Announcement

**trippcor** · 05-09-2008, 09:44 AM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Sounds like a good one Brian. Great chance to establish a relationship.

**Coatsy** · 05-09-2008, 02:28 PM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Brian, you know I'll be there.

**btfire** · 05-11-2008, 10:34 PM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Count us in too!

**Coatsy** · 06-29-2008, 09:47 PM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

I was up in Nash-Vegas this past weekend and I got to check out the new visitor's center and then a short walk up to the fort. I was impressed with the work that has been put into making Negley a good spot to visit. This will be a good living history to attend. Yeah the fort is huge.

**Jon The Beloved** · 06-30-2008, 07:54 AM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Mr. Hicks,

I'd surely like to be a part of this one. But I will let you decide on who makes the 30 man cut dep[ending on the level of interest. : )

- Jon Harris

**10TnVI** · 06-30-2008, 08:41 AM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Mr. Hicks-I hope to make this one. I remember my first clandestine visit to Negley back around 1992 when it was still closed to the public(a clipboard and a state vehicle work wonders in keeping people from asking questions). I was throughly impressed by the sight, walking upon the entrance in the overgrowth was kinda Indiana jones like. At that time the walls were still mostly at full height and some of the reconstructed roofs on the bastion were still partially intact.On my visit last year I was shocked by the amount of disintegration that had taken place since then. Hardly looked like the same place.

**Abrams** · 06-30-2008, 09:41 AM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

I do not work that weekend, so I could make it, and Nashville is not a bad drive for me.
(Plus, they put slaw on my barbeque sandwich down there if I ask them.)

I now have a good early-war Federal impression, and a decent businessman/journalist civilian impression. I would be glad to participate in either capacity.

**BrianHicks** · 07-05-2008, 06:35 AM

Fort Negley LH Website is Now Operational

With credit going to Tripp Corbin for actually building it, and Herb Coats for gathering much of the historical information, the event Web Site is now on-line at:

http://www.armoryguards.org/negley/

**Coatsy** · 07-06-2008, 05:13 PM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Brian and Tripp, the webby site looks good. So I'll be at two "fort" events to end the year and both are Federal! This means I will keep the streak of being a reenacting dual impression/double agent alive again this year. The world is coming to an end..... Again.......

**BrianHicks** · 07-11-2008, 04:59 PM

Fort Negley LH Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

This event is progressing well. I have begun receiving registrations, and tentative menus for the meals being provided by the civilian contingent are being developed.

I'd ask that everyone who is interested, keep in mind that while this is a new event at a new location, we are striving to keep anachronisms out of the event, i.e., no modern foam mattresses hidden under your bedroll, no sleeping bags or ice coolers. No modern cigarettes or lighters. No modern eyeglasses, etc. Now... having said that, we are not counting stitches on the uniform coats, nor will we be checking under your trousers to see who the maker of your underwear is!

We want folks to participate who have the desire to provide a good quality program for a site sorely in need of getting the public aware of the Fort right here near downtown Nashville. As such, if you have a decent Federal Infantry Impression which meets the guidelines as provided on the event web site, please consider participating.

**BrianHicks** · 07-20-2008, 09:41 AM

Re: Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

This is an image of Fort Negley from the LOC collection:

Attached Files

negley.gif (128.0 KB, 43 views)

**BrianHicks** · 08-01-2008, 06:13 PM

Susan Odom

It looks as though the civilians will have Susan Odom in attendance. This will be great benefit to the soldiers, as Susan has a vast knowledge in the material culture aspect of the food items, diets and meals of the mid 1800's.

Those few of us whom participate in the 1864 Murder Trial earlier last year, well remember the meals that Susan helped orchestrate.

I have a number of men registered already. We still have room for more. Please look at the event web site, and get your registrations in!

**BrianHicks** · 08-06-2008, 04:52 PM

Registered As Of 5 Aug.

To date, these are the men whom have registered:

Armory Guards
Greg Barnett
Herb Coats
Tripp Corbin
Kiev Thomason

Tramp Brigade Mess
Peter Berezuk
Brian McGarrahan

Dippin Gourd Mess
Eli Geery
Jon Harris
Cliff Kelley
Kaelin Vernon

Widow's Sons Mess
Patrick Craddock
Brian Hicks

MOOCOWS
Josh Fieldhouse

Mother Hudson's Bastard Son
Joe Smotherman

**BrianHicks** · 08-08-2008, 05:01 PM

Fort Negley History And Information

The following information has been provided, thanks to the research of Herb Coates.

