February, 2025
PANORAMIC SKYVIEWS OF NASHVILLE BATTLEFIELD FROM DRONE PILOT JOHN BANKS
John Banks, Civil War historian, author, and blogger, has become an accomplished drone pilot recently and has been providing his popular Blog pages as well as the Battle of Nashville Trust with some remarkable sky-high photos of iconic parts of the Nashville Battlefield. Below are a couple of John’s panoramic views shot from his three-gimbal pano camera mounted on his latest drone, far above ground that was a raging scene of Civil War mayhem on Dec. 15-16, 1864. Anyone interested in the Battle of Nashville, or the Civil War in general, should make a regular habit of checking in with his “John Banks Civil War Blog” and its Facebook page.
Below: Panorama view shot directly above Confederate Redoubt No. 1 on Benham Avenue. For a large and more interactive view, click on the image to see more detail from John’s Blog page. Suggestion: scroll down to the artillery pieces on the Redoubt’s earthern North wall and scroll upward to see the cannons pointing towards the city of Nashville in the distance. On Dec. 15, 1864, shelling was aimed at Confederate troops in this fort from the huge guns at Fort Negley. Scroll to the left, around to Woodmont Christian Church (the very tall slender steeple to the southwest) to scan the area from which Federal troops came to overrun Redoubts 3, 2 and finally No. 1 on the afternoon of Dec. 15. And finally, scroll in the opposite direction of the Redoubt’s cannon barrels to see the distant hills which would become the battlefield on Dec. 16, including famous Compton’s Hill, later known at Shy’s Hill as it is today.
Below: Panorama view shot directly above Shy’s Hill. Again, for a large and more interactive view, click on the image to see more detail from John’s Blog page. Suggestion: scroll down to inspect the summit of the Hill, and locate the BONT trail which winds down the east slope of the Hill to the trailhead on Benton Smith Road. From there, scroll to the left and look north for a major roadway, Harding Place (which generally tracked the Confederate line at that time), and above it, the skyline of Nashville is visable in the distance. Slighty farther to the left of the city is the Green Hills Mall and shopping district. Continue scrolling left to the west and southwest to see the hills on which the remainder of the Confederate left flank were strung out towards present-day Tyne Blvd.