150 Years | Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial
Attractions
Tennessee Civil War Attractions
Use the tabs above to learn more about trails, markers and other interpretive sites; battlefields, and the many Civil War-related museums and other attractions designed to help travelers understand the legacy of the war in Tennessee.
Tennessee's Civil War history is a study in contrasts: a secessionist state with staunch Union loyalties, divided cities held by both Union and Confederate troops, constant danger and hardship, and nagging uncertainty about friends, neighbors and families, about who was friend or foe.
Tennessee's Civil War tale is one of divided loyalties, crucial battles, and the wide-reaching devastation of "total war." People throughout the state were completely immersed in the economic, social, and physical effects of the conflict, subject to violence and terror, disease and malnutrition, heartbreak and loss, and military rule by both sides. The stories of the Underground Railroad and Emancipation bring out the other side of war in the African American struggle for freedom and citizenship. Many grim reminders of the war—as well as hopeful symbols of heroism and kindness—stand today as testament to how the war transformed Tennessee.
President Andrew Johnson Museum & Library
First (1841) college building. Includes President's personal books and Tusculum College archives on display. Oldest college in Tennessee. 23rd oldest in ...more
Region: Northeast
City: Greeneville, TN
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Ramsey House Plantation
Experience life on America's frontier in the 1797 house with acreage, exhibits and heirloom garden. Once considered "the most costly and most admired house in Tennessee,"it is one of the few surviving houses designed by Tennessee's first formally trained architect, Thomas Hope.
In addition to its architectural significance, the house was home to the family of Col. Francis Ramsey and wife, Peggy Alexander Ramsey, influential in the development of Knoxville and the founding of the college that became the University of Tennessee. The Ramseys were responsible for the first steamboat, first steam locomotive and first medical facility. Of their sons, ...more
Region: Knoxville & Middle East
City: Knoxville, TN
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Riverside Cemetery
Self-guided tour of resting place for 140 unknown and 40 known Confederate soldiers. Founded in 1821. Thirty acres of statues, monuments, and ...more
Region: Southwest
City: Jackson, TN
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Rose Center
Rose Center is housed in a National Register of Historic Places building. Built in 1892 as the first public school in Morristown, Rose School was active until 1975.
The multi-use facility maintains 4 exhibit galleries, art, history, children's activities. Many special events are held throughout the year.
The Mountain Makins Festival, chosen as a Top Twenty Event by the SE Tourism Society, is held at Rose Center every 4th weekend in October. It is the largest Appalachian cultural event in NE Tennessee.
More information at ...more
Region: Knoxville & Middle East
City: Morristown, TN
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Ross's Landing
This newly renovated park across from the Tennessee Aquarium features a river pier, a marina, a natural amphitheatre and the Chattanooga Green which is used for small festivals, concerts and for park users to capitalize on a great view of the river. There is a public boat landing area here.
As a performance venue, Ross's Landing's main stage is the Tennessee River. Visitors use tiered seating to watch regattas, races, concerts, or the river's daily activity.
Ross's Landing is the former name of Chattanooga, Tennessee, named for John Ross, the leader of the Cherokee Nation. The area was a launching ...more
Region: Chattanooga & Southeast
City: Chattanooga, TN
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Rutherford County Courthouse & East Main Street Historic District
Built in 1859, this pre-Civil War structure is still a working county building. This was the site of General Morgan's raid before ...more
Region: Nashville & Surrounding Areas
City: Murfreesboro, TN
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Salem Cemetery Battlefield
A self-guided tour amid the monuments honoring Union and Confederate soldiers killed in the December 19, 1862 battle near Jackson. Approximately 1,000 soldiers were engaged in the battle between General Forrest's cavalry and Union troops. Welcome Center, three tour stops, battle map inlay, five monuments and historical cemetery with reference to David ...more
Region: Southwest
City: Jackson, TN
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Sam Davis Home and Museum
Featuring a historic site with 1860s home, Middle Tennessee museum and outbuildings. Learn the story of Civil War hero Sam Davis, called the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy."
