Remembering by Rail - Murfreesboro, TN
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 35° 53.317 W 086° 25.544
16S E 551830 N 3971747
Since Stones River was a battle for the Railroads, they became a railroad sight seeing stops in the 20th century.
Waymark Code: WM18TPQ
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 09/25/2023
Views: 1
County of marker: Rutherford County
Location of marker: Van Cleave Lane, McFadden Farm Site, Stones River National Park, Murfreesboro
Sign erected by: National Park Service
Marker text:
Remembering by Rail
The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway played a major role in memorializing Civil War battlefields. The company bought land and installed signs along the tracks to identify battle locations. They erected monuments like the Artillery Monument in front of you. They encouraged veteran reunions and ran a train to Stones River for formal celebrations.
Railway president John W. Thomas championed this work. During his tenure, the company scheduled tours to southern battlefields. At stops like Cemetery, railway platforms became the gateways to hallowed ground. Passengers stepped off trains and remembered the soldiers and battles between the North and South.
The railway interpreted the Civil War to its passengers. They provided booklets that explained the battles along the train's route
Since this Civil War battle was fought over positioning for a major rail lines, in the early 20th century the NC&StL Railway listed the battlefield as a stop and point of interest. In 1906, the company erected a 34-foot obelisk to commemorate the January 2, 1863, position of massed Union artillery used to repel a Confederate assault on Union troops across the river.