gjpratt
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2019
- Location
- Central Florida and WNC
Recently while in Middle Tennessee on a Sunday afternoon the usual suspects were rounded up and we headed out to visit Milton, Readyville and Bradyville. We followed the advice and directions of Murfreesboro guru @Rhea Cole . Milton is the site of an obscure but important cavalry clash in March 1863 that Ed Bearss identified as the turning point of the ascendancy of federal cavalry in the Western Theater. It is not well marked but the terrain is still relatively pristine. The battle was essentially a series of ill advised and costly assaults by Morgan on good defensive positions. The old stage depot/inn is still extant in old Milton; it was Morgan's HQ. We also viewed the eminence which was the easternmost signal post of Rosecrans. There are still visible traces of the camp and access road. I am not much of a photographer so no pics to share.
This is Rhea's post that hooked me (with photos): https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ho...-had-breechloaders.193939/page-2#post-2661201
We decided to drive through Readyville (pronounced "Reedyville") even though Rhea had warned us that the 2023 tornados had leveled it. While the devastation was very much in evidence, we were very happy to discover that the historic Readyville Mansion (The Corners) is under restoration.
Built in 1829. John Ready was one of the largest landowners and wealthiest citizens of the area. The tornado destroyed almost all of which was his extensive plantation and surviving structures. The mansion itself was visited and/or overnighted by (IIRC) Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Jefferson Davis and N.B. Forrest. We were interested because it is where John Morgan and his new wife Mattie Ready Morgan stayed the night of their marriage in Murfreesboro in December 1862. Mattie was the daughter of John Ready.The mansion grounds and all its stately trees were leveled by the tornado. The current owners, a young couple who understand and appreciate the significance of the house and are thus great caretakers, related the difficulty of clearing the trees. They are full of embedded bullets and shells that break or dull the blades of the saws. They had only owned it for a couple of years proor to the tornado.They are trying to restore it to original configuration. Here is my one photo:
Before the storm, it had been recently converted to an upscale B&B/ and event venue.
When the tornado came through, the two family members who were at home sheltered in the cellar and were dug out by neighbors. The mansion took a direct hit on its backside. It had been extensively renovated with new structures at the back and to the left of the photo. Nothing was left of the additions.
Here is a link with the history of the mansion (these are the prior owners of the property before the couple we met purchased it): https://www.cannoncourier.com/the-corners-on-stones-river-turns-into-b-b-cms-17477
The photos of the property in its prior incarnation as a luxury B&B are embedded here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-corners-on-stones-river-readyville?osq=Bed+&+Breakfast
We then tracked down the old Gilley Hill Road outside Bradyville. This was the route along which the left wing of Rosecrans' army under Tom Crittenden advanced to open the Tullahoma Campaign. Rosecrans' original plan called for Crittenden to advance first and flank Bragg's right. However, Crittenden was bogged down for days by rain, mud and the unprecedented steepness of the grade. He had to move his entire corps through this narrow defile in endless mud. Infantry, artillery, trains. The main assault thus devolved to Thomas in the center and Wilder's successful breakthrough at Hoover's Gap. The BGES Tullahoma Campaign tour in 2021 was unable to access Gilley Hill Road because a bridge was washed out. The bridge has since been rebuilt and we were able to drive its entire length. I did not take any photos again, alas, but I will say that the steepness, coupled with several hairpin switchbacks, would make it difficult to climb even today as a single hiker in the rain. It is still unpaved. Also noticeable were the steep drop offs with no guard rails. One of those sites that truly must be visited to fully appreciate. While this visit scratched off one bucket list item, it added another. Now I plan on walking it some day, probably starting at the church on top of the hill going down then up. The climb ifrom the base is around 1.5 to 2 miles long (hence the steepness). I would estimate the grade as 15-18% based on my cycling experience back in the day.
For anyone planning to visit any Middle Tennessee CW site, I highly recommend consulting with @Rhea Cole
Thank you, Rhea.
This is Rhea's post that hooked me (with photos): https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ho...-had-breechloaders.193939/page-2#post-2661201
We decided to drive through Readyville (pronounced "Reedyville") even though Rhea had warned us that the 2023 tornados had leveled it. While the devastation was very much in evidence, we were very happy to discover that the historic Readyville Mansion (The Corners) is under restoration.
Built in 1829. John Ready was one of the largest landowners and wealthiest citizens of the area. The tornado destroyed almost all of which was his extensive plantation and surviving structures. The mansion itself was visited and/or overnighted by (IIRC) Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Jefferson Davis and N.B. Forrest. We were interested because it is where John Morgan and his new wife Mattie Ready Morgan stayed the night of their marriage in Murfreesboro in December 1862. Mattie was the daughter of John Ready.The mansion grounds and all its stately trees were leveled by the tornado. The current owners, a young couple who understand and appreciate the significance of the house and are thus great caretakers, related the difficulty of clearing the trees. They are full of embedded bullets and shells that break or dull the blades of the saws. They had only owned it for a couple of years proor to the tornado.They are trying to restore it to original configuration. Here is my one photo:
Before the storm, it had been recently converted to an upscale B&B/ and event venue.
When the tornado came through, the two family members who were at home sheltered in the cellar and were dug out by neighbors. The mansion took a direct hit on its backside. It had been extensively renovated with new structures at the back and to the left of the photo. Nothing was left of the additions.
Here is a link with the history of the mansion (these are the prior owners of the property before the couple we met purchased it): https://www.cannoncourier.com/the-corners-on-stones-river-turns-into-b-b-cms-17477
The photos of the property in its prior incarnation as a luxury B&B are embedded here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-corners-on-stones-river-readyville?osq=Bed+&+Breakfast
We then tracked down the old Gilley Hill Road outside Bradyville. This was the route along which the left wing of Rosecrans' army under Tom Crittenden advanced to open the Tullahoma Campaign. Rosecrans' original plan called for Crittenden to advance first and flank Bragg's right. However, Crittenden was bogged down for days by rain, mud and the unprecedented steepness of the grade. He had to move his entire corps through this narrow defile in endless mud. Infantry, artillery, trains. The main assault thus devolved to Thomas in the center and Wilder's successful breakthrough at Hoover's Gap. The BGES Tullahoma Campaign tour in 2021 was unable to access Gilley Hill Road because a bridge was washed out. The bridge has since been rebuilt and we were able to drive its entire length. I did not take any photos again, alas, but I will say that the steepness, coupled with several hairpin switchbacks, would make it difficult to climb even today as a single hiker in the rain. It is still unpaved. Also noticeable were the steep drop offs with no guard rails. One of those sites that truly must be visited to fully appreciate. While this visit scratched off one bucket list item, it added another. Now I plan on walking it some day, probably starting at the church on top of the hill going down then up. The climb ifrom the base is around 1.5 to 2 miles long (hence the steepness). I would estimate the grade as 15-18% based on my cycling experience back in the day.
For anyone planning to visit any Middle Tennessee CW site, I highly recommend consulting with @Rhea Cole
Thank you, Rhea.
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