Fort Negley

Fort Negley was constructed in 1862 by the Union army to protect Nashville, Tennessee during the Civil War. Nashville was one of the first cities in the Confederacy to fall into Union hands. Military Governor Andrew Johnson did not want to risk the Confederate army recapturing the city. Fort Negley was constructed south of Nashville atop St. Cloud Hill. From the top of this hill, the troops could see for miles. The fort was named for Union Army commander General James S. Negley. The fort was constructed in a "star" shape. Used in the fort's construction was 62,500 cubic feet of stone, and 18,000 cubic feet of earth. Both enslaved, and freed slaves helped construct the fort. During the construction process approximately 600-800 people died. The cost of construction was $130,000. The fort was commanded for the entirety of the war by Captain James St. Clair Morton. In 1864, during the Battle of Nashville, Fort Negley did not play a major role. All the fighting happened further south.  When the Civil War ended in 1865, the fort fell into ruin. Ironically the fort was used by the Ku Klux Klan as a meeting place. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration made an effort to restore the fort, and make it into a museum. This project was barely completed when World War II broke out.  When the war ended, the site fell back into ruin. Fort Negley became the site of both vandalism and gang activity. Areas around the site were developed. Among the most notable of these new developments were the Adventure Science Center, and Greer Stadium. Finally on December 20, 2004, the Fort Negley site was opened to the public. The preservation project did not restore the fort to its original appearance, but instead it was an effort to stabilize its ruins. A visitor's center was also constructed. In 2015, the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team left Greer Stadium and moved into a new ballpark. This raised the question about what to do with the now vacant Greer Stadium. In 2017 it was announced that the City of Nashville would raze the old stadium and use the site to highlight Fort Negley's history. The goal is to eventually have interpretive trails, and also to restore many of the fort's original sight lines. Greer Stadium, due to its close proximity to Fort Negley is believed to be sitting on the graves of African-American slaves and freedmen who helped construct the fort.  At the time of this writing, archaeologists are in the process of studying the stadium site to see if there are indeed graves there. If there are indeed graves found it will only make the site more valuable to our learning about the history of Fort Negley, and Nashville. Fort Negley is, and continues to be a great example of historic preservation success. At Moore Historical Consulting historic preservation is my passion. I am 100% committed to this practice. Do you know of a building, site, or home that needs to be preserved? If so contact me today!!

Fort Negley today.

Artist rendering of Fort Negley at its peak.

Entrance to the Fort Negley site.

The now closed Greer Stadium. Currently being studied by archeologists to see if graves of slaves who built Fort Negley are underneath.

Be sure to come back next week for another Throwback Thursday courtesy of Moore Historical Consulting. With Christmas right around the corner, why not give the gift that will last a lifetime? I offer many heritage management strategies, such as genealogy, and business history. Contact me today to learn more and get started. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring your past fun!!