Battle of Nashville Monument Park

Usually referred to simply as the “Peace Monument,” the Battle of Nashville Monument was built to honor the sacrifices of both Union and Confederate soldiers that fought in the Battle of Nashville, as well as American soldiers who fought in World War I. The original monument was commissioned by the Ladies’ Battlefield Association and formally dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1927. The white granite and bronze monument was designed by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Moretti. The original monument, located on Franklin Pike, was destroyed by a tornado in 1974. This is the second installation of the “Peace Monument,” which was placed on Granny White Pike and dedicated in 1999. More than fifty years later, sculptor Giuseppe Moretti was part of the new monument’s design as well.

The granite obelisk, featuring an angel, was rebuilt, and Moretti reset the bronze materials from the base with two horses flanking the body of a man. These figures are placed underneath the word “UNITY,” which symbolized the reunification of the United States after the end of the Civil War in 1865.

If you walk around the monument, there are inscriptions on both the northern and southern faces. They read:

“Oh, Valorous Gray, In The Grave Of Your Fate,

Oh, Glorious Blue, In The Long Dead Years,

You Were Sown In Sorrow And Harrowed In Hate,

But Your Harvest Today Is A Nations Tears.

For The Message You Left Through The Land Has Sped

From The Lips Of God To The Heart Of Man:

Let The Past Be Past : Let The Dead Be Dead. —

Now And Forever American!”

The Spirit Of Youth Holds In Check Contending

Forces That Struggled Here At The Fierce Battle Of

Nashville, Dec. 16th, 1864, Sealing Forever The

Bond Of Union By The Blood Of Our Heroic Dead Of The

World War 1917 – 1918.

A Monument Like This, Standing On Such Memories,

Having No Reference To Utilities, Becomes A Sentiment,

A Poet, A Prophet, An Orator To Every Passerby.”

Your final stop is just up the road. Known as Sunnyside Mansion, this former antebellum estate is located in Sevier Park. It is open to the public but is currently undergoing renovations.

From the “Peace Monument” turn LEFT onto Granny White Pike then RIGHT onto Kirkwood Avenue. The entrance to Sevier Park will be on your right.