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(ANNOUNCER OFF CAMERA) TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR 150 IS
BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL
COMMISSION, AND TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR NATIONAL
HERITAGE AREA.
(VAN WEST) YOU FIND THE RIVERS YOU FIND THE
RAILROADS YOU FIND WHERE MOST OF THE BATTLES IN
TENNESSEE TOOK PLACE.
(BRIAN MCKNIGHT) ULTIMATELY, WHOEVER
CONTROLS THE RIVERS AND THE RAILS PARTICULARLY IN
TENNESSEE WINS THE WAR.
(NARRATOR) AS A MILITARY STRATEGY, IT IS
STRAIGHTFORWARD AND SIMPLE.
BUT CONTROLLING THE RIVERS AND RAILS IN THE CIVIL WAR
GOES OUTSIDE THE LINES OF BATTLES TO BRING MALICE
AND MISERY TO ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT TO
LIVE IN PEACE.
(WAYNE MOORE) CIVILIANS SUFFERED INORDINATELY FROM
THE WAR BECAUSE OF THE OCCUPATION OF
HOSTILE TROOPS.
(NARRATOR) A POTTER FEELS FORCED INTO MAKING A
PATRIOTIC CHOICE THAT BRANDS HIM A TRAITOR...
THE DREAMS OF A TEENAGE GIRL IN A RIVER TOWN ARE DISRUPTED
BY INVASION AND LOSS. THE CHALLENGE ALSO MAKES
MEN INTO HEROES... LIKE THE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE
RISKY RIDE ON THE RAILS LEADS TO A MEDAL OF HONOR,
BUT ALSO AN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE EXECUTIONER.
IT STILL COMES DOWN TO ONE THING.
(FRED PROUTY) THE RIVERS IN TENNESSEE HAVE BEEN
COMPARED TO DAGGERS PLUNGING INTO THE HEART OF
THE SOUTH... AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE.
IT WAS AN OPEN ARTERY INTO THE VERY EXISTENCE OF
THE CONFEDERACY.
(NARRATOR) IT IS THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF THE SOUTH, AND
TENNESSEE IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
THREE GREAT RIVERS CARVE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE
STATE AS STEAMBOATS CARRY COTTON, CORN,
CATTLE, IRON AND COPPER UP AND DOWN THE RIVER.
(VAN WEST) TENNESSEEE PROSPERED AS IT NEVER HAD
BEFORE IN THE TEN YEARS BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.
(NARRATOR) PLANTATION OWNERS NEED MORE WORKERS
TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR THEIR PRODUCTS.
(FRED PROUTY) THE SLAVE POPULATION WAS ACTUALLY
OUTGROWING THE STATE WHITE POPULATION AT THE TIME.
(NARRATOR) AND BUSINESSMEN LIKE SAMUEL DOLD MORGAN
RIDE THE WAVE OF A BOOMING ECONOMY.
MORGAN OWNS A DRY GOODS STORE IN DOWNTOWN
NASHVILLE AND RUNS TWO THRIVING COTTON MILLS.
(RUTH WARNER) HE WAS SO WELL LIKED BY HIS PEERS IN
THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY BEGAN TO CALL HIM THE
MERCHANT PRINCE OF NASHVILLE.
(NARRATOR) MORGAN HAD BEEN APPOINTED BY THE LEGISLATURE AS
PRESIDENT OF A CITIZENS COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF BUILDING
THE NEW TENNESSEE STATE CAPITOL.
(RUTH WARNER) HE HAD A VISION FOR THE STATE CAPITOL TO BE
THIS OUTSTANDING GREEK REVIVAL MONUMENT YOU KNOW ON THE HILL
THE HIGHEST POINT IN NASHVILLE. (NARRATOR) NOW, IN THE
BOOM OF THE 1850S, SAM MORGAN WRITES THE CHARTER FOR
THE VERY FIRST SUCCESSFUL RAILWAY SYSTEM IN THE STATE.
FROM THE DOCK TO THE DEPOT, SAMUEL MORGAN AND OTHER
MERCHANTS CAN NOW SHIP GOODS FASTER, FURTHER AND CHEAPER.
(DR. CARROLL VAN WEST) CERTAINLY, IF NASHVILLE IS
THE CENTER OF THIS GREAT RAILROAD NETWORK THAT IS
STARTING TO BIND TOGETHER THE EAST AND THE WEST AND
THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH ANYONE SMART ENOUGH TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THAT AND CREATE WHOLESALE BUSINESSES WOULD
PROFIT IMMENSELY. AND SAM MORGAN WAS
ONE OF THOSE. [CANNON FIRING] BOOM!
(NARRATOR) BUT NOTHING CAN BE THE SAME AFTER THE
HISTORIC ATTACK ON FT. SUMTER BY THE CONFEDERATE
ARMY, APRIL 12, 1861. SAMUEL MORGAN'S OLDEST SON,
ST. CLAIR MACINTOSH MORGAN, IS BELIEVED BY SOME TO HAVE
FIRED THE FIRST SHOT. A YOUNGER SON AND NAMESAKE
OF HIS FATHER, SAM MORGAN, JOINS THE KENTUCKY CAVALRY
TO SERVE WITH HIS COUSIN, THE SOON TO BE LEGENDARY
BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN HUNT MORGAN.
