150 Years | Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial
Trails
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.
Fighting on the Tennessee River
Several Tennessee River engagements between Confederate cavalry and the Union navy occurred within 5 miles of this site. On April 26, 1863, near the mouth of the Duck River east of here, Confederate artillery opened fire on Union gunboats. The gunboats eventually drove the Confederates off. Union marines then pursued their antagonists
City: Camden
County: Benton
Region: West Tennessee
Battle of Collierviille
Colliersville\'s strategic location on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad provoked much attention from both sides during the war. Union forces often occupied the town and Confederates operated against it, hoping to disrupt the Federal supply line. Three thousand Confederate cavalrymen attacked about 600 Union soldiers camped along the railroad on Oct. 11,
City: Collierville
County: Shelby
Region: West Tennessee
Chalmer’s Collierville Raid
As Union Gen. William T. Sherman advanced east toward Chattanooga in early November 1863, Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston ordered Gen. James Chalmers to harass the march and break up the railroad behind him. Chalmers attacked what he believed to be a small garrison at Colliersville, but he soon found the Union defense more than he could
City: Collierville
County: Shelby
Region: West Tennessee
Covington Court Square
On June 10, 1861, 943 residents of Tipton County voted in favor of secession with only 16 votes against. Local men already had begun forming volunteer military companies. The first of these, the Tipton Rifles, trained and drilled at the old fairgrounds in Covington under the command of Capt. John Turner until they departed for Germantown to become part of the 4th Tennessee
City: Covington
County: Tipton
Region: West Tennessee
Battle of Britton Lane
About 3,000 Confederate cavalry under Col. Williams Jackson raiding north from Mississippi ran into an outnumbered but stubborn Union force on Britton Lane Sept. 1, 1862. The sharp battle resulted in a Confederate victory and the capture of a couple hundred Union prisoners and two pieces of artillery. A nice park includes a walking trail and historical markers. A cabin that stood during the battle and was used as a hospital is preserved. Civil War Trails
City: Denmark
County: Madison
Region: West Tennessee
Denmark Presbyterian Church
Union infantry camped on the grounds of this 1854 church prior to the Battle of Britton Lane, and
Confederates kept prisoners here after the fighting. Local Confederate soldiers attended services here after final Union occupation in 1863. But they had to be careful. A Union patrol bursting into the church forced the attending Southerners to hide under their girlfriends' hooped
City: Denmark
County: Madison
Region: West Tennessee
Dyer County Courthouse
At least fifteen Confederate companies were formed in Dyer County, including Capt. Otho F. Strahl\'s Co. K, 4th Tennessee Infantry, and Capt. Tyree H. Bell\'s Co. B, 12th Tennessee Infantry. Both men rose to the rank of brigadier general. Strahl was one of six Confederate generals to die at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. He is buried in Dyersburg\'s Old City Cemetery on East Court Street. Bell served under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and participated in the postwar Dyer County Aid Society to help former soldiers and their
City: Dyersburg
County: Dyer
Region: West Tennessee
Dyer County Courthouse
At least fifteen Confederate companies were formed in Dyer County, including Capt. Otho F. Strahl’s Co. K, 4thTennessee Infantry, and Capt. Tyree H. Bell’s Co. B, 12th Tennessee Infantry. Both men rose to the rank of brigadier general. Strahl was one of six Confederate generals to die at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. He is buried in Dyersburg’s Old City Cemetery on East Court Street. Bell served under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and participated in the postwar Dyer County Aid Society to help former soldiers and their
City: Dyersburg
County: Dyer
Region: West Tennessee
Grand Junction
Grand Junction is named for its location, where the Memphis and Charleston and Mississippi Central Railroads intersect, and was strategically important to both Confederate and Union forces. After defeats at Shiloh and Corinth, Confederates tore up the tracks, hoping to delay the Federal pursuit. Union Gen. William T. Sherman oversaw much of the repair work in mid-1862. Later, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant made this place a staging ground for his Vicksburg campaign, storing \"100,000 rations\" and basing 40,000 U.S. soldiers
City: Grand Junction
County: Hardeman
Region: West Tennessee
Henderson at War
At the time of the Civil War, Henderson was a stop on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad line. First called Dayton and later renamed Henderson Station, the village consisted of houses and stores in a line facing the tracks. After the fall of Fort Donelson in February 1862, Gov. Isham G. Harris ordered Confederate militia “from the counties of Henry, Weakley, Gibson, Carroll, Benton, Decatur, Hardin, McNairy, Hardeman and Madison” to “rendezvous at Henderson Station.” The little town was never the same after
City: Henderson
County: Chester
Region: West Tennessee
Fort Pillow
In the summer of 1861, Confederate Gen. Gideon J. Pillow ordered the construction of a fortification here, later named for him. High on a bluff 80 miles above Memphis, Fort Pillow provided a clear view of the river for miles in both directions. It became headquarters of the River Defense Fleet under Capt. James E. Montgomery. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard ordered it abandoned in May 1862, anticipating the fall of Corinth, Mississippi. Occupied in September by the 52nd Indiana Infantry and later by other Federal units, Fort Pillow became a base to control guerrilla activity in the area and a refuge
City: Henning
County: Lauderdale
Region: West Tennessee
Occupation of Jackson
Confederate troops evacuated Jackson on June 7, 1862, after devastating defeats at Fort Donelson and Shiloh. In the afternoon, the 78th Ohio and 30th Illinois Infantry under Union Gen. John McClernand occupied the town. The 700 Federals seized both railroad depots and the telegraph office, along with Confederate commissary and quartermaster stores. Almost immediately, Lt. Cyrus M. Roberts, 78th Ohio, raised the Stars and Stripes atop the courthouse cupola, where the flag floated over the town. The following afternoon any lingering thoughts of resistance vanished when Union Gen. John A. Logan marched into Jackson with four infantry regiments, accompanied by
City: Jackson
County: Madison
Region: West Tennessee
Railroad Gateway to the Deep South
After taking control of Jackson's railroads in 1862, Union forces used the transportation center as a supply line for the Mississippi campaigns. Jackson then became a target for Confederate raiders resulting in the battles at Britton Lane and Salem Cemetery. Famed Confederate cavalry commander occupied Jackson during this first Tennessee Raid in December
City: Jackson
County: Madison
Region: West Tennessee
Salem Cemetery Battlefield
Confederate Gen. N.B. Forrest ran into a Union ambush Dec. 19, 1862, near this circa-1820 cemetery. The battle, fought up and down the Cotton Grove Road, eventually turned in Forrest's favor after dislodging a Federal line in the cemetery. The Union force withdrew to Jackson, leaving Forrest to continue his raid north. An interpretive kiosk at the site helps explain the battle. Civil War Trails
City: Jackson
County: Madison
Region: West Tennessee
La Grange
Federal forces occupied LaGrange during the war, 1862–1865, and made it an important supply base. Gen. William T. Sherman established his headquarters here when the occupation began in 1862. In April 1863, Union Col. Benjamin H. Grierson left here with a combined force of cavalry and artillery on an extended raid deep into Mississippi to disrupt Confederate supply lines before the Union advance on Vicksburg. Gen. Andrew J. Smith started from LaGrange with another Union task force in July 1864 in a northern Mississippi campaign that included the Battle of Tupelo on July 14. Col. Edward Bouton’s brigade of
City: La Grange
County: Fayette
Region: West Tennessee