The Sam Davis Home is one of Tennessee’s most significant Confederate memorial properties. Samuel (“Sam”) Davis, born here in 1842, enlisted in the Rutherford Rifles (Co. I, 1st Tennessee Infantry) in 1861 and fought in western Virginia. After his enlistment expired, he returned home and joined Capt. Henry B. Shaw’s Coleman’s Scouts, Confederate cavalrymen who gathered information on Union troop movements.
Working for the Scouts as a Confederate courier, he was captured near Minor ...more
Region: Nashville & Surrounding Areas
City: Smyrna, TN
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Sam Davis Trail
A four-stop tour - site of capture with monument, site of execution with museum, cemetery where he was briefly buried and life-size statue in town ...more
Region: Nashville & Surrounding Areas
City: Pulaski, TN
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Sam Houston Schoolhouse
Houston, the only person in U.S. history to be elected governor in two different states (Tennessee and Texas), moved to Maryville when he was 14 years old. At 16, he ran away from home and was adopted by the Cherokee nation. He returned to Maryville at age 19 and founded the first school built in Tennessee.
He served with distinction in the War of 1812 and became a friend of Andrew Jackson. He studied law in Nashville and became a prosecutor and militia commander. He was first elected to Congress in 1822, as Jackson’s political protege, then became governor in 1927. ...more
Region: Knoxville & Middle East
City: Maryville, TN
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Sevier County Heritage Museum
Museum of local history from Woodland Indian artifacts to early settlers and implements they used on the farm. Other exhibits highlight education and tributes to local Veterans from the Civil War through ...more
Region: Smoky Mountains
City: Sevierville, TN
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Shiloh National Military Park
Established in 1894 to preserve the scene of the first major battle in the Western theater of the Civil War, Shiloh is considered one of the best preserved battlefields in the Nation. Besides preserving the site of the bloody April 1862 battle in Tennessee, the park commemorates the subsequent siege, battle, and occupation of the key railroad junction at nearby Corinth, ...more
Region: Southwest
City: Shiloh, TN
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Silverdale Confederate Cemetery
The final resting place for Southern soldiers who died at hospitals established by Confederate General Braxton Bragg near Chattanooga in 1862. A large stone arch is located at the entrance from Highway 11; and the cemetery is well maintained by local volunteers. Located just off of Exit 7B on ...more
Region: East Tennessee
City: Tyner, TN
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Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum (Burkle Estate)
A white clapboard house built in 1849 by Jacob Burkle is rumored to have served as a way station on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves. A tour of the house includes a visit to a small cellar where slaves waited to ...more
Region: Memphis & Surrounding Areas
City: Memphis, TN
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Smith County Heritage Museum
The Smith County Heritage Museum is located in Carthage, in the former W.E. Stephen's Building, one of the first manufacturing companies in ...more
Region: Upper Cumberland
City: Carthage, TN
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Soldier in Grey
Dedicated on April 6, 1905, on the 43rd anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh. The hand-chiseled granite monument stands guard on the courthouse lawn at the center of Historic Court ...more
Region: Northwest
City: Dyersburg, TN
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Spring Hill Battlefield
Interpretative walking trail at site of one of the most controversial events of the Civil ...more
Region: Nashville & Surrounding Areas
City: Spring Hill, TN
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State Capitol
Finished in 1859, the historic Tennessee State Capitol is one of the oldest working capitols in the country. The distinctive tower is designed after the monument of Lysicrates in Athens, Greece. The architect, William Strickland, died in 1854 and is entombed above the cornerstone. The exterior and interior walls are massive blocks of limestone.
During the Union occupation of Nashville (1862-65), the Capitol was tranformed into Fortress Andrew Johnson. The artillery located there never had to be fired in battle, but were used for drills and celebrations.
The Capitol, still in use by state government, features numerous works of art, historical murals ...more
Region: Nashville & Surrounding Areas
City: Nashville, TN
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Stones River National Battlefield
The Battle of Stones River was one of the bloodiest and most significant battles of the Civil ...more
Region: Nashville & Surrounding Areas
City: Murfreesboro, TN
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