Walk Back to Visitors Center

Fort Negley reopened in 2004 to tell the history of St. Cloud Hill—a place of refuge and struggle for various Nashville communities. Fort Negley is also a site of remembrance for many groups including African Americans, local historians, Nashville residents, and Civil War enthusiasts. It is also a place that deserves protection. So how best do we preserve a site so contested and so important to so many?  

One way is to keep alive the stories of the people who came here by force and by choice, who hoped for a better life, who died here, and who built a life for their children on and around St. Cloud Hill. For me, laborers of my skin color and complexion who built this Fort were not always given the dignity of having proper homes. Some of them died of disease, some of them died from overexposure. The Civil War generation paid the price for a better life and we're the dividends of that sacrifice. Knowing the history that's contained here at Fort Negley, I have an obligation to tell others about it. Fort Negley’s legacy continues to foster a sense of community through educational programs and connections to the larger public.

Here are some final thoughts from Eleanor Fleming:

I think that for me to preserve the site, it has to be really integrated into the life of the city. It can't just be kind of someplace that's just on a map with a little star, and if you're interested, you go check it out. But the story ought to be kind of woven into the story of who the city is. Nashville is Fort Negley. Fort Negley deserves that attention and again to be a part of the story whenever anyone asks about Nashville, Fort Negley ought to be in their top five facts that they share.

Thank you for joining us on the Fort Negley Walking Tour. To hear more interviews, visit the Fort Negley Descendants Project linked here. Also visit the website of the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. Be sure to check out our Downtown Civil War Tour and upcoming Civil War Driving Tour, as well as twenty additional Nashville Sites tours that explore a variety of themes. Also, please spend some time in the Ft. Negley Visitors Center, which has additional exhibits and information. I have enjoyed being your tour guide, this is Gary Burke, signing off.