Preserved! The Remaining Acreage at the Heart of the Fort Redmond State Historic Site in Adams, TN

In November 2013, the State of Tennessee acquired the 16.83-acre, National Register-listed, Fort Redmond in Adams, Tennessee. Thanks to the forethought of the former Tennessee Wars Commission Program Director, Fred Prouty, the Tennessee Historical and Wars Commissions (THC/TWC) were able to preserve a linear parcel containing access to the Red River, the historic railroad cut, and a portion of the earthworks; however, approximately 1.18 acres remained under the ownership of CSX Railroad. The Historical and Wars Commissions have been hoping to protect this acreage ever since, and we are pleased to announce that we have signed a lease with CSX that protects the earthworks in their entirety.

Although this article focuses on the physical space, it is important to note the human dimension of this historic site. Specifically, the heroic actions of the 15th Infantry U.S. Colored Troops who were garrisoned at this site until the conclusion of the Civil War, sacrificing their lives by defending the railroads and their supply lines.

Positioned between the current CSX Railroad Bridge and the historic Edgefield & Kentucky Railroad Bridge trestles lies the nucleus of the Fort Redmond State Historic Site. This 7.5-acre core contains the circa 1861 circular earthworks, totaling 102 feet in diameter. Two names are associated with the site: Fort Redmond (Confederate) and Red River Blockhouse Number 1 (U.S.). The origin story of this site is cloudy due to conflicting accounts and a lack of tangible evidence; however, the current historical narrative details that the fort was constructed by Confederate forces who abandoned this defensive position when Forts Henry and Donelson fell in February 1862. Union troops seized the site, transforming the space into a stronghold, a single-wall blockhouse. This account has been challenged due to a lack of evidence supporting Confederate construction of the fortification, and an archaeological survey disputes the erection of a Union blockhouse at this location. In an attempt to clarify the site’s use, this article references themes previously researched by THC’s Bobby Cooley, State Historic Sites Coordinator, in his research paper titled Investigating Fort Redmond State Historic Site and includes a review of the historical context of railroads in connection to Civil War fortifications, and the links between Confederate tactics in disrupting Union supplies and Union tactics of fortifying railroad lines to supply their Western Theater Campaign.

The Red River site was constructed on the Edgefield & Kentucky Railroad, which was established between 1852 and 1859. This line spanned from the Edgefield Junction in modern day East Nashville to Guthrie, Kentucky. Few documents exist outlining the initial use of the railroad by Confederate forces however, at the outbreak of the Civil War, the railroads around Nashville were solely utilized for troop transportation and supplies, and the waterways up until this time, had a greater impact, thus construction of Forts Henry and Donelson commenced in the spring of 1861, protecting vulnerable water routes on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers near Kentucky. Contemporary Confederate reports do not support evidence of any railroad fortifications north of Nashville, demonstrating that the Red River site was not constructed in the early months of the Civil War. Additionally, no mention of Fort Redmond exists in the War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

For the Union Army occupying Tennessee, railroads were crucial lifelines for supplies and troop transport. Protecting these networks necessitated the construction of field fortifications, which was the case with the Red River site. Little is known about the fortifications specific to this line between 1862 and 1864, but it is important to note that the Edgefield & Kentucky line was considered a supplemental supply line during the early years of the Civil War and almost ceased operations in 1862. In 1864, the line expanded, connecting with the Clarksville & Louisville Railroad in Gutherie, forming the Nashville & Clarksville Railroad. Created as a primary supply route for Union forces, the Nashville & Clarksville line was vital for supplying Union steamboats that were unable to navigate the Harpeth Shoals when the water was low. At the conclusion of the war, the line was 52 miles long and contained five single-wall blockhouses with three additional blockhouse foundations present. In addition to blockhouses, redoubts and stockades were utilized to protect rail lines throughout Tennessee.

