Middle Tennessee experienced small-scale battles and engagements
throughout the war, Many occurred along present-day I-65.
At Elkton (Exit 6), Federal forces controlled the Elk River
Bridge and protected the Prospect Railroad Bridge with a . . . — — Map (db m108233) HM
Tennessee AMVETS dedicates
this memorial to all veterans
living or deceased who have
honorably served their country
that freedom may reign
April 4, 1998
Governor
Don Sundquist — — Map (db m108606) WM
Serving under Gen. Andrew Jackson as captain in the War of 1812, he became a lifelong friend of ailing Jackson in Creek War when he said to him, "General I'll stay, will die with you," as others threatened to leave. Pioneer settler of Brick Church, . . . — — Map (db m38827) HM
Giles County
Established 1809: named in honor of Senator William B. Giles of Virginia. One of the strongest advocates for the admission of Tennessee to the Union; he served in U.S. Senate from 1804 to 1815 and was Governor of Virginia, 1827-30. . . . — — Map (db m146816) HM
Here on February 10, 1867, James Knox Polk Blackburn and Mary Mackie McMillan Laird were married on the porch of the Lairdland farm house. She was the daughter of Robert H. and Nancy Mildred Gordon Laird, who owned the thousand-acre farm called . . . — — Map (db m75135) HM
A native of North Carolina, Aaron Brown studied law in Nashville and moved to Pulaski to practice. He served four terms in the State Legislature, three terms in Congress, and one term as Governor, 1845-47. In 1850, he wrote the Tennessee Platform of . . . — — Map (db m34150) HM
The Elk River crossing here on the Columbia, Pulaski, Elkton, and Alabama Turnpike (earlier called the Bumpass Trail) was the narrowest part that could be bridged between Fayetteville, Tennessee, and Florence, Alabama. During the Civil War, a wooden . . . — — Map (db m42500) HM
On November 15, 1958, the first 1.8 mile section of interstate highway in Tennessee was opened to traffic. The section including an interchange is located at Ardmore, Tennessee on the Tennessee side of the state line. It cost $1.3 million to . . . — — Map (db m66257) HM
Born in the same house as his brother, Neill, June 1, 1827. Enlisting for the Confederacy in 1861, he commanded a division at the war's end, having been twice wounded. Member 1869 Legislature and president, 1870 Constitutional Convention; elected . . . — — Map (db m34152) HM
Three miles N.E. Neill S. Brown was born April 18, 1810. Veteran of Seminole War, in 1837 became member of State Legislature; in 1847, Governor of Tennessee. In 1850 he was U.S. Minister to Russia and 1870 member of the State Constitutional . . . — — Map (db m158774) HM
Construction of the Nashville & Decatur Railroad and the partial burning of Old Lynnville (Waco) by Federal troops brought this charming town to its present location after the Civil War. The Lynnville National Register Historic District . . . — — Map (db m151165) HM
Retreating after the Battle of Nashville, the rear guard of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, under General Nathan B. Forrest, and Edward C. Waithall, surprised and halted the Federal advance here on the morning of December 26, 1864, in the last . . . — — Map (db m69498) HM
Thomas H. Noblit (1812-1899), who served the community as justice of the peace, doctor, merchant, and farmer, built this log dogtrot farmhouse in the 1840s. The Civil War battle at Sugar Creek occurred nearby in December 1864. In the 1890s, his . . . — — Map (db m111954) HM
Place where Sam Davis was captured Nov. 19, 1863 Minor Hill, Tennessee Executed at Pulaski Tenn. Nov. 27, 1863 When offered his freedom for information, his answer was, "No, I cannot, I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend or be . . . — — Map (db m36494) HM
On Nov 20, 1863, scout Sam Davis stopped here while carrying dispatches to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. According to local tradition, he was asleep under a plum tree when two members of the 7th Kansas Cavalry, disguised as Confederates, arrested . . . — — Map (db m75197) HM
Bethel Masonic Lodge Completed in 1850 as a joint effort of local Masons and Methodists, Bethel's Masonic Lodge has served as a church, school, and community center. The building survived an assault by Federal soldiers in 1862 and a 1954 fire . . . — — Map (db m211056) HM
Dr. Louie Edmundson was the last of a long line of country doctors in the Bethel Community of Giles County, TN. The youngest member of his class, he graduated from the University of Tennessee Medical School in 1912. After serving in the Army Medical . . . — — Map (db m211059) HM
Tennessee State Senator 1821 - 1825
Tennessee State Representative 1831 - 1833
U.S. Congressman 1839 - 1845
Governor of Tennessee 1845 - 1847
Postmaster General of the United States 1857 - 1859
Born in Brunswick County, Virginia August . . . — — Map (db m151140) HM
Bodenham Mill
This property is listed in the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the
United States Department of the Interior
Established 1832 — — Map (db m179076) HM
Though black public education existed in Giles County by 1869, Bridgeforth was the first black high school. Designed by America's first black architectural firm, McKissack and McKissack, which had local roots, and named for black educator J. T. . . . — — Map (db m81559) HM
Casimir Pulaski was born into a family of minor Polish nobility in Winiary, Poland on March 4, 1747.
His father, Jozef, active in the defense of their native land, joined with others, in 1768 in a insurrection under the motto, “For Faith . . . — — Map (db m151156) HM
Giles County natives Donald G. Davidson and John C. Ransom were influential personages in American literature. Professors at Vanderbilt University, they helped found The Fugitive (1922~25), a magazine which launched the "Southern literary . . . — — Map (db m29807) HM
Dr. William Albert Lewis was raised in the Wales community of Giles County and
attended public school in Pulaski. He graduated from Pulaski High School in only
the second graduating class for Black students in Giles County and upon his
graduation . . . — — Map (db m151148) HM
Edward Eslick, son of Merritt and Martha Abernaty Eslick, was born near Pulaski on April 10, 1872, attended public schools in Pulaski and Bethel College in Russellville, Kentucky. He studied law under William H. McCallum, was admitted to the bar in . . . — — Map (db m75182) HM
On November 14. 1809, the Tennessee General Assembly passed an Act which brought Giles County, and its County Seat, Pulaski, into being. The new six hundred square
mile county was formed from land ceded to the State in 1805 by treaty with the . . . — — Map (db m168698) HM
Driving north from Alabama in his bid to cut Sherman's communications, Buford's Division, advance guard of Forrest's Cavalry Corps, met Federal resistance in this area. Pushing forward and extending his line to right and left with Johnson's . . . — — Map (db m96515) HM
During the years following the Civil War, Gabriel Moses McKissack (1840-1923) laid the foundation in Giles County for a family building tradition that included the first black architectural firm in the United States, Nashville's McKissack and . . . — — Map (db m75129) HM
Adams was born on July 1, 1825, in Nashville, Tennessee, of Irish immigrant parents. Having entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1841, he graduated 25th in his class and was commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the 1st Dragoons/U.S. Regular Army. He . . . — — Map (db m75178) HM
John Calvin Brown was born on Giles County, Tennessee on January 6, 1827. He was one of nine children born to Duncan and Margaret Brown and the brother of Neill S. Brown, Governor of Tennessee (1847-1849). A graduate of Jackson College in Columbia, . . . — — Map (db m75175) HM
In its colorful history the county of Giles has had six courthouses to serve its citizens. These buildings have included a “log structure with dirt floor,” at Kirk's Settlement, also known as the Shoals on Richland Creek (the 1810 . . . — — Map (db m151157) HM
This unique, stylized ironwork once adorned the front of the Giles County-High School, located on West Hill from 1937 until 1961. It covered two windows at the front entrance and along the roof above the gymnasium and auditorium. It, along with . . . — — Map (db m151163) HM
"Long time we travel on way to new land...Womens cry... Children cry and men cry... but they say nothing and just put heads down and keep go towards West. Many days pass and people die very much."
-Recollection of a survivor of the Trail of . . . — — Map (db m29815) HM
The first courthouse in Giles County, a rough log cabin, stood in Kirk's Settlement near this spot. Court was held here from February 1810 until December 1811. — — Map (db m151133) HM
Built between 1853 and 1860 by Dr. William Batte, this house is a significant example of Greek Revival architecture. As the home of Dr. Elihu Edmondson, it was occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. The house was owned by John C. Brown after . . . — — Map (db m151113) HM
Beginning in the early 1960s, Herbert and Grace Grissom
became associated with Martin Methodist College through
their service to the United Methodist Church. Since that
time they have become two of the most dedicated friends of
the College. For . . . — — Map (db m151130) HM
For well over a century, “Colonial Hall” was a private residence adjacent to the Martin Methodist College campus. Built in 1848 by community leader and physician Dr. William Batte, the mansion later served as the residence for the son of . . . — — Map (db m151115) HM
James M. McCallum was born in Roberson County, North Carolina in 1806. At an early age his family moved to Giles County where he eventually studied law and opened an active practice in Pulaski.
In 1842 McCallum was elected Clerk and Master of the . . . — — Map (db m151142) HM
was the announcer for all of the football games for Bridgeforth High School, which was for the black population in Giles County from 1937 until integration in 1965. The sports teams were named the Bridgeforth Blue Devils and played all of their home . . . — — Map (db m201335) HM
Born in Nashville, July 1, 1825, he served as an officer of the First Dragoons following graduation from the Military Academy in 1846. Resigning at Secession, he rose to command a brigade in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. He was killed leading . . . — — Map (db m75153) HM
The oldest son of A.M. and Mary Ballentine, John Goff Ballentine was born at his family's residence on South First Street in Pulaski on May 20, 1825. He graduated from Wurtemburg Academy in 1841, from the University of Nashville in 1845 and from . . . — — Map (db m151143) HM
In 1854, the City Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Pulaski recognized the need for an additional cemetery. The initial purchase of what is now Maplewood Cemetery was approximately seven acres. The first lots were sold in 1855. This original design of . . . — — Map (db m75168) HM
Thomas Martin founded Martin Female College in 1870, to fulfill the wish of his dying daughter for a girls' school in Giles County. Its first president was William K. Jones. Fire destroyed it in 1904. It became coeducational in 1937. The Methodist . . . — — Map (db m29802) HM
The land that was to become Giles County was claimed as hunting lands by both the Chickasaw and Cherokee Nations. The treaties of Hopewell between the U.S.
Government and the Cherokees (1785) and the Chickasaws (1786) established boundaries between . . . — — Map (db m151150) HM
City Recorder of Pulaski
Member, Tennessee State Legislature
Governor of Tennessee 1847 - 1849
United States Minister to Russia 1850 - 1853
Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives
A native Giles countian, Neill S. Brown was born . . . — — Map (db m151141) HM
This sculpture is a small piece of theater, a tableau to engage the spectator in the heartbreak of the Cherokee walking west on the two routes of the Trail of Tears that crossed in Pulaski. Fear, suffering, survival, and resolve are expressed within . . . — — Map (db m81562) HM
Site of the first graveyard in Pulaski. Used for interments from 1817 until 1888. The first pastor of the local Presbyterian Church is buried here along with ten former mayors and other prominent citizens of the time. In 1968 the abandoned graveyard . . . — — Map (db m75152) HM
Born in Giles County in 1870, J.T. Bridgeforth was educated at A&T State College. In the early 1900's he became interested in securing a county school for black children living outside the city limits of Pulaski and was the prime mover in organizing . . . — — Map (db m151147) HM
The first school in Pulaski/Giles County was chartered by the State of Tennessee on November 23, 1809, just nine days after the passage of the legislation establishing the county. Chartered as the Pulaski Academy, the designated trustees were . . . — — Map (db m151162) HM
This marker is one of four which laid out one square mile (640 acres=one section) in 1841. A land grant was issued in 1809 and 1813 to the City of Pulaski and the County of Giles by James Madison, President of the United States. — — Map (db m151109) HM
This marker is one of four which laid out one square mile (640 acres=one section) in 1841. A land grant was issued in 1809 and 1813 to the City of Pulaski and the County of Giles by James Madison, President of the United States. — — Map (db m151145) HM
This District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 by United States Department of Interior. The Square was laid out in 1811 by the original County Commissioners. Buildings date from 1867 and reflect the Victorian Style of . . . — — Map (db m29806) HM
(Front):
Born Oct. 6, 1842 Near Smyrna, Rutherford County Tennessee.
