“Driving Tour and Map of the Battle of Nashville”

The current “Driving Tour and Map of the Battle of Nashville” was prepared by the Metropolitan Historical Commission with the assistance of the Battle of Nashville Trust (formerly known as the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society) in 2002. The map and brochure are currently being updated by MHC and BNT to take advantage of QR code technology and reflect changes in streets and roads in the battlefield area.

To access a digital copy of the most current version of the map and tour guide, click Battle of Nashville Driving Tour (revised).

If you want a free copy of the older Driving Tour and Map (pictured at left), send an email to us using the form on the CONTACT US tab.

 

 

 

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“Fortress Nashville”

Fortress Nashville tells the story of how the heavily fortified logistics and transportation hub of Nashville became the key to victory in the Western Theater. The slave-built Fort Negley became the symbol of hope for African-American men, who became laborers and then soldiers for the Federal Army and transformed Nashville into a massive military base. The book explores every facet of the Federal infrastructure built in and around Nashville Federal generals could capture Chattanooga and Atlanta and march to the sea. Topics include the Pioneer Brigade, the First Michigan Engineers, U.S. Military Railroads, fortification technology and design, military hospitals, army depots and garrison towns, the Confederate river forts and fortifications associated with the epic Battle of Nashville. A 40-page section explores the building and design of Fort Negley, the iconic stone fortress that survived periods of neglect only to become one of the major Civil War and Civil Rights attractions of the South. Its 344 pages not only pull together in-depth research about Nashville’s infrastructure during the War, but also support the analysis with 80 illustrations, charts and graphs, 204 photos, 76 maps, and numerous original artworks.

 

 

 

 

 

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Monument “Witness Tree” Pen (Limited edition)

3 remaining as of June, 2023

The huge “Basket Oak” tree which stands on the southeast corner of the Battle of Nashville Monument Park was in that same spot more than 150 years ago and witnessed the first day of the battle. This noble witness tree has been designated a “Historic Tree” by the Tennessee Landmark and Historic Tree Registry. BONT is making these custom pens available from the wood of the big oak, salvaged from a limb it lost during a storm. It’s a special way to own a piece of the battlefield and at the same time, provide funds that BONT can utilize to continue its efforts to preserve the battlefield. For more background and photos of the witness tree, go to https://www.battleofnashvilletrust.org/battle-of-nashville-monument/.

 

 

 

 

 

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“American Journey: The Life and Times of Ed Bearss”

This new 60 minute documentary DVD explores the amazing life and times of Ed Bearss, a man often called a “living national treasure.” One of the nation’s most renowned historians, Ed Bearss is an authentic American character who rose from humble beginnings in Montana to become Chief Historian of the National Park Service and the most recognized face of the Civil War battlefield preservation movement in the latter half of the 20th century. The film was produced and directed by Nashville’s David Currey.  BONT president and board member Jim Kay was executive producer. Tracing his colorful life from Montana to his Marine Corps days in WWII through his distinguished career with the National Park Service, this DVD is essential for anyone interested in Civil War history. It’s a unique study of the man the Smithsonian has said “is best known as the indefatigable Civil War tour guide and champion of battlefield preservation, a one-of-a-kind figure with a booming voice, extraordinary knowledge, and seemingly boundless energy.

 

 

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Battle of Nashville Commemorative Sesquicentennial Coin

BONT has minted a distinctive “Collector’s Edition” coin to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Nashville. The Sesquicentennial medallion is 1.5 inches in diameter and struck from antique brass. It comes in a clear plastic display box.
Proceeds from purchase of the coin, which is being made available a year in advance of the Battle’s Sesquicentennial commemoration on December 15 – 16, 2014, will be used by BONT in its continuing efforts to acquire and preserve remnants of the 1864 battlefield located in South Nashville.

 

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“Guide to Civil War Nashville”

“This guide is a MUST HAVE for anyone wanting to learn about the Battle of Nashville and wanting to tour the battlefield. I highly recommend it.” –Edwin C. Bearss, Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service and the nation’s preeminent Civil War tour guide.

“Guide to Civil War Nashville” is a 76-page softbound book that takes you, armchair-bound or in your vehicle, on a 50-mile-long tour of 25 historic sites in Tennessee’s capital city associated with the 1862-65 Union occupation and the 1864 Battle of Nashville, regarded by some as the decisive battle of the Civil War. The book’s 76 pages feature 63 modern-day photographs, 31 Civil War-era photographs, seven illustrations, 16 travel maps and seven battle maps. All proceeds benefit the Battle of Nashville Trust, whose mission is the preservation of Civil War battlefield sites. The sites on the tour include the State Capitol and Museum, four historic antebellum mansions, four antebellum churches, three cemeteries (each with touring map), and 12 battle sites.

A detailed map and driving directions with GPS coordinates guides you to all the sites, which are each pictured and described. Included are the locations and text of all Battle of Nashville historical markers. The ten-page section on the Battle of Nashville (Dec. 2-16, 1864) features four full-page battle maps with unprecedented detail: Granbury’s Lunette, the Fall of the Redoubts, Peach Orchard Hill, and Shy’s Hill, designed by the author and BONT Historian Ross Massey. There is also a six-page Orders of Battle for Thomas and Hood’s armies. And a page devoted to the 19 receipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. A detailed map with accompanying descriptions shows you what downtown Nashville looked like in 1864. “Guide to Civil War Nashville” also includes a Civil War timeline, military operations map of Middle Tennessee, features on U.S. forts in nearby Franklin and Murfreesboro, a guide to other Civil War tourism sites in Middle Tennessee, and a bibliography.

