Forrest's dramatic ride into Murfreesboro

As they were known to do, Nathan Bedford Forrest and his band of audacious Confederate cavalrymen caught the Union army sleeping at Murfreesboro, Tenn.

On July 13, 1862, Forrest struck the important Union supply center, capturing camps and crucial venues en route to scooping up prisoners. The 1,400 Confederates -- utilizing mobility and bluff -- destroyed supplies, freed prisoners held by the Union and tore up portions of railroad track before leaving the city.

"The main result of the raid was the diversion of Union forces from a drive on Chattanooga," says the National Park Service. "This raid, along with Morgan’s raid into Kentucky, made possible Bragg’s concentration of forces at Chattanooga and his early September invasion of Kentucky."

Stones River National Battlefield and Oaklands Historic House Museum, scene of the humiliating Federal surrender, this weekend (July 20-22) are partnering to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the raid.

Gib Backlund, chief of operations at the battlefield, said the raid was the first of three important battles in Murfreesboro, the other two being the bloody Battle of Stones River in December 1862 and the Battle of the Cedars in 1864.

“Overall, we hope people understand in a broader sense military approaches and also how the war affected civilians in places like Murfreesboro," Backlund told the Picket.

The Oaklands Historic House Museum helps tell that civilian story.

Visitors this weekend can tour the mansion and see one of the largest private collections of historic clothing (photo, below). The PNJW Collections exhibit contains original Civil War-era clothing, jewely, shoes, photographs and more.

"The men’s vests are incredible with wild patterns," said tour guide Raina van Setter.

The home was occupied by the affluent and influential Maney family. Forrest clashed with Federal troops on the plantation grounds.

Union Col. William Duffield, commander of the 9th Michigan Infantry Regiment, was wounded in the skirmish and taken into the house, where he was treated by the family. He decided to surrender to Forrest.

According to van Setter, Adaline Maney served black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes and cornbread at the surrender ceremony.

Before the raid, Adaline held off with a pistol Union soldiers who came to the home to obtain furniture to be used as fuel for fires.

“She was a headstrong woman," said van Setter.

Here's an overview of weekend events:

STONES RIVER NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD

July 21-22: "Galloping to Victory" program at the park, 1563 N. Thompson Lane. At 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. both days, the Seventh Tennessee Cavalry will demonstrate the tactics used by Forrest's troopers while a ranger tells the story of the raid from the Confederate perspective.

OAKLANDS HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUM

-- $5 tours of the mansion, 900 North Maney Ave., Murfreesboro. 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The 8,000-square-foot house is interpreted to 1863. One third of the furniture is original to the Maney family.

-- Historic clothing collection described above. Hours: Friday, 10-4, Saturday, 10-4, Sunday, 1-4. There is a separate $5 fee for this exhibit. Maney Hall, attached to the visitors center. Photography is allowed at the exhibit.

-- Free living history on the grounds, featuring the demonstration of tactics employed by the 9th Michigan Infantry. Infantry demonstrations will be presented at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• Stones River National Battlefield
• Oaklands Historic House Museum

Top photo, courtesy of National Park Service. Other photos courtesy of Oaklands Historic House Museum.

Forgotten Fort Heiman briefly stood as sentinel, but has a 'fascinating story'

One of three "sister” forts that Confederate forces defended on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers is the subject of talks this weekend at Fort Donelson National Battlefield.

Fort Heiman, built in Kentucky just across from Fort Henry, is considered a “forgotten” or “unfinished” fort, said Douglas Richardson, chief interpreter with the park.

The National Park Service this month is marking the 150th anniversary of the first significant Union victory in the war, when Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, opening the way to Nashville and the South’s interior. Along the way, he earned the sobriquet “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

Fort Henry is long gone, under what is now called Kentucky Lake. But visitors can still see entrenchments at Heiman, which was hastily constructed to protect Henry.

“The bluff provides a spectacular view,” said Richardson. “You will see some very good examples of Civil War earthworks.”

At 1 p.m. this Saturday-Monday (Feb. 4-6), rangers will lead vehicle caravans from the park headquarters at Donelson (Dover, Tenn.) to Heiman, about 22 miles to the west.