THE CONFEDERATE HERO WILL AGGRAVATE THE UNION ARMY
BY ATTACKING THE VERY RAILROADS THAT HELPED MAKE
HIS UNCLE SUCCESSFUL. AND SAMUEL MORGAN HIMSELF
STARTS A BRAND NEW BUSINESS THAT ONCE AGAIN RELIES
ON THE RIVERS AND RAILS.
(RUTH WARNER) HE MANUFACTURED PERCUSSION CAPS IN SOUTH
NASHVILLE WHICH WERE USED AT THE BATTLE OF MANASSUS.
(NARRATOR) SO, THOSE SAME RIVERS AND RAILS THAT HAD
TRANSPORTED PROSPERITY TO TENNESSEE AND THE SOUTH
WILL NOW BECOME LIFELINES FOR MOVING MEN, AMMUNITION
AND SUPPLIES TO A WAR THAT SPLITS THE NATION.
(BRIAN MCKNIGHT) WE DON'T THINK VERY MUCH ABOUT IT
TODAY BECAUSE WE CAN DROP PARATROOPERS ANYWHERE IN
THE WORLD BUT BACK THEN YOU HAD TO TRANSPORT 30,
40, 50 THOUSAND MEN PER SIDE AND YOU DIDN'T DO
THAT BY PUTTING THEM ON A TRAIL AND GETTING THEM TO
WALK IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION. YOU HAD TO PUT THEM ON RAIL
CARS OR YOU HAD TO PUT THEM ON BOATS, AND YOU HAD TO GET
THEM TO THE FIELD.
(NARRATOR) IN THE ROCKY REGION OF EAST TENNESSEE
WHERE COTTON IS NOT KING, PEOPLE LIKE CHRISTOPHER
ALEXANDER HAUN FIND OTHER WAYS TO MAKE A LIVING.
(DON BIBLE) HE WENT BY THE INITIALS C.A. OR ALEX.
MOST PEOPLE CALLED HIM ALEX. HE WAS PROBABLY, IF NOT
THE FINEST POTTER THAT TENNESSEE EVER PRODUCED,
HE WAS ONE OF THE FINEST.
(NARRATOR) IN 1861, ALEX HAUN, A FATHER OF FIVE
CHILDREN, WORKS AND LIVES IN A COMMUNITY CALLED POTTERSTOWN,
WHICH IS OCCUPIED BY THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
LIKE MOST OF HIS NEIGHBORS, HE IS A SUPPORTER OF
PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE UNION CAUSE.
(DON BIBLE) THEY FELT THAT THE UNION HAD BEEN CREATED
BY THEIR FOREFATHERS AND THEY, THEY DIDN'T WANT TO
SEE IT DISSOLVED.
(NARRATOR) WILLIAM CARTER, A FORMER MINISTER, COMES
UP WITH AN IDEA TO BURN RAILROAD BRIDGES ACROSS
EAST TENNESSEE TO SLOW THE MOVEMENT OF SOUTHERN
SOLDIERS. GENERAL GEORGE THOMAS HELPS ARRANGE A RENDEZVOUS
RENDEZVOUS IN WASHINGTON WITH THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF.
(DON BIBLE) THEY HAD A MEETING UP THERE AND LINCOLN APPROVED
THE PLAN AND PROMISED THEM THAT FEDERAL FORCES WOULD INVADE
AS SOON AS THE BRIDGES WERE BURNED.
(NARRATOR) AMONG THE SECRET CONSPIRATORS ON THAT
EARLY MORNING, NOVEMBER EIGHTH, 1861, IS ALEX HAUN.
HE IS JOINED BY A NEIGHBOR, JACOB HARMON AND HIS TWO SONS,
HENRY AND TOM. A POTTERS ASSISTANT,
21-YEAR-OLD JACOB HINSHAW, AND HENRY FRY, A SHOEMAKER,
ARE ALSO A PART OF THE PLOT.
(DON BIBLE) IT WAS A COLD NIGHT AND THE SEVEN
CONFEDERATE BRIDGE GUARDS WERE IN A TENT.
AND THEY HAD GUNS ON THEM BEFORE THE MEN EVEN KNEW
THEY WERE THERE.
(BRIDGE BURNERS) GET ON OUT OF THERE WE'LL SHOOT
YOU WHERE YOU LAY! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!
PUT YOUR HANDS UP! GET ON OUT OF THERE!
(DON BIBLE) THEY HAD THEM OUTSIDE AND ALL THE TIME
THE BRIDGE WAS BEING SET ON FIRE...
...THE STORY IS THAT THERE WAS A DISCUSSION.
I SAY WE KILL EM... (DON BIBLE) SOME OF THEM
WANTED TO KILL THEM ON THE SPOT SO THERE WOULD BE NO
WITNESSES, OTHERS SAID NO... NO, WE CAN'T DO THAT.
IT'S ONE THING TO KILL A MAN IN A FIELD OF FIRE.
BUT THESE MEN ARE UNARMED. WE CAN'T KILL THEM
IN COLD BLOOD. (DON BIBLE) THAT POSITION
FINALLY PREVAILED WITH THE STIPULATION THAT THE
MEN WOULD TAKE AN OATH THAT THEY WOULDN'T REVEAL
ANYTHING THAT THEY SAW OR HEARD THAT NIGHT OTHER THAN
THAT THE BRIDGE WAS BURNED.
