TN -- Nashville -- Brookemeade Park at Kelley's Point Battlefield:
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[3] KELLPT_100925_18.JPG
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- KELLPT_100925_27.JPG: Kelley's Point Battlefield
Tha Battle of Nashville - December 2-15, 1864
Metropolitan Board Of Parks And Recreation
On this site, the evening of December 2, 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee initiated a two-week siege of Nashville. This was to be the last significant offensive military operation of the Civil War by the South. It was also one of the most significant battles between the Confederate cavalry and the U.S. Navy.
Advancing here after the bloody Battle of Franklin, Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood anchored his left flank at this point. More than 25,000 Confederates began an investment line running from this position, arching more than 12 miles east, in an attempt to hem in Nashville on the south side of the Cumberland River. This made Nashville the most extensive geographical battlefield of the Civil War in terms of distance.
Detached from Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest's command in Murfreesboro, Col. David C. Kelley initially commanded approximately 300 Confederates, beginning a two-week blockade of the Cumberland River here. This included two artillery batteries and a subsurface line of mines (then referred to as torpedoes) strung across the river. The U.S. Navy estimated up to fourteen artillery pieces emplaced between this site, and another position one half mile upstream. It is doubtful if more than 4-6 artillery pieces were employed by the Confederates here.
Kelley had previously fought the Navy in the battles of Fort Henry and Donelson, East Port, Mississippi, on the Ohio River, and the daring Johnsonville raid only weeks before Nashville.
Early on the morning of December 3, the Confederates captured two Union supply transports Prairie State and Prima Donna, including prisoners, livestock and supplies. They disabled a third supply ship the Magnet, which was later found four miles downstream. Shortly after partially unloading the vessels, the U.S. Navy arrived on the scene, driving away the Confederates who had depleted their ammunition. The Navy flotilla subsequently recovered the vessels.
Between December 3 and 15, up to seven regiments of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee Confederate cavalry effectively blockaded all transportation along the Cumberland River against seven heavily armed Navy gunboats here. The U.S. Navy unsuccessfully tried to dislodge the river batteries in six separate engagements in the weeks preceding the Battle of Nashville.
Kelley's artillery had the Navy uncertain about the force they were up against. By the deceptive movements of their mobile gun emplacements along the high ridges here, elements of the Kelley's cavalry convinced the Navy that they were a force over four-times their actual strength. This was a military tactic that was characteristic of the Confederate cavalry under Forrest's command.
By December 15, the Union combat forces in nashville were increased to more than 49,000. By fainting an attack on the other end of the battlefield while dividing the Confederate left along Richland Creek, the Union would crush the Army of Tennessee in the center, in one of the decisive battles of the war.
Kelley's artillery, along with five regiments from Chalmer's cavalry, was one of the few Confederate units to hold its ground, and force the overwhelmingly larger Union cavalry into retreat on the opening day of the Battle of Nashville. Noteworthy in this counter-charge, near present day I-40 and Charlotte Pike, was the participation of the prominent seventy-five-year-old civilian Mark Robertson Cockrill. It is said that he led the charge and galloped into the fray with the use of only one arm, holding his father's revolutionary war musket in one hand, and the reins to the horse in his mouth.
When it was learned that Federal forces had overrun the cavalry headquarters at the Belle Meade Plantation, 3 miles southeast of here, Colonel Kelley withdrew to rendezvous with the main force in retreat 6 miles to the east. The night of December 15, they abandoned their position here and reconnected with their main force near Hillsboro Road and the present day Old Hickory Boulevard. This was just in time to provide a critical rear guard that fought a delaying action from Brentwood, south more than one hundred miles, crossing into ALabama and then over the Tennessee River above Muscle Shoals, where the Union pursuit was called off. Thus ended the last great attempt by the South to reclaim the State of Tennessee, or advance to recover any of it's lost territory. The once great Army of Tennessee would be surrendered by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston four months latter [sic] near Durham Station, North Carolina, April 26, 1865.
