The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story (Teaching with Historic Places)

This lesson is part of the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program.

National Park Service

If a soldier ever saw lightning, and heard the thunder bolts of a tornado at the same time the heavens opened and the stars of destruction were sweeping everything from the face of the earth, if he was in this charge, he saw it.¹

The bloody Civil War battle fought among the rocky cedar glades near the town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, left an indelible imprint on the lives of many a soldier and his family. As one gazes across the narrow waters of Stones River today, it is difficult to imagine the carnage of a Civil War battle. The quiet waters no longer echo the sound of cannon fire or screams of death. The cold limestone and cedar thickets no longer resound with the sharp sound of 10,000 muskets delivering their deadly charges. But perhaps we can imagine soldiers struggling along what was once a cotton field, picking the harvest’s remains to stuff in their ears so that the din of battle might somehow seem more distant. For many, the quiet came too soon. The battle at Stones River claimed 23,000 casualties--it was the second bloodiest battle fought west of the Appalachians during the Civil War. The Stones River National Battlefield stands today as a silent reminder of those individuals who lost their lives there.

¹ W. J. McMurray, M.D., History of the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry C.S.A. (Nashville: The Publication Committee of the Regiment, 1904), 238.

About This Lesson

This lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file for "Stones River National Battlefield" (with photographs,) and primary sources about the battle. Stones River was written by Tammy Calvin Weller, former Park Ranger at Stones River National Battlefield and Michael Harris, former principal at Bethesda Elementary School in Thompson Station, Tennessee, and a longtime volunteer for the park. The lesson was edited by Fay Metcalf, education consultant, and the Teaching with Historic Places staff. TwHP is sponsored, in part, by the Cultural Resources Training Initiative and Parks as Classrooms programs of the National Park Service. This lesson is one in a series that brings the important stories of historic places into the classrooms across the country.

Where it fits into the curriculum

Time Period: 1861-1865

Topics: The lesson could be used in U.S. history, social studies, and geography courses in units on the American Civil War or in units on conflict. The lesson will help students understand the impact of this battle on the participants and the battle's significance in the course of the American Civil War.

United States History Standards for Grades 5-12

The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story relates to the following National Standards for History:

Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

• Standard 2B: The student understands the social experience of the war on the battlefield and homefront

Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

(National Council for the Social Studies)

The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story relates to the following Social Studies Standards:

Theme II: Time, Continuity and Change

• Standard E: The student develops critical sensitivities such as empathy and skepticism regarding attitudes, values, and behaviors of people in different historical contexts.

Theme V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

• Standard D: The student identifies and analyzes examples of tensions between expressions of individuality and group or institutional efforts to promote social conformity.

Theme VI: Power, Authority, and Governance

• Standard B: The student describes the purpose of government and how its powers are acquired, used, and justified.

Objectives for students

1. To describe the Battle of Stones River and its aftermath;
2. To analyze and evaluate firsthand accounts related to the Battle of Stones River;
3. To investigate the way surviving participants commemorated the Battle of Stones River;
4. To determine how wars have been commemorated in their own community.

Materials for students

The materials listed below either can be used directly on the computer or can be printed out, photocopied, and distributed to students.
1. Two maps of Tennessee and the surrounding area;
2. Two readings from contemporary accounts about the battle and its participants;
3. One painting, one photo, and one diagram of the battle and the Hazen Brigade Monument.

Visiting the site

Stones River National Battlefield, administered by the National Park Service, is located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 27 miles southeast of Nashville. The battlefield is open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except December 25. For further information, write the Superintendent, Stones River National Battlefield, 3501 Old Nashville Highway, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, or visit the park's website.

Getting Started

What might the large structure be? What purpose do you think it serves?

Setting the Stage

During the Civil War’s four years of fighting (1861-1865), Union strategies varied. An early strategy, meant to contain the armies of the South, involved dispersing small contingents of troops around the 6,000 miles of land and water borders of the Confederacy. When that strategy seemingly faltered, the Northern armies and river navies decided to break through Southern defenses along a 400-mile front in Tennessee and Kentucky. In mid-February 1862, the Union army in Tennessee, under Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, captured two strategic forts, Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Later that month, Union troops captured Nashville without a shot, and the first Confederate state capital fell. In April Grant won again at Shiloh. In October Confederate leader General Braxton Bragg aborted his once promising Kentucky campaign and settled at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the winter. Union General William Rosecrans followed Bragg from Kentucky as far as Nashville. The two armies were fighting for control of middle Tennessee’s railroads and rich farms. On December 26, 1862, General Rosecrans and his army left Nashville with the intention of sweeping Bragg and his army aside and continuing on to Chattanooga. As the Union troops neared Murfreesboro, the scene was set for a bloody battle that both sides would claim as a victory, but which would be remembered by the ordinary soldiers as a hell.

Locating the Site

Map 1: Tennessee and surrounding states

Questions for Map 1
1) List all the states that border Tennessee and note those that were slave states in the Confederacy and those that were slave states controlled by the Union.
2) Why do you think the Union chose to break through the Confederacy’s defenses in Tennessee?

