Civil War

Fort Dickerson Park

Knoxville has a rich array of Civil War sites to explore, illustrating how the city was divided and affected by events, battles, and skirmishes. These places include museums, historic homes, historic neighborhoods, cemeteries, and parks, and other public spaces.

Here are ten key sites to explore:

  1. Fort Higley at High Ground Park features a Union Army “redan” or small fortified canon emplacement and interpretive trails. (Located at 1000 Cherokee Trail.)
  2. Bleak House/Confederate Memorial Hall contains a tower where legend has it that snipers killed Union Brig. Gen. William Sanders. (Located at 3148 Kingston Pike)
  3. Mabry Hazen House hosted both Confederate and Union officers and has stories to tell. If you can, visit Bethel Confederate Cemetery (down the hill from the house, included in admission but has limited hours.)
  4. Fort Dickerson Park, part of a City park, features a Union defense used to defend Knoxville against an advance guard of Confederates in 1864. (Located at 3000 Fort Dickerson Rd.)
  5. The Farragut Museum featuring the Admiral Farragut Memorial Plaza (in memory of David Glasgow Farragut) and the adjacent town hall features exhibits including the admiral’s personal effects, and a rare scrimshaw collection depicting Civil War naval battles.
  6. National Cemetery features hundreds of Union soldier’s graves and the the impressive Union Monument. (Located at 939 Tyson St.)
  7. Old Gray Cemetery features numerous Civil War related graves including Unionist “Parson” Brownlow, and Confederate Col. Henry Ashby to name just a couple. (Located at 543 North Broadway)
  8. Fort Sanders historic neighborhood features two monuments that are worth checking out, the Confederate Monument (at 17th St between Clinch Ave. and Laurel Ave.) and the Union Monument (at 16th St. and Clinch Ave.)
  9. The Museum of East Tennessee History features paintings and artifacts within its extensive “Voices of the Land” permanent exhibition. (Located at 601 S. Gay St.)
  10. The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, on the campus of the University of Tennessee, features a permanent exhibit, “The Civil War in Knoxville: The Battle of Fort Sanders.” (located at 1327 Circle Park Dr.)

UT’s McClung Museum has a must-see permanent exhibit on Knoxville’s involvement in the Civil War. (Photo by Tom Schirtz, McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture)

 

FREE DRIVING TOUR MAP: Stop by the Knoxville’s Visitor’s Center at 301. S. Gay Street and pick up a copy of The Divided Loyalties Civil War Tour of Knoxville, a self guided driving tour, featuring 15 local stops

 

Please help the Knoxville History Project expand this Archive by making a donation to today.

For more information, or to learn about how you can contribute stories, photographs, and ephemera to this archive through KHP’s community engagement initiative, Knoxville Shoebox, please call 865-337-7723 or email us at paul@knoxhistoryproject.org 

 

Special thanks to the Aslan Foundation for programmatic support.