Slaves began constructing it in January 1862, mere weeks before Grant’s forces approached Fort Henry. About 1,100 Confederates at Fort Heiman were ferried across the Tennessee River back to Henry when one of two Federal divisions moved toward the high ground on the Kentucky side.

Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, Henry’s commander, left a few troops at Heiman (click map to enlarge) “to taunt and harass any of the Union advance guys,” Richardson said. The first Union units to reach the post found some stew and bread, apparently still warm. “They had a Confederate-made dinner.”

Tilghman sent a large contingent of troops to Fort Donelson when he realized he was outgunned, outmanned and in a poor location. Fort Henry was a good deal underwater because of flooding.

Fort Henry fell on Feb. 6, 1862, but the loss 10 days later of Donelson, and about 12,000 troops who surrendered, was much costlier.

“It wasn’t in the most ideal spot,” Richardson said of Fort Henry. “The commanding general was fighting both Mother Nature and the ironclads.”

Slaves sought refuge at Heiman once it was in Union hands. Eventually, the site was abandoned, only to be used by Nathan Bedford Forrest (left) and his Confederate cavalrymen.

The general used the fort as a base on Oct. 28, 1864, to capture a Union steamboat. Forrest also raided the Federal supply depot at Johnsonville, about 30 miles south on the east bank of the Tennessee River.

The National Park Service acquired Heiman’s 163 acres in 2006 after Calloway County (Ky.) residents, concerned about a possible residential development, rallied to protect the land.

At the time, park superintendent Steven McCoy said Heiman has "a fascinating story. It helps illustrate the bigger picture of the war, the struggle of brother against brother. That to me is what's exciting." The Civil War News had an article about the acquisition.

The property features trenches and a redoubt considered to be in very good condition.

Richardson said the park eventually would like to increase Fort Heiman’s visibility.

“We need to do some infrastructure work to give folks a good idea of what is happening here,” he said. Crews also are cleaning up from 2011 storm damage.

Trenches are currently hidden in forestation and there is little visitor information on the site, accessible by a Kentucky road. The area is mostly visited by recreational users.

The NPS has no historic images of any of the three forts – and, for that matter, few primary documents about Heiman. They are seeing some of those documents, including those regarding troop movements, on auction sites such as eBay.

“When it comes to research, it is a work in progress,” Richardson said.

Photos of Fort Heiman earthworks and map courtesy of National Park Service.

• More information on all the anniversary events this month at Fort Donelson
• Contact information, address, park info.
• Animated account of Henry, Donelson battles

The rise of Grant and Forrest

I just completed this 2007 account of the Fort Henry and Fort Donelson campaign in Tennessee that author Jack Hurst contends "slashed an ever-widening mortal wound that split the Confederacy asunder."

Hurst does an admirable job of capturing the politics swirling behind the 1862 battles that propelled Grant toward greatness, with a few nervous moments two months later at Shiloh. The writer portrays Grant as an unassuming, understated general who survives critics, particularly on accounts of his drinking. In Hurst's view, Grant's boss, Henry Halleck, is as much as enemy as the Confederates, scheming to undercut Grant's role and reputation. Always, Hurst writes, Grant, unlike many Union colleagues, pressed the fight.

I found the sections on the battle-tested Forrest a bit disappointing. You learn little of his character, ambitions and impact on the war. A reader might be surprised Hurst spent so few pages on this, given the book's title and a presumption of comparisons between the generals.

Still, "Men of Fire" is an excellent history of the soldiers, sailors and military leaders who battled for control of vital river and railroad lanes in the South.

19-panel painting depicts Forrest's battles

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Ken Scott's house in Cordova, Tenn., contains an entire history book spread across the walls of his third-floor den. Scott's late father, artist Fred V. Scott, left Ken and his three siblings the legacy of a 19-panel painting that commemorates the Civil War battles of Nathan Bedford Forrest in Tennessee, which when lined up end-to-end create a U-shaped, panoramic view of the state's bloodiest era. • Article