Murfreesboro Stones River National Battlefield

It's truly a shame how much of the battlefield has been lost over time to overpopulation & lack of proper caring for a lot of the 20th century.

Granted land buys & other conservation efforts by different groups have been greatly appreciated in an attempt to restore history piece by piece, but there is such a vast amount of land for that Battlefield that is sadly lost to time, and is truly heartbreaking to say the least.
 
Wow what a wealth of pictures and information forum on the Battle of Stones River. I happen to have a Civil War Ancestor that was wounded and died in this battle and was buried there by the name of Thomas VanBuskirk in the 49th Ohio Volunteer Regiment. I've read about it and saw many maps and pictures of the area.
 

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    Private Thomas VanBuskirk - 49th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment.jpeg
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Here are a few more from my recent visit, many taken within the National Cemetery there, like the one above.

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The pyramid of cannon balls that marks the site of Rosecrans's headquarters in a cabin beside the Nashville Turnpike.

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Above and below, a Napoleon cannon marking the position of a Union battery, now within the National Cemetery.

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The six-pounder Wiard cannon above and below is an unusual type that saw use here and also in the earlier Battle of Shiloh.

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Do enjoy the artillery cannon photos. :happy:
 
Wow what a wealth of pictures and information forum on the Battle of Stones River. I happen to have a Civil War Ancestor that was wounded and died in this battle and was buried there by the name of Thomas VanBuskirk in the 49th Ohio Volunteer Regiment. I've read about it and saw many maps and pictures of the area.
You might also like another thread I created this past December concerning the battle itself, although it uses many of the same photos, plus others from a Stones River reenactment I attended back in the 1990's: https://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/the-battle-of-stones-river-dec-31-1862-jan-2-1863.129886/
 
Hi, I'm a new member to this site from the St. Louis area. Thought I would just chime in here as I too had relatives that fought on both sides of this awful battle. To correct some of the recorded history of those brigades / regiments involved here, my Great-grand father, Amos McGowan (Records show spelled McGowen, and a few other ways), was in the 22nd Inf Battalion (Murrays), Pvt., Co A, and passed on his accounts of action in this battle to my Grandfather. (He had a number of stories one can search out on Web under Amos McGowan - "The Southern Rebel")....His company was at the far right of Donelson's Brigade...next to the 16th Tenn Inf....Everywhere, thus far, it has been reported that his unit was organized following Stones River and merged into the 38th Tenn Inf. later that summer. (This was likely the case, however, they were in action during this battle).
 
Hi, I'm a new member to this site from the St. Louis area. Thought I would just chime in here as I too had relatives that fought on both sides of this awful battle. To correct some of the recorded history of those brigades / regiments involved here, my Great-grand father, Amos McGowan (Records show spelled McGowen, and a few other ways), was in the 22nd Inf Battalion (Murrays), Pvt., Co A, and passed on his accounts of action in this battle to my Grandfather. (He had a number of stories one can search out on Web under Amos McGowan - "The Southern Rebel")....His company was at the far right of Donelson's Brigade...next to the 16th Tenn Inf....Everywhere, thus far, it has been reported that his unit was organized following Stones River and merged into the 38th Tenn Inf. later that summer. (This was likely the case, however, they were in action during this battle).
Thanks for the input and welcome to the forums!
 
Hi, I'm a new member to this site from the St. Louis area. Thought I would just chime in here as I too had relatives that fought on both sides of this awful battle. To correct some of the recorded history of those brigades / regiments involved here, my Great-grand father, Amos McGowan (Records show spelled McGowen, and a few other ways), was in the 22nd Inf Battalion (Murrays), Pvt., Co A, and passed on his accounts of action in this battle to my Grandfather. (He had a number of stories one can search out on Web under Amos McGowan - "The Southern Rebel")....His company was at the far right of Donelson's Brigade...next to the 16th Tenn Inf....Everywhere, thus far, it has been reported that his unit was organized following Stones River and merged into the 38th Tenn Inf. later that summer. (This was likely the case, however, they were in action during this battle).
Welcome to the forums @TN22InfBattalion Murrays
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Diorama in Park Headquarters depicting Confederate assault on the Round Forest on the afternoon of the batle's first day, Dec. 31, 1862.

I love these old dioramas.

While today's high tech displays are great, I grew up being mesmerized by all of the work that went into preparing a great museum diorama.
 
... I love these old dioramas.

While today's high tech displays are great, I grew up being mesmerized by all of the work that went into preparing a great museum diorama.

I just revisited the visitor center at Shiloh where I saw that there can be certain problems with some of them, however. The ca. 1950's diorama there depicts Union soldiers coming into line in the Sunken Road, and most of them are carrying their rifles incorrectly, in the manner of WWI doughboys or WWII G.I.'s rather than the Civil War equavalent of right shoulder shift. That's one of the benefits I got from reenacting, learning the proper way to do these things!
 
I have been to Stones River Battlefield in a long time. I am sad to hear it has changed. That is too bad. Once things are gone, they can never be recovered. That is the way of the world unfortunately. I visited the battlefield a long time ago when it was something else entirely, an enjoyable place to visit and study history. My friend and I hiked the battlefield. You learn much more about a battle that way.
 
Very interesting old thread. I've always heard how grand the battlefield was from "stitichcounter" reenactors that love the Living Histories there, and how its well preserved. Can't say I'm surprised to learn otherwise.

But don't say it'll never come back or be reclaimed. One never knows what the future holds.
 
Regardless of the age of this thread, the photos at the start are well worth a look, especially this week.
And at least as of my most recent visit in April, 2018 the sites pictured in 2014 still look about the same, though happily a little more protected land has been added to the Mendenhall artillery site.
 
I spent an entire day in Murfreesboro in June 2017 appreciating what is still there and preserved for enthusiasts such as us to see. It was a great day. My travelling companion at the time was not nearly the early riser that I am. I'd have been there 2 hours earlier the way I roll. Hope to go back some day.
 
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