August 29, 2011

Tennessee’s Civil War Trails

In America's Backyard: Traveling the Front Line of Tennessee Civil War History

Posted in Travel

Text By Alice Fleenor

It would be an understatement to say that the Civil War was a tumultuous time in Tennessee’s history. A land once peacefully inhabited by Shawnee, once trekked upon by Desoto, later settled and eventually approved by Congress as the 16th state of the Union, the Volunteer State found itself deeply embedded in a raging battle that divided families, devastated property and ultimately claimed 620,000 lives.

Tennessee was a major player in the Civil War for many reasons, not all of which were black or white. Most obviously, the state served as a natural border between North and South and was a strategic point of access to the Deep South for military movement. In addition to being accessible, the political influence of having produced two American presidents and numerous other political and military leaders poised Tennessee at the center of national affairs. Tennessee’s landscape, large population, manufacturing and agricultural capabilities all made the state a prime target for Union occupation.

Social, economic and religious issues also played a part in the state’s investment in the war as slavery divided families, a state and a country. Regardless of the division, Tennessee stayed true to the Volunteer spirit, albeit on both sides, supplying more soldiers to the Confederacy than any state except Virginia and more to the Union cause than all other Southern states combined. She was a state divided somewhere between right and wrong, entrenched in a war and fighting herself for freedom in her own backyard.

Today the horror and triumph of the Civil War still capture hearts and minds; you don’t have to be a history buff to stand in awe on the hallowed grounds of any of Tennessee’s more than 2,900 Civil War sites and appreciate the hard-fought freedom and peace that exist there today. In fact, exploring Tennessee’s Civil War history has never been easier, thanks to a lot of folks who have been working diligently to ensure that the stories and sites that define this great struggle are never lost or forgotten but are preserved for the education and enjoyment of generations of visitors to come.

January of 2011 marked the beginning of the five-year celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War and from 2011-2015 organizations across the state will come together to honor, highlight and preserve Tennessee’s Civil War history with special programs, exhibits and educational opportunities, making this a particularly good time for visitors to hit the state’s Civil War Trailsl. And thanks to a multi-state effort to create interpretive driving tours anyone, regardless of their knowledge of the Civil War, can easily navigate the only state ever designated by Congress in its entirety as a Civil War National Heritage Area.

Pick up the September issue of At Home Tennessee Magazine to read more.

You can find additional travel information on the Civil War Trails at www.civilwartrails.org.