- Description of Subject Matter: Brookmeade Park at Kelley's Point Battlefield
Kelley's Battery site at Bell's Bend is located in west Nashville off Charlotte Pike between the Lowe's superstore complex and the river. It will be developed as Brookmeade Park at Kelley's Point Battlefield, a Metro Parks greenway due for completion by 2003. Also planned is interpretive signage, recently funded through an auction conducted by the American Civil War Roundtable-United Kingdom and a generous donation by BONPS member Phil Van Steenwyk.
(Nashville, Tenn. 7/20/2001) - A long-forgotten portion of the Nashville Battlefield has been rescued from development, thanks to the efforts of the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society (BONPS).
The site, known as Kelley's Point Battlefield, has long been written off as "too late to save." However, after three years of negotiations with the property developer and the Nashville metro city parks administration, BONPS has gotten six acres of the site incorporated into the expanding Nashville "greenway" park system.
The new park will be named Brookmeade Park at Kelley's Point Battlefield. It is located nine miles west of Nashville near Bell's Bend on the Cumberland River. The American Civil War Roundtable-United Kingdom has donated $2,000 for interpretation at the park.
Kelley's Point Battlefield is a significant site rarely mentioned in historical accounts of the battle of Nashville.
According to BONPS President Bob Henderson, "Kelley's Point illustrates that Nashville had the most extensive line of battle during the Civil War. From Kelley's Point the Confederate line arched over 14 miles across the county from west to east Nashville. The actions at Kelley's Point were also the largest sustained battle between the Confederate cavalry and the Union navy."
For two weeks prior to the battle, four artillery pieces under the command of Confederate cavalry under Lt. Col. D.C. Kelley effectively blockaded the Cumberland River against seven heavily armed Union gunboats. Confederate cavalry and Federal gunboats clashed in six separate engagements.
During the fourth engagement, on December 6, 1864, the U.S.S. Neosho was hit more than 100 times by cannon fire without sinking. The ironclad narrowly avoided disaster when an unexploded Confederate shell breached the ship's iron plating and lodged in its powder magazine.
John Dizenback, the ship's quartermaster, was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving the Union colors aboard the Neosho when the flag was shot away by Confederate gunfire.
Kelley's Point is the third property saved by BONPS in the last few years. They also own several acres on Shy's Hill and at Confederate Redoubt #1.
Note--BONPS thanks member Phil Van Steenwyk of Hawaii, and the Civil War Roundtable United Kingdom for the $2000 raised to fund the interpretive sign for the park.
Thanks to Councilman Bob Bogen for his help on see this through, as well as the Metro Parks Department of Nashville.
The above was from http://www.bonps.org/tour/bellsbend.htm
Brookmeade Park at Kelley’s Point Battlefield
Located in west Nashville off Charlotte Pike along the Cumberland River. It is being developed as a Metro Park.
For two weeks prior to the battle, six artillery pieces under the command of Confederate Lt. Col. D.C. Kelley effectively blockaded the Cumberland River against seven heavily armed U.S. Navy gunboats. The Confederate cavalry and U.S. gunboats clashed in six separate engagements.
The above was from http://www.nashville.gov/MHC/pdfs/historic/battle_of_nashville_brochure.pdf
Brookmeade Park at Kelley's Point Battlefield (park sign):
Colonel Reverend David Campbell Kelley:
Confederate Col. Rev. David Campbell Kelley commanded a two-week blockade of the Cumberland River on this site in early December 1864. Also known as the "Fighting Parson," Kelley maneuvered his troops to convince the US Navy they were facing a force four times larger than the 1,200 soldiers under his command. Kelley's artillery was one of the few Confederate units to force the much larger Union cavalry into retreat at the start of the Battle of Nashville on December 15, 1864.
Kelley, a Methodist minister, regimental chaplain, and missionary to China before the war, went on to play a key role in the formation of Vanderbilt University of 1873.
Long a point of commerce, agriculture, and homesteading, Brookmeade Park now offers visitors an accessible, paved trail with views of the Cumberland River and the plants and animals that depend upon it. A wooded oasis in an urban landscape, this greenway provides a natural corridor for wildlife as well as a brief respite from busy city life for visitors.
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