Stone River Battlefield (Rutherford County, Tennessee)

 

Final stop for the day before making the last push towards home is the Stone River National Battlefield, which served as a pivotal engagement during the Civil War. The battle was ultimately inconclusive, but with the Union army repelling not one, but two Confederate attacks, it could have lead to a Confederate campaign into the north via the western arena of the war. As it stood, that campaign never happened in great part thanks to the Union troops that fought in this place. That said though, this was one of highest causality totals for both sides.

The battlefield itself commemorates the soldiers of both armies that fought here. The open fields of the park were the site of much back and forth during the three day battle. The fact that was the field has been left in this form is a tribute to the rich history of this place and how seriously the citizenry takes it.

In addition to the field of battle itself, a museum has been erected and a number of cannons and other period-appropriate equipment decorate the park. I've learned much about the Civil War since moving to Atlanta, but I never cease to be humbled by the aura that surrounds these places. After a quick walk through the museum and the nearby cannons, we head back to the jeep and continue on the final leg of our journey home.