(NARRATOR) THE CONFEDERACY RESPONDS TO THE BRIDGE BURNING
RAPIDLY AND RUTHLESSLY. ALEX HAUN IS ARRESTED THE
VERY NEXT AFTERNOON ALONG WITH JACOB HARMON AND HIS SONS.
CONFEDERATE WAR SECRETARY JUDAH P. BENJAMIN OFFERS
NO MERCY. ALL SUCH AS CAN BE
IDENTIFIED IN HAVING BEEN ENGAGED IN BRIDGE-BURNING
ARE TO BE TRIED SUMMARILY BY DRUM-HEAD COURT MARTIAL,
AND, IF FOUND GUILTY, EXECUTED ON THE SPOT BY
HANGING IN THE VICINITY OF THE BURNED BRIDGES.
(BRIAN MCKNIGHT) THE CONFEDERACY WAS TERRIFIED
OF WHAT THE WAR MIGHT BECOME IF EAST TENNESSEE
UNIONISTS BECAME TOO BOLD.
(NARRATOR) JACOB HINSHAW AND HENRY FRY GO ON THE RUN BUT
ARE CAPTURED WITHIN A FEW DAYS. AFTER A QUICK CONVICTION,
THE TWO MEN ARE HANGED FROM AN OAK TREE NEAR THE
GREENVILLE RAILROAD DEPOT. ALEX HAUN AND THE HARMONS
ARE LIKEWISE FOUND GUILTY. HAUN IS PUBLICLY HANGED FROM
A GALLOWS ON DECEMBER 10TH. HE LEAVES A LETTER FOR HIS
PREGNANT WIFE... I HAVE THE PROMISE THAT MY
BODY WILL BE SENT HOME TO YOU. OH LIVE FOR HEAVEN, OH MY
*** FRIEND AND CHILDREN. LIVE FOR HEAVEN, I PRAY.
MY TIME IS ALMOST OUT, DEAR FRIENDS, FAREWELL TO THIS
WORLD...FAREWELL TO EARTH AND EARTHLY TROUBLES.
(NARRATOR) JACOB HARMON AND HIS SON HENRY ARE HANGED
JUST A FEW DAYS LATER. (DON BIBLE) HENRY HARMON
WAS PUT ON THE GALLOWS FIRST AND THE ROPE BROKE.
AND HIS HALF LIFELESS BODY FELL TO THE GROUND AND THEY
HAD TO HANG HIM AGAIN AND, OF COURSE, HIS FATHER
SAW ALL OF THAT. (NARRATOR) LINCOLN'S ARMY
HAS BEEN A NO-SHOW.
(DON BIBLE) SOMEBODY, WITHOUT LINCOLN'S KNOWLEDGE,
DECIDED THAT THE ARMY WAS TOO STRONG IN THE KNOXVILLE AREA
FOR THEM TO INVADE EAST TENNESSEE AND THEY GOT
HERE TWO YEARS LATER AFTER THE FIVE MEN WERE HANGED AND
THEIR FAMILIES HAD BEEN TAKEN OF BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT
THEY HAD AND RUN OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND SO FORTH.
(NARRATOR) THE RAILROAD BRIDGES ARE QUICKLY REPAIRED.
BUT THE UNION ARMY IS MOVING TROOPS THROUGHOUT KENTUCKY,
AND THE CONFEDERACY HAS MORE THAN 300 MILES OF TENNESSEE
BORDER TO PROTECT. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
OFFERS THE FEDERALS A HIGHWAY TO MEMPHIS.
SO, SOUTHERN GENERAL ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON
PUTS UP A ROADBLOCK.
(FRED PROUTY) THE COLUMBUS FORTIFICATIONS ON THE HIGH
BLUFFS IN COLUMBUS, KENTUCKY WERE THE GIBRALTAR OF
THE CONFEDERATE FORTIFICATION IN TENNESSEE, OR THAT'S WHAT
THEY HAD PLANNED THEM FOR.
(NARRATOR) UNION GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT USES CONFUSING
MILITARY TACTICS TO CONVINCE HIS ENEMIES HE PLANS AN ATTACK
ON COLUMBUS TO ACCESS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
BUT THEN HE MAKES AN UNEXPECTED MOVE THAT WILL
DRIVE HIS ARMY AND THE NAVY STRAIGHT INTO THE
SOUL OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE.
(FRED PROUTY) HE WENT UP RIVER TO PADUCAH, CAME DOWN ON THE
TENNESSEE... SENT TROOPS DOWN ON THE TENNESSEE AND THE
CUMBERLAND RIVERS WHICH WERE PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND
ATTACKED FT. HENRY... AND THEN FT. DONELSON.
(BRIAN MCKNIGHT) IF YOU TAKE FT. HENRY AND YOU MOVE SOUTH
WHICH IS ACTUALLY UP THE TENNESSEE RIVER YOU WILL
EVENTUALLY END UP IN MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA
BEFORE REENTERING TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA.
IF YOU FOLLOW IT EVEN FURTHER UPSTREAM, YOU WILL GO THROUGH
EAST TENNESSEE EVEN INTO VIRGINIA SO THAT'S HOW
IMPORTANT THE TENNESSEE RIVER WAS. IF YOU ENTER THE
CUMBERLAND AT FT. DONELSON IT WILL TAKE YOU INTO
DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE.
