Battle of Nashville Monument Survives
Peace Monument Honors Fallen Soldiers from North and South
Nov 15, 2009
The Battle of Nashville in December 1864 is considered one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War, marking both the most northern penetration of Confederate armies and after defeat, the beginning of a long, slow retreat by Confederate forces.
The struggle to build a monument to commemorate the fallen began in 1902 when land on Nashville’s Franklin Pike was donated and the Ladies Battlefield Association was formed to create the monument. They selected Italian sculptor, Giuseppe Moretti, whose most famous work is the monumental bronze sculpture of Vulcan in Birmingham, Ala., to create the monument. He quoted them a price of $30,000.
Fund-Raising for Civil War Monument Took 15 Years
It took the Ladies Battlefield Association nearly 15 years to raise the funds for the monument, with help from the Daughters of the Confederacy, the state of Tennessee, and other organizations. In 1926, Moretti began casting the bronze sculpture, made from melted cannons, that would be the centerpiece of the monument, and quarrying the Italian marble that would form an marble obelisk topped with a marble sculpture of the angel of peace.
The bronze sculpture depicts two charging horses, representing the North and South, held in check by a young man, who represents peace. The monument was designed so that the bronze sculpture would face due east.
The monument was placed on a site south of downtown Nashville, near the historic battlefields and the beginning of Hood’s retreat, at the intersection of Franklin Pike and Thompson Lane. Confederate and World War I veterans attended the dedication ceremony on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1927. It was the first monument ever erected that honored both Union and Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War.
The monument remained on the site until 1974, passing into the hands of the Tennessee Historical Society in 1945.
Tornado Destroys Battle of Nashville Monument
However, in 1974 a tornado struck the monument, destroying the 40-foot obelisk and shattering the marble angel. The bronze sculpture was damaged but not irreparably.
The battered monument remained on its site as the construction of Interstate 65 in the 1980s isolated it atop a cliff blasted to make way for the highway and hidden behind chain link fence.
Debate about relocating the monument began as early as 1980 but it was not until 1992 that the historical society agreed on a 2.5-acre site on Granny White Pike and Battlefield Drive, just off I-440, and on the actual site of the original most forward Confederate position of the Battle of Nashville.
Restored Civil War Monument Rededicated in 1999
The monument, restored in white Georgia granite with the original bronze Moretti sculpture in place was rededicated on June 26, 1999. Plans for other improvements to the tiny park, including interpretive signage throughout the site and a “wall of peace” have never been completed. The original base of the monument remains in place on the Franklin Pike site.
The site is easily accessible from downtown Nashville by driving south on 12th Avenue until it crosses I-440 and becomes Granny White Pike. The park and monument will be on the right at the corner of Granny White and Clinton Avenue.
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