Hood's army. Hood was chanaging plans without telling Beau. On Oct 23 Hood was at Brooksville. Beau claimed that Hood told him the crossing at Guntersville was strongly guarded. On the 24th they stopped nine miles from Somerville, reaching there on the 25th. On the 26th he approached Decatur. On the 27th Beau cussed Hood out for not telling him what was going on. (A Confederate habit, unfortunately) Hood, according to Beau, was wasting time. This was obviously a problem later. Beau decided they couldn't capture Decatur because of federal defenses with an alert garrison. Hood had information of a favorable crossing 10 miles downstream, so he marched on.

 

[bama46]

In McMurry's biography of Hood he gives Beauregard credit for helping with logistics. He says that Hood had forgotten to remove the pontoon bridge at Gadsden on the Coosa River, so he ordered it removed and shipped after Hood's army. Hood was chanaging plans without telling Beau. On Oct 23 Hood was at Brooksville. Beau claimed that Hood told him the crossing at Guntersville was strongly guarded. On the 24th they stopped nine miles from Somerville, reaching there on the 25th. On the 26th he approached Decatur. On the 27th Beau cussed Hood out for not telling him what was going on. (A Confederate habit, unfortunately) Hood, according to Beau, was wasting time. This was obviously a problem later. Beau decided they couldn't capture Decatur because of federal defenses with an alert garrison. Hood had information of a favorable crossing 10 miles downstream, so he marched on.

Are we talking about October 1864? I am reading sources that place Hood in Tuscumbia trying to get accross the river into florence where Forrest was waiting for him...apparently it takes about 2 weeks to get everyone accross, with SD Lee being the last to cross... and this crossing was at Tuscumbia/Florence..

 

[larry_cockerham]

On the 28th Oct Hood's engineers claimed that Courtland, 20 mi. west of Decatur was the closest suitable crossing, so the AOT headed there on the 29th. After they arrived, they decided "the crossing there could be made only with difficulty". Now Hood complained to Beau about provisions. Now Hood suggested a crossing at Tuscumbia 24 miles further west. The railroad at that time had an eastern terminus at Cherokee just east of the MS/AL state line. That's when Beau decided they'd be better off heading for Nashville. On Oct 30, they reached Tuscumbia and part of the army occupied Florence on the north bank of the river. The bridge was workin fine. "The railroad that was to bring his supplies north through Mississippi and eastward into Alabama was found in wretched condition; rain raised the level of the river, hindered repair work, and impeded the movement of supplies by wagon from Cherokee to Tuscumbia. {Had Forrest been in command rather than Hood, things could have gone a helluva lot smoother and quicker....unsolicited opinion on my part, but likely true} Hood was ****ing around and Beau was on his butt. Hood reported that he "planned to cross the Tennessee on the morning of Nov 5, but he 'had been too busy and unwell to comply with Beau's request'. Beau turned Hood's information into the War Dept. on Nov 6 with the army still in Tuscumbia. {Had he fired Hood, thousands of lives might have been saved??} Hood and Beau continued to 'fight'. Beau asked for a troop review on the 11th by Stewart. Beau also asked for a review of Cheatham's and Lee's corps. Hood complied and abandoned his headquarters at Tuscumbia without informing Beau and moved across the river on Oct 17. Forrest had shown up on the 14th and on the 18th the army completed its crossing of the river. From my research on the US Army at that time and place, I know that Hatch was camped at Shoal's Creek just a few miles northeast of Florence. Yes, they were watching. On the 20th a diary reported "roads are siad to be in a desperate condition, almost impassable. "Day was damp, cold and misty" and soon there would be snow. Sherman burned Atlanta on the 15th of November while the AOT was in the mud heading for Columbia, TN. Hood gets little celebration in Tennesse today. He wasn't much of a general. A fighter, yes. A general, no.

 

[larry_cockerham]

My apology to Richard M. McMurry for hastily condensing some of the previous excerpts from his excellent book JOHN BELL HOOD AND THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE, University of Nebraska Press, 1982. My computer sometimes does some strange things with this system if I don't hustle while typing.