(NARRATOR) FT. HENRY IS ALREADY FLOODED BY THE RISING RIVER
AND FALLS QUICKLY. UP NEXT IS FT. DONELSON,
WHERE THE FEDERALS ATTACK WITH BOTH GROUND TROOPS
AND GUNBOATS IN A VICIOUS FIVE-DAY ENCOUNTER.
IT IS HERE WHERE U.S. GRANT EARNS THE NICKNAME
"UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER."
(WAYNE MOORE) I THINK THE ABILITY OF PEOPLE
LIKE ULYSSES GRANT TO RECOGNIZE EARLY ON IN THE WAR THE
IMPORTANCE OF THE RIVERS IN SECURING THE MID-SOUTH IS
REALLY THE CRUCIAL BREAKTHROUGH STRATEGICALLY.
(NARRATOR) AMONG THE MANY CONFEDERATES TAKEN PRISONER AT
DONELSON ARE ST. CLAIR MORGAN AND ANOTHER YOUNG SOLDIER
NAMED ROBERT HASKINS OF CLARKSVILLE, WHERE UNION
FORCES ARE HEADED NEXT. ROBERT'S LITTLE SISTER MARTHA
IS A WELL-EDUCATED SOUTHERN TEENAGER KNOWN AS NANNIE TO
HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS. HER DIARY DESCRIBES THE
IMMEDIATE IMPACT OF WAR IN A RIVER TOWN.
THE CITIZENS WERE RUNNING. THERE WERE ALREADY TWO
HOSPITALS HERE WHICH WERE FILLED WITH THE SICK.
AND THEY, POOR FELLOWS, THEY WERE CRAWLING OUT
FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE. WALKING, GOING ON
HORSEBACK AND WAGONS...
(MINOA UFFELMAN) THE VERY FIRST ENTRY THAT NANNIE WRITES
IS ABOUT HOW PANICKED EVERYONE WAS, THEY WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD,
THAT THEY THOUGHT FORT DEFIANCE MIGHT PROTECT
THEM AND THEN WHEN FORT HENRY AND FORT
DONELSON FELL AND THE UNION TROOPS CAME
IN,PEOPLE WERE PANICKED. INDEED THEY WENT ANY
WAY TO GET OUT OF REACH OF THE YANKEES FOR IT WAS NOT
KNOWN AT WHAT MOMENT THAT THE VANDALS WOULD BE HERE.
(WAYNE MOORE) THAT TYPE OF WARFARE LEADS TO AN ENORMOUS
EFFORT BY THE ARMIES TO, TO KEEP THE CIVILIAN
POPULATION UNDER CONTROL. AND THEY DO IT WITH THESE
HUGE BUREAUCRACIES, PROVOST MARSHAL, THEY ARE
MAKING CITIZENS TAKE LOYALTY OATHS, THEY'RE PUNISHING THEM
FOR TREASONABLE ACTIVITIES, THEY ARE CONFISCATING THEIR
PROPERTY IF THEY FIND OUT THEY ARE SUPPORTING THE CONFEDERACY.
THESE ARE VERY REAL BURDENS DAMAGES AND LOSSES
THAT PEOPLE SUFFERED. THIS IS WHY MOST TENNESSEANS
GO TO FIGHT FOR THE CONFEDERACY, NOT
NECESSARILY BECAUSE THEY ARE PRO-SLAVERY BUT BECAUSE
THE UNION ARMY INVADES TENNESSEE AND DOES SO BY THE RIVERS.
(NARRATOR) NANNIE HASKINS GETS WORD THAT HER BROTHER ROBERT
HAS DIED IN A PRISON CAMP. AND IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT
AT 16 YEARS OLD SHE CAN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF A YANKEE.
THOSE HATEFUL GUN BOATS! THEY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE
FROM THE LOWER REGIONS. NOW, THIS IS THE SECOND NIGHT
THAT FOUR OF THEM HAVE BEEN ANCHORED IN THE RIVER
OPPOSITE OUR HOUSE. I KNOW THEY ARE FRIGHTENED;
THEY HAVE PLACED THEIR GUNBOATS SO THAT IF AN ATTACK IS MADE,
THEY CAN SHELL THE TOWN. POOR COWARDS, I CAN JUST
TURN MY HEAD NOW AND SEE THEM CRAWLING ABOUT THE
BOATS LIKE SO MANY SNAKES.
(NARRATOR) BUT THE FEDERAL INVASION OF TENNESSEE
IS JUST BEGINNING. GRANT NOW HAS NASHVILLE
IN HIS SIGHTS. AND THE PANIC IN CLARKSVILLE
PALES IN COMPARISON WITH THE ONE IN THE STATE CAPITAL,
SUNDAY MORNING FEB. 16, 1862...
(VAN WEST) IMAGINE HOW YOU WOULD FEEL, YOU THOUGHT YOU
WERE SAFE AT HOME MAYBE GOING TO CHURCH, PLANNING
ON A SUNDAY DAY AND SUDDENLY YOU HEAR...
"THE YANKEES ARE COMING"...
(VAN WEST) AND THEY'RE COMING IN FORCE.
DON'T PANIC. YOU NEED TO GO TO YOUR HOMES.
(VAN WEST) PEOPLE PANICKED. HURRY, THE YANKEES
ARE COMING.
(VAN WEST) THEY WONDERED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEIR TOWN AND
THEY DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT LONG. THEY STARTED TO PACK AND
LEAVE... THOUSANDS OF NASHVILLE CITIZENS HEADING OUT OF
TOWN AWAY FROM THE ARMIES.