Through extensive historical research, Cooley has discovered that “there is no evidence, in any official Civil War record, that mentions a site named Fort Redmond, or that even suggests a fortification was constructed at the Red River site by the Confederates.” Although the National Register nomination described the Red River site as a blockhouse and relied on comparisons to Union Engineer Col. William Emery Merrill’s design and specification for a Civil War blockhouse, there is no physical evidence that supports this design type. The leading type of blockhouse built was one of square or rectangular design up until 1864, when, realizing their defensive limitations, Union forces began constructing octagonal structures. The Red River site consists of “…two concentric rings of earth with a ditch in between. Within the innermost circle is a depression, which is surrounded by a small earthen berm. The site sits on top of a hill.” It is clear to see that these conflicting design styles would not allow for a blockhouse to be built at this location, although historical accounts confirm the presence of a blockhouse at the Red River site. These inconsistencies have given rise to the theory that by the end of the war, this site contained multiple field fortifications constructed over time to accommodate the changing defensive needs. It is likely that “a circular redoubt or stockade was constructed between 1862 and 1863. Then, in 1864, the Nashville & Clarksville Railroad was established as a supply route, using the Edgefield & Kentucky line, and a blockhouse was constructed. The construction of the blockhouse likely occurred during the threat of guerrillas or Confederate General Lyon raiding the area.” Post-war, blockhouses were dismantled and the timber sold off. This, combined with growth centered around Railroads and railways being rerouted or expanded, leaves few railroad field fortifications intact.

This was the case with the Red River site, which has been significantly altered by modern construction. The contemporary CSX line was completely rerouted around the earthworks, which could have destroyed other earthworks located on the site. The Old Highway 41 and modern Highway 41 have also caused extreme changes in the landscape. Multiple houses surround the site, and most of the land was artificially flattened throughout the process. It is amazing that any earthworks survive from the Civil War at this site. This history of construction around the landscape explains why other field fortifications were not originally considered.

It is the intention of the Historical and Wars Commissions to collaborate with CSX Railroad and Port Royal State Historic Park to stabilize and conserve the site, protecting this important cultural resource for future generations. Additionally, we hope to partner with the Tennessee Division of Archaeology to learn more about the site and to clarify both its interpretation and name. At this time, the property is not open to the public, but we hope to bring awareness to this unique historic site that contains both Civil War and transportation significance that is still present on the landscape today.

Sources:

Bobby Cooley, “Investigating Fort Redmond State Historic Site,” Research Document provided for Port Royal State Park, (2019).

James N. Brooks, Friends of Fort Redmond/ Red River Blockhouse #1 at Adams Station in Robertson County, Tennessee.

Joseph E. Brent, Red River Blockhouse Number 1, Report, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, 7.

The Uncivil War: Irregular Warfare in the Upper South, 1861–1865 by Robert R. Mackey and The Civil War in the Western Theater 1862 by Charles R. Bowery Jr. and the Center of Military History, United States Army.

The Cross-Tie, "Railroad History Runs Deep in Guthrie, Ky; Trains Still Run," (July 07, 2017): accessed July 30, 2019, Railfanning.org.

Benjamin Franklin Cooling, Forts Henry and Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Press, 1987.

"Page 37 Civil War Soldiers - Confederate – TN," Fold3 (website), accessed August 03, 2019, https://www.fold3.com/image/271/79487437.

Official Records refers to the War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Thomas F. Army and Heather N. Richardson, Engineering Victory: The Ingenuity, Proficiency, and Versatility of Union Citizen Soldiers in Determining the Outcome of the Civil War, PhD dissertation,  https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=dissertations_2.

W. E Merrill, “Block Houses for Railroad Defense in the Department of the Cumberland,” Sketches of War History, 1861-1865, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company (1991): 420-21.

Todd Defeo, "Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad,"(October 10, 2018): accessed July 30, 2019, Railfanning.org.

Thomas B. Van Horne, History of the Army of the Cumberland, Its Organization, Campaigns and Battles. Vol. 2. 1875. pg.  443-445.