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Crieve Hall in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Battle of Nashville
⎯⎯⎯
Peach Orchard Hill

 
 
Battle of Nashville / Peach Orchard Hill Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, January 20, 2023
1. Battle of Nashville / Peach Orchard Hill Marker
Inscription.
Battle of Nashville
December 15-16, 1864
Following the bloody November 30, 1864 battle at Franklin, Union and Confederate forces met here, in Nashville, in the last major engagement of the Civil War in the West. Led by General John Bell Hood, the 22,000-man Confederate Army of Tennessee entrenched south of town in an attempt to draw out the Federal garrison of 58,000 men under the command of Major General George H. Thomas.

After a two week delay that included a bitter winter storm, the Union Army advanced on the foggy morning of December 15th. Following a brief feint against the Confederate right, Thomas attacked the entrenched Confederate positions along Hillsboro Pike with a combination of infantry and dismounted cavalry. By early afternoon, Federal troops overwhelmed the Confederate left flank. Hood's army was forced to retreat south two miles.

Peach Orchard Hill
Located 600 yards west of Travellers Rest, the extreme right Confederate flank at Peach Orchard Hill on December 16th was defended by two brigades and two artillery batteries from Clayton's Division of Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee's Corps. A Union soldier reported after gazing at the earthworks that the position was “truly formidable” and would be “very difficult to carry.”

The hill was
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attacked numerous times in the afternoon. The 13th United States Colored Infantry lost over 200 men in the assault, including five color bearers. Peach Orchard Hill was the only Confederate position to hold on the second day.

[Captions (left to right)]
• Confederate General John Bell Hood arrived at Travellers Rest on December 2. He used the house as his headquarters for two weeks prior to the battle.
• Union Major General George H. Thomas was a Virginian. He had taught Hood at West Point and was considered one of the Union Army's best field commanders.
• Once the peach orchard of Judge John Overton, above is an artist's rendition of how the hill may have looked in 1864 near the time of the battle.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansWar, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is December 15, 1864.
 
Location. 36° 4.6′ N, 86° 45.881′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Crieve Hall. It can be reached from Farrell Parkway west of Stillwood Drive, on the right when traveling west. Marker is on the grounds of Historic Travellers Rest Historic House Museum. It is on a raised platform overlooking a rail yard on the west side of the property. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 636 Farrell Pkwy, Nashville TN 37220, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers
Marker detail: Battle of Nashville image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, January 20, 2023
2. Marker detail: Battle of Nashville
are within walking distance of this marker: Travellers Rest (within shouting distance of this marker); From Enslavement to Freedom (within shouting distance of this marker); Earliest Residents of Travellers Rest (within shouting distance of this marker); Historic Travellers Rest Herb Garden (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Herb Garden (about 400 feet away); Arabian Horses (about 400 feet away); Smokehouse (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Travellers' Rest (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.
 
Another marker is no longer nearby. Travellers Rest (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
 
Marker detail: Battle of Nashville map (Dec. 15, 1864) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, January 20, 2023
3. Marker detail: Battle of Nashville map (Dec. 15, 1864)
Marker detail: Peach Orchard Hill image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, January 20, 2023
4. Marker detail: Peach Orchard Hill
Marker detail: Battle of Nashville map (Dec. 16, 1864) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, January 20, 2023
5. Marker detail: Battle of Nashville map (Dec. 16, 1864)
Battle of Nashville / Peach Orchard Hill Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, January 20, 2023
6. Battle of Nashville / Peach Orchard Hill Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,226 times since then and 100 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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Jun. 26, 2026