State Capitol

Perched on Cedar Knob, the State Capitol’s 205-foot-tall tower was once visible for miles in every direction. Construction began in 1845 based on the designs of renowned architect William Strickland. An apprentice to the architect of the U.S. Capitol, Strickland died during construction and was buried in the north façade.

The building construction was dependent on the labor of enslaved persons; due to delays and an economic downturn, the building took fourteen years to complete. This structure officially opened in 1859, but just three years later, in February 1862, Confederate Governor Isham Harris and the state legislature fled to Memphis along with the state treasury and archives. They left the city, along with other pro-Confederate state legislators and officials, just before the Union army arrived in Nashville.

On February 25th, the Union army began its occupation of the city. Led by General William “Bull” Nelson, the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry marched to Public Square and continued to the capitol on February 25. When Nashville local William Driver saw a federal flag rise over the capitol, he sought out General Nelson to present his famous “Old Glory,” which he had kept in hiding under Confederate control. The Union general allowed the “Old Glory” flag to fly for one day. The day after, Nashville officially became the first Confederate capital to fall to the Union.

On the evening of March 12, 1862, former governor Andrew Johnson arrived in Nashville. Johnson was a U.S. Senator from Tennessee but aligned with pro-Unionist sentiments. He was the only Southern senator who did not resign when his state seceded. Once Nashville was secured by the Federal army, President Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson the military governor of Tennessee. He left the U.S. Senate seat and made his way back to Nashville—a city that maintained a substantial Unionist population. Governor Johnson quickly started a campaign to rid the city of treason, starting with well-known secessionists. He fired most of the city officials, replacing them with Unionists, and had Mayor Cheatham arrested when he refused to take an oath of loyalty. The provost marshal arrested secessionists by the hundreds, and many Nashvillians took the loyalty oath as a result. Unionists in Nashville organized themselves, and the 573 members of the Nashville Union Club met here at the State Capitol every Thursday.

As a federally occupied city, Nashville provided the hope of freedom for formerly enslaved men and women. African-American refugees fleeing bondage formed camps wherever there was Union control, and Nashville was no exception. Johnson convinced Abraham Lincoln to exclude Tennessee from the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, though Johnson eventually became a supporter of emancipation as a war measure. Johnson himself was a slave owner, and his opposition to secession was rooted in his class-based distrust of wealthy southerners. He initially refused to enlist African Americans in the Union Army, instead recommending their conscription as laborers. With the encouragement of President Lincoln, he eventually conceded, and 24,000 African Americans would fight for their freedom as members of the United States Colored Troops in Tennessee. For more on their role, take our Fort Negley tour.

President and Mrs. James K. Polk are both buried on the State Capitol grounds, to the right of the main entrance steps. The Capitol building is open Monday through Friday, with guided tours beginning at the top of every hour from 9:00 until 3:00.

To reach Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park you have two options. You can walk around the base of Capitol Hill along Fifth Avenue North, cross James Robertson Parkway, and turn LEFT. You will see Bicentennial Park on your right. Walk to Seventh Avenue North and take a RIGHT to walk along the state timeline, represented in granite relief on your right. 

The second option is to ascend to the top of Capitol Hill. There is a walking path that will take you to the back side of the hill with a staircase going down. Take the stairs down, cross James Robertson Parkway at Seventh Avenue, and proceed to the state timeline, represented in granite relief on your right.