(NARRATOR) ANNIE SEHON QUICKLY SENDS A MESSAGE TO HER
SISTER... BELIEVING IT MAY BE HER LAST.
WE ARE IN HOURLY EXPECTATION OF HEARING THE APPROACH OF
THE NORTHERN ARMY... BUT MAY GOD PROTECT US AND IF
WE NEVER MEET ON EARTH MAY WE MEET AT LAST IN HEAVEN.
(NARRATOR) BUT NOT EVERYONE IS FRIGHTENED.
THE ARRIVAL OF UNION TROOPS IN THE CITY BRINGS AN
OPPORTUNITY FOR SLAVES TO BE FREE.
AS THEY WATCH IN DISBELIEF... THEIR MASTERS RUN AWAY.
(VAN WEST) IMAGINE HOW IT WAS FOR THEM TO SEE THAT.
THEY HAD NEVER SEEN THAT IN THEIR LIFE THESE WERE DOMINATING
DOMINEERING FIGURES AND SUDDENLY THEY ARE FLEEING.
(NARRATOR) BY THE TIME YANKEE GUNBOATS ROLL IN ON
THE CUMBERLAND RIVER, THERE IS NO ONE THERE TO
FIGHT THEM, AND NASHVILLE BECOMES THE FIRST MAJOR
TRANSPORTATION CENTER TO FALL. RATHER THAN MAKE A STAND,
CONFEDERATE GENERAL ALBERT SYDNEY JOHNSTON GATHERS HIS
TROOPS TO ABANDON THE CITY.
(VAN WEST) THEY WEREN'T THOSE PROUD YOUNG MEN IN UNIFORMS
THAT HAD BEEN SENT OFF TO THE WAR A FEW MONTHS BEFORE.
THEY WERE GUYS RUNNING FOR SHELTER, RUNNING FOR COVER,
MOVING SOUTH...I THINK SO MANY CITIZENS NEVER
THOUGHT THAT NASHVILLE WOULD FALL WITHOUT A DETERMINED
STAND TO PROTECT THE CITY... BUT IT DID.
(NARRATOR) CONFEDERATE GENERAL ALBERT SYDNEY JOHNSTON HAS
TAKEN HIS TROOPS OUT OF NASHVILLE TO TRY AND PROTECT
ANOTHER IMPORTANT RAILROAD JUNCTION FARTHER SOUTH.
GENERAL GRANT IS CLOSE BEHIND, MOVING HIS MEN WEST BY
TRANSPORT BOAT ON THE TENNESSEE RIVER
TO PITTSBURGH LANDING. THE TWO SIDES MEET APRIL
SIXTH, 1862, IN A FIELD SURROUNDING SHILOH CHURCH.
IT IS THE WORST BATTLE IN THE WAR SO FAR AS MASSES
OF MEN DIE, BRINGING THE RECOGNITION THIS WILL BE A
LONG AND BRUTAL WAR.
(VAN WEST) PEOPLE OFTEN ASK WHY DID THEY FIGHT FOR
JUST A CHURCH. WELL, THEY WEREN'T FIGHTING
FOR SHILOH CHURCH EVEN THOUGH THAT'S THE NAME OF THE BATTLE.
THEY WERE FIGHTING TO PROTECT THE CORINTH RAILROAD JUNCTION
WHERE LINES FROM THE NORTH PRIMARILY THE MOBILE AND
OHIO RAILROAD CONNECTED WITH THE MEMPHIS AND
CHARLESTON RAILROAD. THIS WAS A CRUCIAL JUNCTION
AND ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON WANTED TO PROTECT IT
AT ALL COSTS.
(NARRATOR) IT LOOKS AS IF THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL JOHNSTON
MIGHT SUCCEED AFTER THE FIRST DAY OF FIGHTING.
BUT UNION REINFORCEMENTS SEND THE CONFEDERATES
BACKTRACKING TO CORINTH, WHERE THE UNION WILL SOON
TAKE CONTROL OF THE RAILROAD JUNCTION.
LESS THAN A WEEK AFTER SHILOH COMES A DRAMATIC EVENT THAT IS
FAMOUSLY KNOWN AS THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE.
A BRAVE BAND OF YANKEE VOLUNTEERS HIJACKS THE GENERAL,
WHICH TODAY IS ON DISPLAY AT THE SOUTHERN MUSEUM OF CIVIL
WAR AND LOCOMOTIVE HISTORY
IN KENNESAW, GEORGIA. THE STORY STARTS WITH
JAMES ANDREWS, A HOUSE PAINTER AND MUSIC TEACHER, WHO IS
NOW AN UNDERCOVER AGENT.
(MELINDA SENN) HE WAS SMUGGLING QUININE TO THE
CONFEDERATE FORCES. AND WHILE HE WAS BEHIND
CONFEDERATE LINES HE WAS GATHERING INFORMATION TO
TRADE BACK THE OTHER WAY. SO SOME PEOPLE CONSIDERED
HIM A DOUBLE AGENT.
(NARRATOR) ANDREWS' RAIDERS ARE POSING AS PASSENGERS AND TAKE
CONTROL OF THE LOCOMOTIVE WHILE THE CREW IS HAVING
BREAKFAST AT A HOTEL IN BIG SHANTY, GEORGIA.
