All photos by Chip Curley. Click on pictures for full size. Please visit my Nashville Websites and my other photo galleries.
Fort Negley was the largest and most important of the fortifications built by Union forces after Nashville fell in 1862. It occupied the center of the Federal defensive line, which stretched in a wide circle around the southern part of the city. Built primarily by slaves and free black workers conscripted into service, Fort Negley is the largest inland stone fortification constructed during the Civil War and incorporates a complex polygonal design. After the war, most of the fort's salvageable components, including wood and iron, were sold. As a symbol of defeat and occupation, the fort fell into serious disrepair.