National Register of Historic Places

Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation)

Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee
Listed
October 14, 1966
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
66000075

About this property

Stones River National Battlefield, a 570-acre (2.3 km2) park along the Stones River in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, three miles (5 km) northwest of Murfreesboro and twenty-eight miles southeast of Nashville, memorializes the Battle of Stones River. This key battle of the American Civil War occurred on December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863, and resulted in a strategic Union victory. The national battlefield was established through the efforts of both private individuals, the Stones River Battlefield and Park Association, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (which became part of CSX Transportation through several mergers), and a 1927 act of Congress authorizing a national military park under the jurisdiction of the War Department. During the early years of the twentieth century, the railroad emphasized the battlefield as a destination to increase passenger traffic. It promoted veteran reunions and acquired parts of the battlefield as points of historical interest. In 1906, the company erected a 31-foot (9.4 m) obelisk to commemorate the January 2, 1863, position of massed Union artillery used to repel a Confederate assault on Union troops across the river. The Stones River Battlefield and Park Association was chartered on April 28, 1896, after the establishment of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park increased interest in preserving significant Civil War battlefields. The association secured options on property connected with the battle, reportedly 3,400 acres (14 km2) by June 1897. Association members erected wooden signs to mark and interpret battlefield locations. In 1912, the Association lobbied to have Congress "establish an accurate system of markers", but the measure failed, in part because of the testimony of former congressman and Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park Commissioner Charles H. Grosvenor, who believed the landmarks had been "entirely obliterated". Land acquisition began in 1928 and was completed in 1934. In 1992, the park accepted a donation from the City of Murfreesboro of an intact segment of Fortress Rosecrans, the largest enclosed earthwork built during the Civil War. The park preserves less than a fifth of the more than 3,000 acres (12 km2) over which the battle was fought. On March 3, 1927, the site was established as Stones River National Military Park. It was transferred from the War Department to the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service on August 10, 1933, and redesignated as a national battlefield on April 22, 1960. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (October 15, 1966).

Location

3501 Old Nashville Hwy.
Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee
35.87653, -86.43066

Categories

MILITARYOTHERCONSERVATIONLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREENGINEERINGARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC NON-ABORIGINALARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORICETHNIC HERITAGE-BLACK
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Fortress Rosecrans Site
Listed
1.9 mi
Elmwood
Civil War
2 mi
Spence, John C., House
Industrial
2.7 mi
Elmwood (Boundary Increase)
Listed
2.7 mi
Oaklands
Industrial
2.9 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Stones River — Negley's Position (Hazen's Support)
1862Civil War
0.4 mi
Battle of Stones River — Round Forest (Hell's Half Acre)
1862Civil War
0.6 mi
Battle of Stones River — Cedar Knob / Right Flank Collapse
1862Civil War
0.6 mi
Battle of Stones River — December 31 Attack
1862Civil War
0.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation) listed on the National Register?

Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation)?

Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation) is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation)?

The period of significance for Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation) is recorded as the listed era.

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