Fort Negley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fort Negley
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Fort Negley in 1864
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| Location | 1100 Fort Negley Blvd. Nashville, Tennessee |
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| Nearest city | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Area | 180,000 sq ft (fort only) |
| Built | 1862 |
| Architect | James St. Clair Morton |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001748 |
| Added to NRHP | April 21, 1975 |
Fort Negley was a large fort built by Union soldiers during the American Civil War. It was constructed after Union troops took control of Nashville, Tennessee. The fort is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the city center. It was the biggest inland fort built in the United States during the war.
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Building Fort Negley
After Confederate forces lost battles at Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862, they decided not to defend Nashville. Union forces quickly moved in and started preparing to protect the city. Fort Negley was the largest of these new defenses.
Construction and Design
Fort Negley was built on top of St. Cloud Hill, south of Nashville. It had a unique star shape and was made from limestone blocks. Captain James St. Clair Morton was in charge of its construction. The fort used a lot of stone and earth. It cost about $130,000, which was a huge amount of money back then.
Who Built the Fort?
The fort was mostly built by people who were forced to work. This included local slaves, newly freed slaves who came to Nashville, and free Black people who were made to join the work. Records show that 2,768 Black individuals were officially involved in building the fort. The fort was named after Union Army General James S. Negley.
Fort Negley's Role in the War
When the Battle of Nashville happened in December 1864, the main fighting took place farther south of the city. Even though Fort Negley looked very strong, it did not play a major role in the battle. After the war ended, the fort was left empty and slowly fell apart. Its shape could still be seen in the woods for many years. During the Reconstruction period, the area was unfortunately used as a meeting place by a group called the Ku Klux Klan.
Saving Fort Negley
In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) started a big project to restore Fort Negley. However, as soon as the work was finished, the United States entered World War II. There wasn't enough money, workers, or interest to open the fort as a historical site.
After World War II
After the war, the fort continued to be neglected. It became a place for vandalism and minor crimes. Eventually, people were not allowed to enter the site, and the area became overgrown with trees again. However, the land around the fort became a city park. It was used for baseball and softball fields. Later, Herschel Greer Stadium, a Minor League Baseball ballpark, was built there. The Adventure Science Center (formerly the Cumberland Science Museum) was also built nearby. Most visitors to these places didn't know about the historic fort on the hill.
Recent Restoration Efforts
After many years of discussions, people who wanted to save the fort finally got enough money in the early 2000s for another restoration project. Fort Negley was reopened to the public on December 10, 2004, after being closed for decades. The project showed that historical sites can bring in more money from tourism than they cost to maintain.
The recent restoration did not try to rebuild the fort exactly as it was during the Civil War. Instead, the goal was to make the ruins stable and easier to see. This involved removing many large trees and moving some stone blocks back to their original spots. What you see today is a mix of the original fort and the WPA's restoration work. In 2007, an extra $1 million was used to build a visitor's center. More work is planned for the site.
Protecting the History
In 2017, there was a plan to redevelop the Greer Stadium site, which had been empty since 2015. Part of this plan was to highlight Fort Negley's history. This included creating educational spaces and walking trails, and protecting the fort and its views. However, the plan also involved building new things like music and art spaces, shops, and housing.
Many people criticized the plan because of the important Civil War and African American history at the site. Also, the city's process for choosing the redevelopment plan was not open to the public. In January 2018, the developers canceled their plans. This happened after archaeologists found unmarked burial sites of slaves who were forced to build Fort Negley. These sites were on the edge of the Greer property, not inside the stadium itself. Mayor Megan Barry said she wanted the site to honor the history of those who died building the fort.
Today, Fort Negley is recognized as a Site of Memory by the Slave Route Project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A new plan for restoring the site as a park and explaining its complex history was finished in 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Fuerte Negley para niños
