Dickson in Dickson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Mile Post 42

U.S. Military Railroad

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 30, 2023

1. Mile Post 42 Marker

Inscription.

Mile Post 42. U.S. Military Railroad. The railroad in front of you follows the route of a vital U.S. Army rail line constructed during the Civil War. After occupying Middle Tennessee in the spring of 1862, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's officers needed a reliable transportation link between the steamboat dock at Johnsonville on the Tennessee River and the major Union base at Nashville. They seized the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad and made plans to extend the tracks west from Kingston Springs to Johnsonville., Free and enslaved Black men constructed the military railroad. About 500 men worked on it at any given time, completing the 78-mile-long line in May 1864. The 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops defended the railroad from Confederate cavalry and guerrilla attacks. The line became vitally important after Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan burned the south tunnel of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Sumner County and delayed Federal supplies southbound to Nashville., Union Gen. William T. Sherman later stated, “The Atlanta campaign would simply have been impossible without the use of railroads.” After this new line was completed, steamboats transported supplies south to the dock at Johnsonville. Then they were put on railcars and sent east through Mile Post 42 here to Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. After the war, Dickson (first called Smeedsville or Sneedsville) grew up around the former military rail line, and the current track is a reminder of African Americans' significant contributions to Union victory., (sidebar) , Relocating from Centerville to Dickson in 1899, businessman J.T. Halbrook recognized the benefits of accommodating travelers as the town became a railroad hub after the Civil War. He constructed the Halbrook Hotel, across the tracks, in 1913; the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad built the depot in front of you in 1922. Future Tennessee Gov. Frank G. Clement (1953-1959; 1963-1967), whose parents worked at and resided in the hotel, was born there on June 2, 1920. As automobiles replaced passenger trains in Tennessee, the Halbrook Hotel closed in 1954. Today, it houses the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum, with exhibits related to Gov. Clement, Middle Tennessee, and Dickson County history., (captions) , Johnsonville Depot - Courtesy Library of Congress , Trestle, Sullivan’s Branch Bridge No. 2 Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives , Tennessee railroad map, from Civil War Atlas

The railroad in front of you follows the route of a vital U.S. Army rail line constructed during the Civil War. After occupying Middle Tennessee in the spring of 1862, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's officers needed a reliable transportation link between the steamboat dock at Johnsonville on the Tennessee River and the major Union base at Nashville. They seized the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad and made plans to extend the tracks west from Kingston Springs to Johnsonville.

Free and enslaved Black men constructed the military railroad. About 500 men worked on it at any given time, completing the 78-mile-long line in May 1864. The 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops defended the railroad from Confederate cavalry and guerrilla attacks. The line became vitally important after Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan burned the south tunnel of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in Sumner County and delayed Federal supplies southbound to Nashville.

Union Gen. William T. Sherman later stated, “The Atlanta campaign would simply have been impossible without the use of railroads.” After this new line was completed, steamboats transported supplies south to the dock at Johnsonville. Then they were put on railcars and sent east through Mile Post 42 here to Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. After the war, Dickson (first called Smeedsville

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or Sneedsville) grew up around the former military rail line, and the current track is a reminder of African Americans' significant contributions to Union victory.

(sidebar)
Relocating from Centerville to Dickson in 1899, businessman J.T. Halbrook recognized the benefits of accommodating travelers as the town became a railroad hub after the Civil War. He constructed the Halbrook Hotel, across the tracks, in 1913; the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad built the depot in front of you in 1922. Future Tennessee Gov. Frank G. Clement (1953-1959; 1963-1967), whose parents worked at and resided in the hotel, was born there on June 2, 1920. As automobiles replaced passenger trains in Tennessee, the Halbrook Hotel closed in 1954. Today, it houses the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum, with exhibits related to Gov. Clement, Middle Tennessee, and Dickson County history.

(captions)
Johnsonville Depot - Courtesy Library of Congress
Trestle, Sullivan’s Branch Bridge No. 2 Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives
Tennessee railroad map, from Civil War Atlas

Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1864.

Location.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 30, 2023

2. Mile Post 42 Marker

36° 4.517′ N, 87° 23.332′ W. Marker is in Dickson, Tennessee, in Dickson County. It is on Frank Clement Place west of Center Avenue (Tennessee Route 48), on the left when traveling west. The marker is in front of the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Frank Clement Pl, Dickson TN 37055, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee,

in the Highland Rim,

and in Greater Nashville.

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 are within walking distance of this marker: Frank Goad Clement (here, next to this marker); Craig Morgan (here, next to this marker); Francis Craig (a few steps from this marker); Civil War Railroad (a few steps from this marker); John Rich (a few steps from this marker); First National Bank (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); War Memorial Building (about 600 feet away); Dickson, Tennessee,100 Years 1899-1999 (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dickson.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Mile Post 42 (was a few steps from this marker but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Old CWT Marker Near This Location also titled “Mile Post 42"

Also see . . . Clement Railroad Hotel Museum. (Submitted on May 2, 2023.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 2, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 682 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 1, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.