THEIR PLAN IS TO SABOTAGE TRACKS
AND TUNNELS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDING EASY TRANSPORT OF
CONFEDERATE TROOPS AND SUPPLIES BETWEEN ATLANTA AND
CHATTANOOGA.
(MELINDA SENN) THE MEN FIND A SMALL SAW AND THEY USE THAT
SAW TO CUT THE TELEGRAPH WIRE. ACCOUNTS ALSO SAY TOWARD THE
END OF THE CHASE THEY ARE AFFIXING THE TELEGRAPH WIRE TO
THE REAR BOXCAR AND PULLING THE WIRE AS THE TRAIN CONTINUES
TO HEAD UP NORTH.
(NARRATOR) THE RAIDERS
CHUG NORTH TO MEET UP WITH THE ADVANCING TROOPS OF
GENERAL ORMSBY MITCHELL, WHO HOPES TO CAPTURE CHATTANOOGA.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS.
(JIM OGDEN) ANDREWS IS DELAYED AT KINGSTON, GEORGIA WAITING FOR
A SOUTHBOUND TRAIN AND THIS ALLOWED A VERY TENACIOUS
CONDUCTOR WILLIAM FULLER TO MAKE UP GROUND, FIRST ON FOOT,
AND THEN WITH A PUSH CAR, AND THEN WITH A SMALL YARD
LOCOMOTIVE AND THEN WITH A LARGER LOCOMOTIVE.
(MELINDA SENN) AFTER APPROXIMATELY 90 MILES,
THE UNION RAIDERS FIND THEMSELVES VERY LOW ON FUEL.
THEY HAVE NO OTHER OPTION BUT ABANDON THE GENERAL
AND TO MAKE FOR THE WOODS.
(NARRATOR) EVERY ONE OF THEM IS CAUGHT.
NINETEEN OF THE RAIDERS WILL BECOME THE FIRST IN HISTORY
TO RECEIVE THE MEDAL OF HONOR. AS A CIVILIAN, ANDREWS IS NOT
ELIGIBLE FOR THE COMMENDATION. BUT HE IS AMONG EIGHT OF
THEM WHO ARE HANGED. BACK IN WEST TENNESSEE,
THE UNION INVASION CONTINUES AS UNION FORCES AND NAVY
GUNBOATS ARE JOINED BY A FLEET OF STEAMBOATS CONVERTED
INTO RAMMING SHIPS BY COLONEL CHARLES ELLET JR.
(MARY VIRGINIA ELLET CABELL) THEY CARRIED NO GUNS; THEY
WERE IN MY FATHER'S OPINION AND WORDS: "MERE
SUBSTITUTES FOR RAMS. ALMOST CERTAIN IN AN
ENCOUNTER WITH A POWERFUL AND COURAGEOUS ADVERSARY
TO GO TO THE BOTTOM BUT STRONG ENOUGH TO CARRY WITH
THEM TO THE BOTTOM ANY ADVERSARY THEY MIGHT ENGAGE.
(NARRATOR) ELLET'S FLEET IS A FAMILY AFFAIR, WITH
TWO BROTHERS COMMANDING SHIPS AND HIS SON SERVING
AS A MEDICAL CADET. ELLET HAS THE CONFIDENCE OF
SECRETARY OF WAR EDWIN STANTON, AND ANSWERS ONLY TO HIM.
THE TEST COMES JUNE SIXTH, 1862,
IN THE BATTLE OF MEMPHIS.
(MARY VIRGINIA ELLET CABELL) HE INSTANTLY ORDERED HIS
THREE LARGEST RAMS TO FOLLOW HIM AND LED THE WAY ON
THE QUEEN OF THE WEST, RUNNING DOWN AT FULL SPEED.
THE QUEEN CRASHED INTO THE FOREMOST BOAT, CUTTING HER
ALMOST IN TWO AND SINKING HER.
(FRED PROUTY) THE BATTLE OF MEMPHIS ON THE RIVER
WAS NOT MUCH OF A BATTLE. THE FEDERAL FLEET HAD REALLY
WELL MANNED, WELL-ARMED VESSELS. THE SOUTH HAD EIGHT SMALLER
BOATS, SEVEN OF WHICH WERE SUNK.
(MARY VIRGINIA ELLET CABELL) MY BROTHER, ACCOMPANIED BY THREE
MEN OF MY FATHER'S COMMAND, REMOVED THE REBEL FLAG FROM THE
POST OFFICE IN MEMPHIS AND HOISTED THE UNITED STATES FLAG
THERE MORE THAN TWO HOURS BEFORE THE CITY WAS
FORMALLY SURRENDERED.
(NARRATOR) BUT IN THE COURSE OF BATTLE, CHARLES ELLET JR.
TAKES A BULLET FIRED FROM AN ENEMY SHIP.
AND THE BATTLE OF MEMPHIS WOULD BE NOT ONLY HIS FIRST,
BUT ALSO HIS LAST.
(VAN WEST) THEN MEMPHIS BECAME THE BASE FOR EVERYTHING DOWN
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. MEMPHIS WAS AN IMPORTANT
LOGISTICAL BASE IT WAS THE HEADQUARTERS BASE AND THEN
IT BECAME THE BASE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN FREEDOM...
BECAUSE THE HUGE CONTRABAND CAMPS THAT OPENED UP THERE FOR
ESCAPED SLAVES COMING TO THE UNION LINES FOR PROTECTION.
