December 16, 2012
A MOVING TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO FOUGHT
In an extremely rare occurrence, the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Nashville fell on a weekend this year. On December 16, 2012, BONPS invited the public and descendants of the Battle of Nashville to meet at the summit of Shy’s Hill for a moving commemoration of the December 15 -16, 1864 Battle that triggered the end of the American Civil War.
A crowd of more than 100 climbed the trail to the top of Shy’s Hill on Sunday, December 16, 2012, to participate in the memorial event remembering the men who fought and those that fell in the Battle of Nashville.
The program included opening comments by BONPS President Philip Duer and a fact-filled presentation by noted historian Ross Massey as to the significance of the battle and of the Hill’s climactic role. Union and Confederate re-enactors attended the placement of the memorial wreath, accompanied by the martial drum of Paul Smith prior to placement and the violin of local musician Linda Gale Rose in conclusion.
Those placing the wreath included Ken Fieth of Nashville, whose ancestor was Brig. Gen. Thomas Benton Smith of the 20th Tennessee Infantry, who was captured at Shy’s Hill. The Shy’s Hill trail head begins at the street named in honor of the general — Benton Smith Road. Placing the wreath for the Union were BONPS board member Gary Burke of Nashville, whose ancestor fought with the 17th USCT, and David Clark, two of whose ancestors fought with the 35th Irish Indiana Inf. (Irish) Regt.
BONPS sought out descendants of the soldiers of both sides who fought in the Battle of Nashville. Many families, representing ancestors from the Union and the Confederacy, attended the event and participated in placing the memorial wreath. Their attendance was recorded in a group photograph (ancestor’s name, regiment, and unit organization will be published on the BONPS website and recorded as a historical Sesquicentennial event).
Histories, documents and photos sent to BONPS by the descendants and their families have been placed on a special Descendants page on the website. BONPS continues to invite descendants of the Battle participants to send their information for posting on the website.
(Click to enlarge) Descendants of the Battle of Nashville soldiers stand on the summit of Shy’s Hill with the Memorial wreath on December 16, 2012
Click on the individual images below to read the photo captions.
Below are some of the features related to the Memorial event: