Stones River National Battlefield

Infobox_protected_area | name = Stones River National Battlefield
iucn_category = V

---

caption =
locator_x = 195
locator_y = 103
|Murfreesboro, TN]
lat_degrees = 35
lat_minutes = 52
lat_seconds = 51
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 86
long_minutes = 26
long_seconds = 6
long_direction = W
location = Rutherford County, Tennessee, USA
area = 728.41 acres (2.95 km²)
established = March 3, 1927
visitation_num = 206,425
visitation_year = 2005
governing_body = National Park Service

Stones River National Battlefield, at 3501 Old Nashville Highway in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, along the Stones River, preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Stones River. The fierce midwinter battle took place here from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863. The Confederate Army withdrew after the battle and ceded control of Middle Tennessee to the Union.

Battlefield

The site was established as Stones River National Military Park on March 3, 1927. It was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933 and redesignated a national battlefield on April 22, 1960. As with all historical areas administered by the National Park Service, the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Included within the battlefield boundaries is a portion of Fortress Rosecrans, an earthenwork fortress built under the orders of Union General William Rosecrans. Of the battlefield's 708.32 acres (2.87 km²), 494.19 acres are federally owned.

Cemetery

Stones River National Cemetery — 6,850 interments, 2562 unidentified — is within the park; grave space is not available. The cemetery contains the Hazen Brigade Monument, considered by the National Park Service as the oldest U.S. Civil War monument as it is still standing in its original location, although the 32nd Indiana Monument at Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky is a year older. [ [http://www.civilwarnews.com/archive/articles/gemindiana_peake.htm German Indiana Regt. Monument To be Preserved ] ]

The cemetery was established on March 29, 1864 by the order of Major General George H. Thomas. Under the supervision of Chaplain William Earnshaw, the 111th Regiment United States Colored Troops disinterred bodies from the battlefields of Stones River, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Shelbyville, Tullahoma and Cowan. [ [http://www.stonesrivernc.org/history.htm Stones River National Cemetery - History ] ] Burials began in 1865 and were completed by 1867. The cemetery was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. The cemetery is 20.09 acres (81,300 m²).

References

ee also

* U.S. Department of the Interior, "The National Parks: Index 2001-2003"

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/stri/ Stones River National Battlefield]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/40stones/40stones.htm "The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story," a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]
* [http://www.stonesrivernc.org/ Stones River National Cemetery]
* [http://www.mcgavockcemetery.net/ McGavock Confederate Cemetery]