Dickson in Dickson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Civil War Railroad
Mile Post 42 / Smeedsville Station
— Dickson Station —
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, April 30, 2023
1. Civil War Railroad Marker
Inscription.
Civil War Railroad. Mile Post 42, also, Smeedsville Station. Continued attacks by Confederate guerrillas destroying Union supply ships on the Cumberland River at Yellow Creek and Harpeth Shoals, as they attempted to supply Nashville, necessitated General U.S. Grant to authorize the construction of a safe means of transportation from the Tennessee River to Nashville. The result was a 78 mile railroad constructed by the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiments. The guerrilla attacks were organized at a meeting held in the saloons on the Court Square at Charlotte. As many as 300 troops were assigned to secure the Court Square in Charlotte which enabled the railroad to be constructed to its south without organized attack from Confederate guerrillas. Following the War, present day Dickson was established at Mile Post 42. The town was first known as Smeedsville Station., (caption) , Period photo of the trestle at Gillam’s (or Gillem’s) Station--site D51, now called Tennessee City. Fortifications erected at this site have been reduced and are now occupied by a cemetery.
Continued attacks by Confederate guerrillas destroying Union supply ships on the Cumberland River at Yellow Creek and Harpeth Shoals, as they attempted to supply Nashville, necessitated General U.S. Grant to authorize the construction of a safe means of transportation from the Tennessee River to Nashville. The result was a 78 mile railroad constructed by the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiments. The guerrilla attacks were organized at a meeting held in the saloons on the Court Square at Charlotte. As many as 300 troops were assigned to secure the Court Square in Charlotte which enabled the railroad to be constructed to its south without organized attack from Confederate guerrillas. Following the War, present day Dickson was established at Mile Post 42. The town was first known as Smeedsville Station.
(caption)
Period photo of the trestle at Gillam’s (or Gillem’s) Station--site D51, now called Tennessee City. Fortifications erected at this site have been reduced and are now occupied by a cemetery.
N, 87° 23.332′ W. Marker is in Dickson, Tennessee, in Dickson County. Marker is on Frank Clement Place west of Center Avenue (Tennessee Route 48), on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dickson TN 37055, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 793 times since then and 53 times this year. Last updated on March 14, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:1. submitted on May 2, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2, 3. submitted on October 1, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.