 

[larry_cockerham]

Are we talking about October 1864? I am reading sources that place Hood in Tuscumbia trying to get accross the river into florence where Forrest was waiting for him...apparently it takes about 2 weeks to get everyone accross, with SD Lee being the last to cross... and this crossing was at Tuscumbia/Florence..

Right, I'm sure you're reading the rest by now.

 

[Will Posey]

Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville folks let expanding development obliterate Fort Sanders, the principal Union fort at Knoxville and the site of the decisive battle where Union forces repulsed Longstreet's atttempt to take Knoxville. There is nothing of it left, although recently researchers were able to produce an overlay on the current map, so that we now know just where it was. The area is now fully developed, with a large hospital and numerous residences.

The house that was Longstreet's headquarters still stands, being used now as the local UDC headquarters.

Fort Dickerson, a Union fort across the river from downtown Knoxville, has been preserved. It is now an 85 acre park, where an annual history weekend is held. At other times, the police have a constant battle dealing with all sorts of illegal activities at that site.

Recently, a construction project uncovered Confederate earthworks west of the Fort Sanders area. I'm not sure what, if anything, is going to be done about preservation at that site.

Will

 

[bama46]

Getting back to the business at hand, namely towns we live in and the effects the war had on them, lets consider for a moment Central Illinois with Springfield as the hub.
This is indeed the "Land of Lincoln" Springfield as most know was his "hometown" containing the only home he ever owned. He left town in 1861, and returned in 1865 in a coffin. But Springfield is not all of Central Illinois:

Lincoln, Illinois is a small town about 25 miles North of Springfield and was a townon the circuit that he rode. The town was named after him and was cristened by him. According to legend, he did this witht he juice of a watermelon. There is a site roped off where this is to have happened and the president of the Chambe of Commerce drives a car that is painted like a slice of watermelon, so it must be true.

A few miles to the west is the town of Petersburg. IN the cemetery there rests Anne Rutledge, said to be the only woman he really ever loved. After getting a look at pictures of Mary Todd Lincoln, I am inclined to believe this one also. Just down the road from Petersburg is New Salem. The original town is gone but has been recreated using real logs. ( Wonder if they call them Lincoln Logs ) Anyway, the recreated town was where he lived in his younger days and it was here that he was a shopkeeper and a log splitter of some renown. I do not believe he rode the circuit while living in New Salem.

down the road a few miles southeast is Springfield and we have made a circle.

Springfield has documented everyplace he spit (sp). The home neighborhood has been restored to an 1860 appearance by the NPS and is a good example of your tax dollars at work. They really have done an excellent job down to choosing paint colors and compostion as well as period correct wallpapers. This project is very well done. The Old State Capitol is restored to the Lincoln era and is an interesting building in its own right. Lincoln is reported to have jumped out a window to prevent a quorum and having to cast a vote on some bill or the other. Accorss the street is the Lincoln Herndon Law office which supposedly shows exactly what his law office looked like. the only problem is that the office was further down the block.

Around the corner is the much advertized and noted Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. They are actually two seperate entities in two seperate buildings. The library is a first class research library and the museum accross the street from the library is a prime example of the wonders of Disney. It is not a "mickey mosue operation", quite the opposite. The fact is that the Disney folks did design several of the exhibits and they are masters at making you look at what they want you to see. Several of the exhibits are qorld class including the "Civil War in Four Minutes" and the "TV Newscast wrapup of the 1860 Presidential candidates"... oh and don't miss "The Ghost of the Library"..

The tomb is another place every Springfield visitor is required to go. While there you MUST rub Abe's nose for good luck.. Bronze bust of his head and the shiniest nose in town! The tomb story is the stuff of legends and the History Cahnnel did a pretty good program on it.. Suffice to say, Lincoln is indeed there, but he almost wasn't! Still an impressive site.

So come on to Springfield, the town wants you to come and spend money... Stimulate US!