 

 

 

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“The Battle For Nashville” – DVD

The Only DVD Focusing Exclusively on the Battle of Nashville

In photos, interviews, music and interpretation, this excellent documentary by David Currey tells the story of the Battle of Nashville in a succinct but entertaining and informative one hour DVD.
Price: $20.00

 

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“Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Nashville” 

SOLD OUT

This book is as close as you can get to talking to the soldiers and citizens who experienced the Battle of Nashville. Using a compilation from diaries, letters, and memoirs, author David R. Logsdon gives us a first-person glimpse into the minds and hearts of both soldiers and civilians who were in Nashville during the two historic weeks between Franklin and Nashville. In their own words, those who were here in December, 1864, describe how they coped with the freezing weather, their worries and speculations about the coming battle, and what they did while waiting for the first shots to be fired. And then their words take you to the sounds and smells of the battlefield to describe, in eye-opening descriptions, the you-were-there details of one of the most pivotal battles of the Civil War.

 

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“The Decisive Battle of Nashville” 

SOLD OUT

Stanley Horn’s book is thought by many to be the most venerable treatise on the Battle of Nashville. Published in 1956, it was for many years the best and only source of detailed information about every aspect of the Battle of Nashville, focusing on both the Federal and Confederate armies. In his book, Mr. Horn lays out his theory as to why the Nashville conflict was the most decisive of the War, representing as it did the Confederacy’s long-shot effort through Gen. John Bell Hood to move northward through Tennessee in order to relieve Gen. Lee’s force which was locked in a stalemate with Gen. Grant in Virginia. Other excellent books on the Battle of Nashville are in print, but this succinct volume is a “must read” for any serious student of the Battle of Nashville and considered by many to be the definitive overview of the battle. (Paperback, 181 pages)

 

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“God, Guns, Guitars & Whiskey” 

SOLD OUT

Mark Zimmerman, known for his classic Nashville Civil War guidebook available on this page, has broadened his range in this book to include many other aspects of Nashville’s history, covering more than 170 historic sites including many with Civil War significance. Serious students of the Battle of Nashville will find new perspectives in this historical overview which contains 265 photographs and 17 maps. An excellent companion book to his Guide To Civil War Nashville.

 

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“Gone Under”

This is author Mark Zimmerman’s guide to the gravesites of the famous and interesting personages of Tennessee, ranging from two U.S. presidents to the best-known country music stars. Of importance to the Battle of Nashville is his discussion and illustration of the most interesting Civil War burial sites. This book is yet another companion volume to the author’s must-have Guide To Civil War Nashville, available above on this page.

 

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“Autumn of Glory” 

SOLD OUT

One of the most outstanding descriptions of the Army of Tennessee during its four years of battle in the Western theater, with emphasis on the personalities, character and conflicts of the primary commanding officers. Mr. Connelly, a former history professor at the University of South Carolina and author of many distinguished books on the Civil War, carefully follows the leadership conflicts and decisions of Generals Bragg, Johnston and Hood as these and other officers lead the Army of Tennessee through some of the most significant battles of the Civil War, from Stone’s River in 1862 to the surrender in North Carolina in 1865. The book covers this Army’s difficult times during the Battles of Franklin and Nashville. It follows a previous volume, Army of the Heartland, which describes the formation of the Army of Tennessee. (Paperback, 558 pages)

 

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Buy BONPS Relics

BONT wants you to own a piece of history – a bullet actually fired during the Battle of Nashville. Most are the legendary .58 caliber Minie balls so commonly utilized during the war, showing the scars of glancing blows, the telltale nose ring of the ramrod, or the patina of years spent under Nashville soil after their last journey through the gun barrel. To own one is to own that bullet’s moment in Civil War history. For BONT, each dollar goes toward the purchase of the Nashville battlefield over which each of these bullets was fired – marking one of the last epic battles of the War.
Price: $5.00 Each

 

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“The Pillaged Grave of a Civil War Hero: Colonel William M. Shy”  

SOLD OUT

Col. William M. Shy of the 20th Tennessee Infantry was among the Confederate defenders of Compton’s Hill on the second day of the Battle of Nashville, December 16, 1864. Late in the day, the hill was overrun by the huge Union force attacking from three directions, resulting in massive casualties and triggering a rout by the survivors which ended the Battle of Nashville. Col. Shy was found dead from a close-range head shot on the top of the hill, and his reputation, already earned at the age of 26, transformed him into such an iconic symbol of the battle that the hill later became known as “Shy’s Hill.” The hill summit was preserved by, and is owned and maintained by, BONT. This 24-page booklet by John Dowd, with numerous photographs, tells of a bizarre episode in 1977 in which Col. Shy’s grave and casket were vandalized, and describes the forensic examination and research that followed as specialists studied the body and identified it as that of the famous Confederate officer.

 

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“Major General James Scott Negley”  

SOLD OUT

Ft. Negley in Nashville is named after Maj. Gen. James S. Negley of Pennsylvania. Gen. Negley was in charge of the Union’s ring of defensive fortresses in Nashville in 1862. In 1863, however, following controversial events that occurred with his division during the Battle of Chickamauga, he was relieved of his command. He was later acquitted of related charges. This book by Stewart Cruickshank examines the military life of Gen. Negley including the issues involved at Chickamauga. Published 2011. 29 pages.