Saving History Saturday: Preservation Victory Celebrated as Part of the Battle of Nashville Anniversary

Historic preservation efforts are on display during the 160th anniversary of the battle of Nashville.

The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) recently acquired a 2.36-acre property on the Bass Street side of Fort Negley Park, which is a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Site of Memory due to its role in the region’s history of emancipation.

Fort Negley was built by Union forces during the Civil War with the formerly enslaved providing much of the labor. The finished fort was defended by members of the United States Colored Troops. The site has since been nominated for the UNESCO Slave Route Project, the first such site in America. The site has been threatened by proposed development projects over the years.

The 2.36-acres that ABT recently acquired was done so with the assistance of a nearly $4.1 million grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program, a $2.3 million grant from the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Fund, as well as a $3 million investment by Metro Nashville, as well a donation from the previous land owner.

“Incredible passion from all participating agencies and individuals made this complex effort possible,” said American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan. “It is an honor for the Trust to have facilitated its preservation, and I look forward to completing the final steps that will allow us to transfer it into the outstanding Fort Negley Park.”  Work on phase one of the Fort Negley Master Plan is expected to begin within the next 12 to 18 months.

To learn more about this and all of ABT’s efforts, visit their website.

To learn more about Fort Negley, and the site’s master plan, click here.