(This is part of the TENNESSEE! Tour. When I finally get a little caught up on posts, you can read about how we got into the south at http://bit.ly/MoosefishDoesTennessee. (Clicking that before it's posted will get you an error.))
The best laid plans of mice and me... or something like that. Whatever. I somehow overlooked Stones River National Battlefield just 45 minutes from Nashville. WHAT? Crazy! I know! Good thing the conference didn't start until a little later on Monday so we had time to get there first thing in the morning.
The battle at Stones River was yet another critical to managing supply lines. It started with Confederate victory, but the Union eventually prevailed. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, but I'd never heard of it until we saw it on the map.
As usual, we started with stamps because we're stamp people. Lilly was thrilled they had so many stamps they had an actual carousel to manage them. The movie (available on the Stones River site did a great job educating us about the battle.
Pressed for time, we opted for the auto tour. Two places jumped out as meaningful. The Slaughter Pen and the Hazen Bridade Monument.
The Slaughter Pen was where two divisions of Union troops held off multiple Confederate assaults in a delaying action that allowed other Union troops to prepare. It's described as an area of woods and rocks, but there was scarcely anywhere to take cover.
The Hazen Brigade Monument stands at Hell's Half Acre where Colonel Hazen's brigade held against four Confederate attacks and was the only unit that didn't retreat. The monument was built by soldiers in 1863, less than a year after the battle and is the only monument on a battlefield still in its original location.
As interesting as the Hazen Brigade Monument was, the reason we stopped there was because a ranger old us the story of William Holland. Holland was an enslaved person at the beginning of the war until he was able to join the Union army in 1864. He was captured and returned to enslavement until he escaped and rejoined his unit. He reburied the remains of Union soldiers from the Stones River battles and from across Tennessee in the formal cemetery and continued working there after the war. Although he could have been buried in the national cemetery, he chose to be buried on land he had purchased next to the Hazen Brigade Monument. (His descendant fought in World War I and is also buried on the Holland property.)
Stones River was a battle I'd never heard of, but I'm very glad we had the opportunity to visit and learn of what happened there.
📍On the lands of the S’atsoyaha people.