(NARRATOR) AND NOW, THE RIVERS AND RAILS OF BOTH
MIDDLE AND WEST TENNESSEE ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF
FEDERAL FORCES, WHILE EAST TENNESSEE REMAINS A
CONFEDERATE STRONGHOLD. THE NICKNAME FOR
CHATTANOOGA SAYS IT ALL. IT'S BEEN CALLED THE CHOO CHOO
FOR YEARS...A CITY WHERE TRAINS RUN IN EVERY DIRECTION...
JUST AS THEY DID AT THE TIME OF THE CIVIL WAR.
(JIM OGDEN) HOW DO YOU GET A UNION ARMY FROM THE NORTH TO
CENTRAL GEORGIA AND CENTRAL ALABAMA BUT THROUGH THE
GATEWAY TO THE DEEP SOUTH. AND THAT IS CHATTANOOGA.
AND IN 1863 THE FOCUS WOULD BE ON THIS GATEWAY CITY.
(NARRATOR) IT WILL TAKE A SERIES
OF FOUR BATTLES ENGAGING MORE THAN 150,000 MEN FOR THE UNION
TO TAKE CONTROL OF CHATTANOOGA.
(JIM OGDEN) WITH THE CONFEDERATE DEFEAT ON LOOK OUT MOUNTAIN AND
MISSIONARY RIDGE IN NOVEMBER OF 1863, THE CONFEDERATES LOSE
ANY HOPE OF ANY LONGER KEEPING THE DOORWAY, GATEWAY,
PASSAGEWAY, TO THEIR MILITARY INDUSTRIAL HEARTLAND CLOSED
AND BARRED SHUT.
(NARRATOR) THEN COMES THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA... EVEN
MORE DISASTROUS THAN SHILOH.
(OGDEN) IN THE END, IT IS ONE OF THE MOST COSTLY CAMPAIGNS
OF THE CIVIL WAR. IN THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA
ITSELF, 28 PERCENT OF THE TROOPS ENGAGED HAVE BECOME CASUALTIES.
IT'S THE SECOND BLOODIEST BATTLE OF THE WAR.
(NARRATOR) ST. CLAIR MORGAN HAD OBTAINED FREEDOM FROM
PRISON AFTER HIS CAPTURE AT FT. DONELSON.
HE IS AMONG THE DEAD AT CHICKAMAUGA.
(OGDEN) SIMPLY BY LOOKING AT THE CASUALTIES YOU CAN
SEE ANOTHER WAY TO JUDGE JUST HOW IMPORTANT
CHATTANOOGA WAS IN THIS STORY OF OUR NATION'S
CIVIL WAR AND THE STRUGGLE HERE FOR CONTROL OF THIS
IMPORTANT TRANSPORTATION CENTER,
THIS RIVER AND RAIL TOWN.
(VAN WEST) THE FALL OF CHATTANOOGA FUNDAMENTALLY
CHANGED THE CIVIL WAR. THE UNION ARMY CONTROLLED
ALL OF TENNESSEE. IF THEY CONTROLLED
TENNESSEE THAT MEANT THAT THEY CONTROLLED ALL OF
THOSE TRANSPORTATION LINKS TO THE NORTH AND TO THE SOUTH.
SO THEY WERE TOTALLY POISED, READY TO MOVE ON ATLANTA.
ATLANTA FALLS AND SHERMAN IS READY FOR HIS MARCH TO THE SEA.
SO, THE FALL OF CHATTANOOGA CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE WAR
IN FUNDAMENTAL WAYS THAT MEANT THE DEATH KNELL OF THE
CONFEDERACY WAS ALMOST UPON US.
(NARRATOR) CONFEDERATE GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE SURRENDERS ON
APRIL NINTH OF 1865. THE WAR WILL OFFICIALLY BE
OVER IN AUGUST...BUT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WON'T LIVE TO SEE IT. ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS
ASSASSINATED APRIL 14TH, 1865. HIS BODY IS TAKEN FROM
WASHINGTON TO HIS HOME IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS...
BY TRAIN OF COURSE. THE RAILS AND RIVERS WILL
GO BACK TO THEIR PEACEFUL PURPOSE OF PROVIDING
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE. BUT THE WAR IS NOT
FINISHED WITH THEM YET. TWO WEEKS AFTER LINCOLN'S
***, HOMEWARD BOUND UNION SOLDIERS PACK THEIR WAY
ON TO A CROWDED STEAMBOAT.
(ACTOR AS EDWARD F. HEDRICK) WHEN WE BOARDED THE SULTANA
AT VICKSBURG, WE WERE A JOLLY CROWD.
TWO THOUSAND OF US HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM A SOUTHERN PRISON.
WE WERE SO HAPPY.
(WAYNE MOORE) PROBABLY BECAUSE OF SOMEBODY'S GREED, THEY
OVERLOADED THE SHIP. THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF
MEN, EVERY AVAILABLE INCH OF DECK SPACE WAS COVERED,
YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SULTANA
IN PORT AT MEMPHIS BEFORE IT LEFT THAT IT WAS JUST
COVERED WITH MEN. MANY OF THEM WERE WOUNDED
OR EMACIATED FROM THEIR STAY IN PRISON WAR CAMP.
(NARRATOR) AS THE SULTANA FLOATS PAST MEMPHIS...
