An unexpected set of virtually “undreamed of” circumstances has come together to enable The Battle of Nashville Trust (BONT) to acquire a historic tract of “core battlefield” property near the base of Shy’s Hill on which Union soldiers attacked and died in the most decisive event of the Battle on Dec. 16, 1864.
The property consists of a vacant residential lot located at the corner of Harding Place and Benton Smith Road and was featured in the background of the famous painting of the Battle of Nashville by Minnesota artist Howard Pyle. It was this 1.2 acre ground over which Federal troops attacked Confederate forces occupying the summit of Shy’s Hill on the second day of the battle, routing Hood’s troops and permanently disabling the Confederacy’s military capability in the western theater of the Civil War.
Aerial view of Shy’s Hill, showing newly-acquired core battlefield land at the corner of Benton Smith Road and Harding Place. Only a single residential lot separates it from BONT’s 3.5 acre battlefield site. Click image to enlarge.
Bill Ozier, President of BONT, stated that the Trust “never dreamed that it would be able to purchase” the historic ground because of its location in a prime area of an affluent residential development. However, several factors came together to make the purchase unexpectedly possible: in 2021, BONT became the beneficiary of a wealthy donor’s estate; then in 2023, a drop-off in Nashville’s hot residential real estate market at the end of last year prompted a developer to sell the parcel rather than build on it; and finally, BONT successfully worked with and was assisted by The American Battlefield Trust (ABT), a national preservation non-profit which works to acquire and preserve American battlefields across the country.
Red star denotes approximate location of newly-acquired battlefield site. Click image to enlarge.
When those factors converged in early 2024, BONT’s Board determined that the acquisition was too historically important to pass up, and put together funds to purchase the tract at what amounted to its appraised value of $1,175,000 with the assistance of the ABT.
The tract is not immediately adjacent to, but only a short walk from, BONT’s Shy’s Hill historic site and trailhead. Plans are already underway by the BONT Board for improvements to the site, including clean-up, appropriate landscaping, future signage similar to that utilized on National battlefield parks, and potentially adding parking space.
The tract, located at 4601 Benton Smith Road, is the first acquisition of Nashville battlefield land for preservation in decades. A 3.5 acre privately-owned section of land encompassing most of the upper portion of Shy’s Hill land was originally donated by a developer to the Tennessee Historical Society (THS) in 1954. The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society (now, BONT), organized in 1992, was involved in preservation and maintenance of the tract, including construction of a switchback trail to the top, and finalized purchase of all but the summit in 2005. The THS maintained ownership of the summit, but leases it to BONT, which maintains and interprets the site for public use.
Residential development had begun around Shy’s Hill shortly after World War II. Fortunately, long before that, at a time less than 40 years after the battle, famed Minnesota artist Howard Pyle visited the area and made photographs which he used to portray, as accurately as possible, part of the Federal assault by Minnesota troops (within this page, see important articles by BONT Board members John Banks and Philip Duer, describing and analyzing the accuracy of the Pyle painting). The Pyle photos have never been found, but his massive painting completed in 1906 still hangs in the Minnesota State Capitol Building, and BONT historians agree that the newly-acquired property is depicted in the background of the painting.
Howard Pyle’s famous mural painting of the battle at Shy’s Hill, featuring the Minnesota Second Brigade in the area of BONT’s new battlefield tract. Click image to enlarge.
The historical importance of preserving this part of the battlefield cannot be overstated. On Dec. 16, 1864, the new ground acquired by BONT was positioned between the Confederate line anchored on top of Shy’s Hill, and Federal troops amassed to the north and west poised for attack. Union Brig. Gen. John MacArthur, a division commander within the XVI Corps of Gen. Andrew Smith, became frustrated by the delays of high command and essentially forced the late afternoon assault on Shy’s Hill. In the Pyle painting, Col. Lucius F. Hubbard, commander of the Second Brigade, led the Fifth and Ninth Minnesota regiments up the northeast slope of the Hill, requiring them to cover open ground consisting of a muddy cornfield, and exposing them to devastating enfilading fire from the Confederate line to their east.
In the violent chaos of the charge, Hubbard had two horses shot out from under him and sustained a bullet neck wound, and four color bearers of the Minnesota Fifth regiment were shot down (three of them killed). The Fifth sustained 100 casualties in the charge over this ground, approximately 25 percent of its total regimental force. The 4601 Benton Smith Rd. property was also immediately adjacent to the area involving the assault of the steep north slope by Col. William McMillan’s First Brigade, which led the Federal attack beginning at approximately 4:00 p.m.