~ Fort Negley was a Federal Civil War fortification built largely by African American labor in 1862 and garrisoned in part by African American soldiers during the battle of Nashville in December 1864. Located in Nashville, Fort Negley represented the first extensive use of newly freed blacks in the Federal war effort and its success influenced the later creation of contraband labor camps in other Tennessee towns. U.S. Army engineer James St. Clair Morton designed the fort as a polygonal structure measuring approximately six hundred by three hundred feet composed of dirt, stones, and timber. Fort Negley also contained an extensive system of underground magazines and storage spaces.

Federal troops occupied Fort Negley until at least 1867. After they left, it became a gathering place for the initial Nashville Den of the Ku Klux Klan, who used it in 1869 for its last public demonstration. Nathan B. Forrest led Klan members to the fort, where they burned their robes and officially disbanded. The fort soon deteriorated, and many stones were later used in building Nashville's Eighth Avenue Reservoir.

From 1936 to 1937 the Works Progress Administration restored the fort, but the original park plans were never carried through and the fort once again was abandoned after a few years. At the end of the century, historians and historic preservationists are working to preserve the property and open it as a historic site associated with the battle of Nashville and the efforts of African Americans during the Civil War. Fort Negley represents "the uneasy alliance between the Union Army and local blacks in their successful campaign to preserve the Union and destroy slavery." (1)

Carroll Van West, Middle Tennessee State University

(1) Bobby L. Lovett, "Nashville's Fort Negley: A Symbol of Blacks' Involvement with the Union Army," Tennessee Historical Quarterly 41 (1982): 21.

Source: http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/ima...p?EntryID=F044

~ After its capture in 1862, Nashville was developed by Union forces into the most fortified city in North America. A series of forts ringed the city, the largest and southernmost being Fort Negley, named for U.S. Gen. James Scott Negley, provost marshal and commander of Federal forces in Nashville.

The remains of Fort Negley are located on a high hill south of downtown Nashville at the confluence of Interstates 65 and 40 and adjacent to the Cumberland Science Museum and Greer Stadium. The site, known as St. Cloud Hill, was a favorite picnic area for citizens prior to the war.

During the 1930s, WPA work crews restored the old fort to its original appearance, but the location was allowed to deteriorate and become overgrown with vegetation.

In 1865 the fort was renamed Fort Harker due to Gen. Negley's poor performance at the Battle of Chickamauga. Gen. Charles G. Harker had been killed at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia. The new name didn't stick, however, and the fort continued to be locally known as Fort Negley. Gen. Negley was later exonerated and went on to serve as a congressman and railroad president.

The opening guns of the Battle of Nashville, Dec. 15-16, 1864, were probably fired from Fort Negley, although the fort itself was never directly attacked at any time during the war.

Fort Negley was a complex fort, many of its features based on European forts. The fort was built in 1862, taking three months to construct. Many blacks were used in the construction, including 13,000 Union soldiers. The fort is 600 feet long, 300 feet wide, and covers four acres. It used 62,500 cubic feet of stone and 18,000 cubic feet of earth. It cost $130,000 to construct.

The east and west parapets are partially star-shaped, the redans allowing concentrated crossfire against attackers. At the southern end of the fort, where attack was most likely, were two massive bombproof bastions equipped with guns which could be aimed in several directions. Each bastion had tunnels which protected men moving through the works.

The stone foundation of the fort was covered with dirt, which would absorb the concussion of incoming artillery rounds and prevent the stonework from shattering. Grass was grown on the earthworks to prevent erosion.

At the center of the structure was a 12-foot-high stockade built of cedar posts, with turrets. Underground water cisterns were kept inside the stockade, which was designed as the last defensive position in case the fort was overrun.

Left standing near the stockade were two tall trees, which were used as observation platforms and signal stations.

The main entrance gate to the fort was secured with an enclosure through which troops and visitors had to pass.

Two interior works (east and west) flanked the stockade. On the west work was casement No. 1, a gun emplacement fortified with railroad iron. Inside was a 30-pound Parrot rifle, a cannon which could hurl a 29-pound shell 2.5 miles.

Wooden artillery platforms were built behind the east and west parapets for the 11 guns in the fort. Approximately 75 men were required to operate the artillery.

The hill on which Fort Negley stood was cleared of trees to provide wood for the structure and to open up fields of fire.

Over the years, Fort Negley deteriorated and become overgrown and forgotten. Now, however, efforts are being made to restore the old fort to its original appearance.