A LEAKING BOILER EXPLODES.
(ACTOR AS LOUIS SCHIRMEYER) I FOUND MYSELF BEING HURLED
UPWARD THROUGH THE AIR. I MUST HAVE GONE UP 20
OR 25 FEET. IN FALLING I STRUCK THE
SHATTERED PILOT HOUSE. MY FACE WAS CUT AND
BLEEDING...
(ACTOR AS EDWARD F. HEDRICK) THE PASSENGERS WERE SHOUTING
AND SCREAMING AND JUMPING INTO THE RIVER ON ALL SIDES.
(WAYNE MOORE) THE LOSS OF LIFE WAS HUGE, IT WAS 15-HUNDRED
PLUS MEN DIED IN THAT EXPLOSION OR DROWNED IN THE RIVER
AFTERWARDS AS THE BOAT SANK.
(NARRATOR) IT IS THE WORST MARITIME DISASTER IN THE
NATION'S HISTORY... AND WILL NOT BE SURPASSED EVEN BY
THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC. THE SULTANA IS A SAD, BUT
IRONIC EVENT IN WHICH RIVERS AND RAILS
FIRST CARRIED ECONOMIC PROSPERITY...
THEN GRIEF AND SUFFERING THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
(VAN WEST) TENNESSEE WAS THE GATEWAY TO THE CONFEDERACY.
OF COURSE MANY BATTLES WERE FOUGHT IN VIRGINIA;
THEY WERE TRYING TO TAKE THE CAPITOL OF RICHMOND
AND KILL THE CONFEDERACY AT ITS HEART.
BUT IN MANY WAYS TENNESSEE
WAS THE SOUL OF THE CONFEDERACY BECAUSE THROUGH IT RAN THE
ARTERIES THAT KEPT THE WHOLE BODY ALIVE.
(NARRATOR) WHEN THE WAR IS OVER,
SO MANY YOUNG MEN HAVE BEEN KILLED THAT NANNIE HASKINS...
THE CLARKSVILLE TEENAGER WITH DREAMS FOR HER FUTURE...
CHOOSES TO MARRY A WIDOWER TWENTY YEARS OLDER WITH
FOUR CHILDREN. TOGETHER, THEY HAVE SIX MORE.
THE WHOLE FAMILY IS NOW BURIED IN A CLARKSVILLE CEMETERY.
BY ORDER OF A CONFEDERATE GENERAL, BRIDGE BURNERS
JACOB AND HENRY HARMON ARE BURIED OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
CEMETERY IN POTTERSTOWN AFTER THEIR EXECUTION.
(DON BIBLE) HE TOLD THE FAMILY,
"I DON'T WANT THEM BURIED IN
THE CEMETERY WITH DECENT PEOPLE, BURY THEM OUTSIDE THE CEMETERY."
THERE WAS A RAIL FENCE AROUND THE CEMETERY AT THE TIME AND
THEY WERE BURIED OUTSIDE. AND LATER ON, THE CEMETERY
WAS ENLARGED TO TAKE IN THE GRAVES.
AS YOU CAN SEE NOW, IT GOES JUST A LITTLE
PAST THE GRAVES.
(NARRATOR) NASHVILLE BUSINESSMAN SAMUEL DOLD
MORGAN'S SUCCESS USING THE RIVERS AND RAILS IS
OVERSHADOWED BY GRIEF FOR HIS TWO SONS.
THE MEMORY OF MORGAN AND HIS FAMILY IS PRESERVED IN
THE SOUTH WING OF THE STATE CAPITAL BUILDING
WHERE HE IS BURIED.
(RUTH WARNER) MY GRANDMOTHER WAS GIVEN A
ROSE SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL AND SHE DROPPED THE ROSE
IN HIS TOMB BEFORE IT WAS SEALED. SHE WAS BORN IN 1872
AND HERE WAS THIS MAN WHO WASHER GREAT GRANDFATHER
AND SHE TOLD ME THAT STORY AND THAT'S REMARKABLE HOW THIS
KIND OF CONNECTION TO HISTORY CONTINUES
DOWN THE GENERATIONS.
(NARRATOR) THE LATEST GENERATIONS IN TENNESSEE
STILL RELY ON THE CONVERGENCE
OF WATER AND STEEL FOR
PROSPERITY... AND FOR THE CONTINUING PROGRESS OF
OUR BIGGEST CITIES. BUT THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER
RELEVANT ROLE FOR RIVERS AND RAILS... AS A
REMINDER OF OUR HISTORY.
(WAYNE MOORE) YOU HAD THIS COLOSSAL MILITARY STRUGGLE
THAT KILLED ALMOST 700,000 AMERICANS BUT BESIDES THE
PEOPLE THAT IT KILLED YOU HAD THREE TIMES THAT MANY
WHO WERE MAIMED AND WOUNDED, YOU HAD A LOSS OF
A WHOLE GENERATION OF YOUNG MEN AND IT
PROFOUNDLY AFFECTED EVERYBODY IN THIS PART OF
THE COUNTRY - IN TENNESSEE, IT WAS FOUGHT
IN THEIR BACKYARDS, THEY SUFFERED DIRECTLY
FROM THE WAR.
(ANNOUNCER OFF CAMERA) TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR 150 IS
BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL
COMMISSION, AND TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR NATIONAL
HERITAGE AREA.