Battle of Stones River Scout Hike

Distance - 3.6 to 8.4 Miles

The Battle of Stones River was one of the most important battles of the Civil War. The Union victory here bolstered morale at a time it was needed most and helped support the Emancipation Proclamation that began the process of changing the war into something more than a fight simply to preserve the Union. With the construction of Fortress Rosecrans, the battle also set the stage for the next campaigns that saw Federal forces drive deeper into the South destroying the Confederacy’s ability to continue fighting.Today you will hike portions of the battlefield and learn more about the events that occurred here. Before you begin here are a few suggestions and requests to make your day more enjoyable while ensuring that other visitors have a chance to enjoy the park.

• Park your group’s vehicles in the recreational user/overflow lot located off the gravel road near the visitor center.
• Bring plenty of water and energy snacks on your hike.
• Use the restrooms before you begin.
• Make sure your leader has a park guide and trail map.
• Watch your footing on unimproved trails.
• Do not climb on cannons, monuments, walls, fences, or trees.
• Use caution when crossing roads and always cross at a crosswalk.

Start your hike with visit to our visitor center and Museum. Watch the Orientation Film and answer the following questions.

1. What are the dates of the Battle of Stones River?

2. On the night before battle, what song was played in unison by bands of both the North and South?

3. What name did the soldiers give the fields near the Round Forest?

4. What killed Henry Hall?

5. What did the two armies do on January 1, 1863? (Check the exhibit on the back patio of the visitor center for this answer)

Use the park map and the directions below to begin exploring the battlefield.

Leave the visitor center and turn left. Use the crosswalk to get to the paved trail that begins near the picnic area and walk to the exhibit near the cannons at Tour Stop 4.

6. What command did Sergeant Henry Freeman of the Pioneer Brigade say, “came like an electric shock?

Coninue walking south on the paved trail passing therough the bollards and onto a road that is now for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists. You will see a dirt trail on your left as you reach a rail fence at the edge of the woods. Take the Cedars Trail to the next exhibit.

7. How did Maney’s men fortify their position on January 1, 1863?

Continue on the Cedars Trail until you reach Tour Stop 3. Be careful crossing the road and take the paved trail that runs back to the visitor center until you reach an exhibit in the midst of the Cotton Field.

8. How many casualties (killed, wounded, and captured) did the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles suffer?

Return to Tour Stop 3 and and turn left onto the paved trail that connects the tour road to McFadden/VanCleve Lane at Tour Stop 1.

9. How close did the Confederates get to Lt. Charles Parsons’ Battery before he gave the order to fire?

Turn right and use the marked pedestrian bicycle lane on McFadden/VanCleve Lane to walk to Tour Stop 2. Be careful when crossing the road and follow the signs to complete the Slaughter Pen loop trail.

10. How long was General Philip Sheridan able to hold his lines in the Slaughter Pen?

Retrace your steps on McFadden/VanCleve Lane until you reach the intersection with the Old Nashville Highway. Turn right and walk in the grass behind picket fence. Use the crosswalk at the opening in the fence to cross the road and then turn right and walk to Tour Stop 5 behind the rail fence. Explore the exhibits located at this site.

11 How many times did the Confederates attack this position?

12. What was the name of the community that William Holland lived in after the war?

Your hike thus far has covered 2.6 miles, and answering the 12 questions above will qualify you to purchase the commemorative patch. If you choose to return to the visitor center from this point by using the trail from Tour Stop 3 back to the visitor center, the total distance of the hike is about 3.4 miles

If you wish to visit the site where the final day of the Battle of Stones River took place, you can drive to Tour Stop 6, or you can walk in the mown grass behind the rail fence toward the Thompson Lane bridge and get on the paved trail connecting the Stones River Greenway to the park. This route will make your hike 8.4 miles including your return to the visitor center.

Once you reach the General Bragg's Headquarters trailhead, access the Stones River Greenway and turn left. A 1.5 mile walk will bring you to the McFadden Lane Trace trail. Walk up that trail to Tour Stop 6.

13. Why did the men of the First Kentucky Brigade call themselves orphans?

14. Who built the Artillery Monument in 1906?