The Nashville Metro Council has appropriated $400,000 to begin the stabilization of Fort Negley and a master plan is being devised to begin the process of opening the site to the public (currently Negley Park is closed).

One day, it is envisioned, Fort Negley will be restored and serve as an interpretive center for the Battle of Nashville and the study of Nashville under Union occupation during the war.

Source: http://www.forttours.com/pages/fortnegley.asp

~ December 7 *On this date in 1862, Fort Negley, Nashville, Tennessee was completed. This military facility was built during the American Civil War mainly with black labor supervised by the Union Army.

During the fall and winter of 1862, the Union army built the Fort to defend Nashville against Confederate army attacks. On February 25, 1862, after the Confederate Army of Tennessee retreated from the defeat at Fort Donelson, the Union army occupied Nashville. In March of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed (then) Senator Andrew Johnson as military governor. Because of his nervousness about Confederate attacks, Johnson begged federal officials to strengthen the town. The post commander General James S. Negley used the post's 6,000 soldiers and Black laborers to fortify Nashville (the capitol). Negley employed Captain James S. Morton, an army engineer, to design and build a large fort to protect the south road and railroad approaches to Nashville. The Union army recruited and forced nearly 2,000 blacks (free and slave) into Fort Negley's labor battalions. "Known men of treason," including Belle Meade plantation's William G. Harding were arrested and lost money, slaves, and supplies to support the project.

The Union cavalry surrounded Nashville's three Black churches, arrested strong black men and women, and marched them to the St. Cloud hill construction site with axes, picks, and spades in return for certificates of labor to be paid later. Before the project ended, the army owed blacks and some "loyal slave owners" over $85,958 in wages. On November 5, the Confederate cavalry attempted to invade the city. The black laborers asked for arms and were refused. Blacks were allowed to form a symbolic defensive line with picks and axes. The federal military drove the Confederates off and inflicted 68 enemy casualties. The fight took place at the site of today's Cameron-Trimble neighborhood. Afterward more federal troops arrived to garrison the town. They rebuilt bridges, and searched the countryside for food and supplies. Black laborers cleared trees, blasted the solid rock, and dug underground storehouses. Expert slave stonemasons shaped the stone and laid thick masonry walls.

Black women washed clothes, cooked food, and hauled debris in wheelbarrows. The Union army and the black workers completed Fort Negley on December 7, 1862. Captain Morton said, "To the credit of the colored population be it said, they worked manfully and cheerfully, with hardly an exception, and yet lay out upon the works at night under armed guard, without blankets and eating only army rations. They worked in squads military-like companies, each gang choosing their own officers; one was often amused to hear the Negro captains call out: 'You boys over there, let them picks fall easy, or they might hurt somebody." Hundreds of black laborers died from exposure and accidents when working on such Union army projects. Fort Negley became the largest Union fort west of Washington, D. C. The topmost structure consisted of twelve-foot timbers, a stockade to hold horses and soldiers' quarters. There were rounded wooden rifle towers on top of each corner of the stockade. The artillery rested on carriages and smooth plank flooring surrounded the outside of the stockade. Three-foot ramparts (nine-foot-thick embankments of earth walled with stone) protected the flat artillery area. Morton placed the fort's entrance on the north side with a gentle slope overlooking the city two miles beyond.

The fort also had a sharp salient, a gateway, a timber guardhouse, and a loop-holed bomb shelter flanking the gate. Fort Negley, a multilateral copy of an old Spanish design used 62,500 cubic feet of stone and 18,000 cubic yards of dirt; occupied 600 by 300 feet and 51 acres of St. Cloud Hill; and rested some 620 feet above sea level. The Union army abandoned Fort Negley soon after 1867. The local Ku Klux Klan held secret meetings in the fort's blockhouses until 1869. During the early 1900s, Nashville's black Republican Party leaders unsuccessfully petitioned Republican presidents to restore the fort. In 1937, the federal Works Progress Administration restored Fort Negley. The fort, however, was allowed to fall into ruins again until the 1964 Civil War Centennial Celebration. In 1975, Fort Negley was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1980, the Metro Historical Commission and a MHC plaque marked the entrance to the site. Years later, the Tennessee Historical Commission placed a historical plaque to note the involvement of Blacks in the Civil War and construction of Fort Negley. In 1994 the City Council approved $500,000 to begin the restoration of Fort Negley as a historical, tourist, and community resource. As late as 2000, Nashville had begun appropriating 3 million dollars for the project.

