Fort Negley

Fort Negley was a fortification built for the American Civil War, located approximately 2-mile (3.2 km) south of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It was the largest inland fort built in the United States during the war. Once Confederate forces were routed from Forts Henry and Donelson (on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, respectively), in February 1862, Confederate commanders decided that any further effort in the defense of Nashville would be pointless, and they abandoned any attempt to keep Nashville behind their lines. It was almost immediately occupied by Union forces, who rapidly began preparations for its defense. The largest of the fortifications erected was Fort Negley, a star-shaped limestone block structure atop a hill south...