Though a Confederate Soldier in the line of duty, he was executed as a spy by the Federals at Pulaski, Nov. 27, 1863.
"Let come what must, I keep my Trust." Sam . . . — — Map (db m81563) HM
Tracing the original eastern city boundary and the Congressional Reservation Line once dividing white and Indian territory, Sam Davis Avenue is named for a Confederate hero hanged by Federals on this hill in 1863. The Historical District, placed on . . . — — Map (db m87123) HM
Sam Davis was born on October 6, 1842 in Smyrna, Tennessee, attended Nashville's Western Military Academy and, like many other young men, left school to join the Confederate Army in 1861. He served as a private in Company I for the 1st Tennessee . . . — — Map (db m151144) HM
Major General Schofield, with the IV Corps, to which were attached the XXIII Corps (Stanley) and Hatch's Cavalry Division, started north from this area toward Columbia, to avoid being outflanked by the Army of Tennessee (Hood), advancing from the . . . — — Map (db m151164) HM
Died in the performance of a faithful service.
On the morning of September 27, 1864, the Seventh Kentucky Mounted Infantry, Forrest's Cavalry, Confederate States Army, engaged the enemy on this field, and the following is a list of it's . . . — — Map (db m69732) HM WM
This district, including South First, South Second and South Third Streets, was placed on the National Register of Historic places by the United States Department of Interior. The streets were laid out on the original town plat. Houses date from . . . — — Map (db m29804) HM
Bell's Route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, 1838-1839 Overview
The detachment headed by John Bell differed from the parties under Cherokee Chief John Ross's supervision. Bell's detachment was composed of . . . — — Map (db m29811) HM
John Benge's Route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, 1838-1839
John Benge led one detachment of approximately 1100 Cherokee with 60 wagons and 600 horses that left from Alabama on . . . — — Map (db m29812) HM
Two Cherokee Detachments traveling on the Trail of Tears crossed Richland Creek in Pulaski just two weeks apart in the autumn of 1838. John
Benge led one group of nearly 1100 Cherokee with 60 wagons and 600 horses through Pulaski, possibly on . . . — — Map (db m151136) HM
The Trail of Tears Interpretive Center Popularly known as the Rock Church, this beautiful chapel of Gothic architectural design was constructed by native limestone and was dedicated as the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on August 10, 1941. A . . . — — Map (db m29810) HM
This well, hand dug by the city in 1847, was the main water supply for the square until a public water system was installed in 1892. — — Map (db m151111) HM
Thomas Martin epitomized what is meant by “Good Citizen.” With others of his time, Martin was recognized for energy, perseverance, integrity, liberality and enlarged views of public policy. He left an impression for good on each . . . — — Map (db m151139) HM
Thomas Jones was born in Peron County, North Carolina on December 12, 1816 and moved to Giles County with his family in 1817. Jones received his early education at Wurtemburg Academy and studied at the University of Alabama and University of . . . — — Map (db m75174) HM
The 1830 Indian Removal Act mandated the removal of all American Indian Tribes East of the Mississippi River to lands in the West. Pulaski, Tennessee is where the Bell and Benge routes crossed in 1838. Benge's route left Fort Payne, AL on September . . . — — Map (db m81601) HM
The Union Army's utilization of freed slaves as soldiers in southern middle Tennessee and north Alabama began in earnest in late 1863 with the recruitment of 300 black men for the 17th United States Colored Infantry. By February of 1864 over 7,500 . . . — — Map (db m151146) HM
Born in Pulaski, in 1891, Walter Herschel Beech was an aviation pioneer. In 1924 he helped to establish the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas. By 1929 the company was the world's largest producer of commercial aircraft. In 1932, . . . — — Map (db m29803) HM
Moving from this area, Cox's Division led Stanley's XXIII Corps in a rapid retreat to Columbia. They arrived in time to prevent Forrest's Cavalry Corps, which had run over Union cavalry outposting the town, from seizing the bridge over Duck River . . . — — Map (db m75127) HM