Reference:
Fort Negley
Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville, TN

Battle Of Nashville Preservation Society
(615) 780-3636

Source: http://www.aaregistry.com/african_am..._Black_history

~ During the fall and winter of 1862, the Union army built Fort Negley to defend Nashville against Confederate army attacks.
On February 25, 1862, after the CSA Army of Tennessee retreated from the recent defeat at Fort Donelson, the Union army occupied Nashville. In March of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed a Tennessean, U. S. Senator Andrew Johnson, to serve as military governor. Because of his nervousness about Confederate attacks on Nashville, Johnson begged federal officials to fortify the town. The commanding general ordered the post commander, General James S. Negley, to use the post's 6,000 soldiers and black laborers to construct fortifications for Nashville and around the capitol.
Negley employed Captain James S. Morton, an army engineer, to design and build a large fort to protect the south roads and railroad approaches to Nashville. Because the Confederate armies still roamed parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, Morton received orders to move with all deliberate speed. Morton wired Buell: "I lost 48 hours trying to get Negroes, teams, tools, cooking utensils, and provisions. Only 150 Negroes so far, no tools, teams, etc. I wanted to employ 825 Negroes by the 11th [of August, 1862]."
The Union army launched a campaign to recruit and impress (force) nearly 2,000 blacks (free and slave) into Fort Negley's labor battalions. "Known men of treason," including Belle Meade plantation's William G. Harding, suffered arrest and confiscation of their money, slaves, and supplies to support Morton's project. The Union cavalry surrounded Nashville's three black (quasi-independent) churches, arrested strong black men and women, and marched them to the St. Cloud hill construction site with axes, picks, and spades in return for certificates of labor to be paid later. Before the project ended, the army would Own the blacks and some "loyal slave owners" over $85,958 in wages.
On November 5, some Confederate cavalry attempted to invade the city's eastern suburbs. The black laborers sent a delegation to Morton to ask for arms. Morton refused to issue arms, but he allowed the blacks to form a symbolic defensive line with picks and axes. During the fight, an artillery shell struck John Trimble's smokehouse (the site of today's black Cameron-Trimble neighborhood). The federal military drove the Confederates off and inflicted 68 enemy casualties. More federal troops arrived to garrison the town. rebuild bridges, and forage the countyside for food and supplies.
Black workers cleared the hill of trees, blasted the solid rock, and dug underground magazines. Expert slave stone masons shaped the stone and laid thick masonry walls. Black women washed clothes, cooked food, and hauled debris in wheelbarrows.
The Union army and the black workers completed Fort Negley on December 7, 1862. Captain Morton said, "To the credit of the colored population be it said, they worked manfully and cheerfully, with hardly an exception, and yet lay out upon the works at night under armed guard, without blankets and eating only army rations. They worked in squads [Military-like companies], each gang choosing their own officers; one was often amused to hear the Negro captains call out: 'You boys over there, let them picks fall easy, or they might hurt somebody."' Hundreds of black laborers died from exposure and accidents when working on such Union army projects.
Fort Negley became the largest Union fort west of Washington, D. C. The topmost structure consisted of twelve-foot timbers, a stockade to hold horses and soldiers' quarters. Rounded wooden rifle turrets rested on top of each corner of the stockade. The artillery rested on carriages and smooth plank-flooring on the parapet (flat, platform-like area) surrounding the outside of the stockade. Three-foot ramparts (nine-foot-thick embankments of earth walled with stone) protected the flat artillery area. Projected redans protected the ramparts on the east and the west sides of the stockade. Scarps (steep slopes) and glacis (a smooth, gentle slope) rested below the east and west ramparts and parapets. Two groups of four blockhouses (bomb shelters topped with railroad iron, railroad timbers, and dirt) protected the bottom of these hills on the left and the right sides of the fort's south section. A salient system projected out to protect the bastioned blockhouses. Above the bastion was a stone scarp to protect the first two blockhouses, a passage connecting the two parallel blockhouses, another stone scarp rising above the passage, and the other two blockhouses rising above the scarp with a protected passage between these blockhouses. Morton placed the fort's entrance on the north side with a gentle slope overlooking the city two miles beyond. The fort also had a sharp salient, a gateway, a timber guardhouse, and a loop-holed bomb shelter flanking the gate. Fort Negley, a polygonal copy of an old Spanish design consumed 62,500 cubic feet of stone and 18,000 cubic yards of dirt; occupied 600 by 300 feet and 51 acres of St. Cloud Hill; and rested some 620 feet above sea level.
The Union army abandoned Fort Negley soon after 1867. The local Ku Klux Klan held secret meetings in the fort's blockhouses until 1869. During the early 1900s, Nashville's black Republican party leaders unsuccessfully petitioned Republican presidents to restore the fort. In 1937, the federal Works Progress Administration restored Fort Negley. The fort, however, was allowed to fall into ruins again until interest to restore the fort began anew with the 1964 Civil War Centennial Celebration. In 1975, Fort Negley was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1980, the Metro Historical Commission and an MHC plaque marked the entrance to the site. Years later, the Tennessee Historical Commission placed a historical plaque to note the involvement of blacks in the Civil War and construction of Fort Negley. Local community activist, Joe Kelso (Ghetto Joe), pushed for the restoration of the fort until his death. Based upon the Mayor's Advisory Committee's recommendations, in 1994 the City Council approved $500,000 to begin the restoration of Fort Negley as a historical, tourist, and community resource.

