Downtown Nashville is filled with Civil War history. Within one block on Church Street, you'll find the site of the St. Cloud Hotel, where Union commander George Thomas stayed when the Battle of Nashville opened Dec. 15, 1864; a church that served as part of Federal Hospital No. 8; and the site of the Maxwell House Hotel, where tragedy struck on Sept. 29, 1863.
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| 19th-century engraving of the St. Cloud Hotel, used as HQ by Union General Don Carlos Buell during the Federal occupation of the city. George Thomas, commander of Union forces during the Battle of Nashville on Dec. 15-16, 1864, also stayed here. The hotel on Church Street was torn down long ago. (Tennessee State Library and Archives) |
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| Downtown Presbyterian Church, which was part of Federal military Hospital No. 8. |
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| The old Maxwell House Hotel occupied a large footprint on Church Street. On Sept. 29, 1863, at least a dozen Confederate POWs died here in a collapse of a floor in the unfinished hotel, which also was used as Federal prison. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1961. (CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.) |
Nathan B. Forrest was named Grand Wizard of the KKK in the Maxwell House Hotel in 1866 and the hotel has other infamous KKK history.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the coffee brand Maxwell House was named after the coffee served at the hotel.
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