Bobby L. Lovett

Source: http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/FORT.HTM

~ From Gen. James Steedman�s AAR from the O.R.s: �December 15, the weather having moderated, and the ground thawed sufficiently to enable men and animals to stand up, in obedience to the orders of Major-General Thomas, the Provisional Division of troops, under the command of Brigadier-General Cruft, moved at 4 a.m., and relieved the troops of the Fourth and Twenty-third Army Corps, occupying their exterior line of works and picketing the front of this line from the Acklen place to Fort Negley, and commanding the approaches to the' city by the Granny White, Franklin, and Nolensville turnpikes. Brig. Gen. J. F. Miller reported his command to me at 4 a.m., and occupied the works from Fort Negley to the Lebanon pike, commanding the approaches to the city by the Murfreesborough, Chicken, and Lebanon turnpikes. Brig. Gen. J. L. Donaldson reported his command at 6 o'clock, and occupied the works from the right of General Cruft's command to the Tennessee River, commanding the approach to the city by the Hardin and Hillsborough turnpikes. Having thus disposed the troops as directed for the protection of the city--fully commanding all its approaches--and rendering the public property and supplies secure against sudden attack from either flank I moved out at 6.30 a.m., in obedience to the orders of Major-General Thomas�

Source: http://www.civilwarhome.com/steedmannash.htm

~ Post of Nashville Order of Battle at Battle of Nashville Dec 15 � 16, 1864

POST OF NASHVILLE.
Brig. Gen. JOHN F. MILLER.

Second Brigade,
Fourth Division, Twentieth Army Corps.
Col. EDWIN C. MASON.

142d Indiana, Col. John M. Comparet.
45th New York, Lieut. Col. Adolphus Dobke.
176th Ohio, Lieut. Col. William B. Nesbitt.
179th Ohio, Col. Harley H. Sage.
182d Ohio, Col. Lewis Butler.

Unattached.

3d Kentucky.
28th Michigan, Col. William W. Wheeler.
173d Ohio, Col. John R. Hurd.
78th Pennsylvania (detachment), Maj. Henry W. Torbett.
Veteran Reserve Corps, Col. Frank P. Cahill.
44th Wisconsin (battalion), Lieut. Col. Oliver C. Bissell
45th Wisconsin (battalion).

GARRISON ARTILLERY.
Maj. JOHN J. ELY.

Illinois Light, Bridges' Battery, Lieut. Lyman A. White.
Indiana Light, 2d Battery, Capt. James S. Whicher.
Indiana Light, 4th Battery, Capt. Benjamin F. Johnson.
Indiana Light, 12th Battery, Capt. James E. White.
Indiana Light, 21st Battery, Capt. Abram P. Andrew.
Indiana Light, 22d Battery, Capt. Edward W. Nicholson.
Indiana Light, 24th Battery, Lieut. Hiram Allen.
1st Michigan Light, Battery F, Capt. Byron D. Paddock.
1st Ohio Light, Battery A, Lieut. Charles W. Scovill.
1st Ohio Light, Battery E, Lieut. Frank B. Reckard.
Ohio Light, 20th Battery, Capt. William Backus.
1st Tennessee Light, Battery C, Lieut. Joseph Grigsby.
1st Tennessee Light, Battery D, Capt. Samuel D. Leinart.
3d U.S. Colored Light, Battery A, Capt. Josiah V. Meigs.

QUARTERMASTER'S DIVISION.
Bvt. Brig. Gen. JAMES L. DONALDSON.

(Comprised of clerks, mechanics, and other reserves)

Source: http://www.civilwarhome.com/nashville.htm (also a good general resource)

Announcement

Announcement

Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

Fort Negley Lh Program Nov. 8 And 9 2008

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