Locating the Site

Map 2: Nashville and Middle Tennessee

Map 2 was taken from a military map of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. The map was drawn by Charles E. Swann, Asst. Engr. Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co., Lithographers, Engraphers [sic] and Printers, Cincinnati, O. Published by Cincinnati, Ohio, Office of Chief Engineer, Department of the Ohio, 1863

Library of Congress

When the Union army left Nashville for Murfreesboro on December 26, 1862, the army, divided into three corps, traveled along a number of routes. Portions of the army passed through these towns: Brentwood, Triune, Nolensville, Mechanicsville, La Vergne, and Stewartsburg.

Questions for Map 2
1) Examine Map 2 closely. Plot out the various routes the three corps must have taken. Why do you think the army marched in three groups rather than as one massive army?
2) What is the most direct route to Murfreesboro?
3) What form of transportation generally follows the most direct route to Murfreesboro?
4) Why would the railroad have been an important link to Nashville for the Union army?

Determining the Facts

Reading 1: The Soldiers and the Battle of Stones River

On the evening of December 30, 1862, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg and Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans and their combined total of 83,000 soldiers were camped near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Everyone knew that a battle was only hours away and that the victor would have a strategic advantage. The bands of both armies played, each trying to drown out the other, as they could be heard for some distance. Then, one of the bands struck up "Home Sweet Home," and "as if by common consent, all other airs ceased, and the bands of both armies, far as the ear could reach, joined in the refrain."¹ Together, the soldiers sang the bittersweet song that brought back memories of home and family. Voices faded as the call came for lights out in the frosty camps.

At dawn on New Year’s Eve, General Bragg took the initiative by attacking while the Union soldiers were building their fires and eating their breakfasts. One Union soldier described that morning:

"The comfort of warming chilled fingers and toes and drinking a grateful cup of hot coffee outweighed for the moment any consideration of danger.... As all was so quiet, not a shot having been fired, I...walked out until the enemy’s breastworks were in view and there, sure enough,...a succession of long lines of Gray were swarming over the Confederate breastworks and sweeping towards us but not yet within gun shot range."²

Then came chaos. Men began to run in every direction, for no one knew where to go. That soldier continued:

"Our only salvation was to lie flat as possible, for the air seethed with the ‘Zip’ of bullets.... It reminded me of the passage of a swarm of bees. Bullets plowed little furrows around us, throwing up grass and soil into our faces or over our bodies, and others struck with a dull ‘thud’ into some poor unfortunate soul."³

The Union was forced back for three miles, briefly holding several positions long enough to allow General Rosecrans to gather Union cannon and redeploy units to shield the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad and Nashville Pike--his army’s lifelines. The Confederates assaulted the Union cannon and infantry, and were met with such a volley from about 40 cannon that they were forced to beat a retreat as best they could. The Confederates attacked the cannon several times, but were beaten back until all attempts ceased for the day. Even so, the Confederates had won so much ground that General Bragg telegraphed Richmond, Virginia, exclaiming, "God has granted us a Happy New Year."

The following day in Washington, D.C., Thursday, January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announced his Emancipation Proclamation: "I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within any States...in rebellion against the United States shall be...forever free." No one in Murfreesboro knew of this momentous event, however. That day was spent tending to the dead and wounded that covered the ground and filled the makeshift hospitals.

But the fighting resumed the next day, at 4 p.m., near the banks of the Stones River. The Confederates made a successful attack that drove the Union troops in headlong retreat across the river. Once again, the Confederates were met by Union cannon. Firing more than 100 rounds per minute at close range, the cannon mowed down the Confederates. The roar continued for more than 10 minutes, and shook the earth under the soldiers’ feet. A soldier from Florida gave the following report:

"The nearest the [Yankees] came to getting me was shooting a hole in my pants and cutting hair off my right temple. I know a peck of balls passed in less than a yard of me....The man in front of me got slightly wounded [and]...the one on my right mortally and the one on my left killed."⁴

In less than an hour, 1,800 Confederates fell dead or wounded, and their earlier successful, dashing charge suddenly turned into a retreat.

Two days later, General Bragg withdrew. In the midst of a cold winter rain, the Confederate army retreated from the field. General Rosecrans remained in Murfreesboro and built the most extensive fortification yet erected during the war. The failure of General Bragg to maintain a hold on middle Tennessee lost the Confederacy rich farmland and opened a corridor for the Union army to penetrate the Deep South, thus providing the opportunity for Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea.

Shortly after the battle, a Union soldier wrote:

"Before this battle took place, the outlook for our country was very dark and threatening. Our armies had gained no signal [important] victories for many months, and there was very great danger that some of the Nations of Europe would recognize the Southern Confederacy, and that it would be impossible for us to maintain our blockade. Had General Rosecrans’ Army been defeated at the battle of Stones River...it would not only have prolonged the War, but would have greatly increased our danger of conflicts with foreign countries."⁵

In total, more than 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, missing or captured. From the Union army, about 1,700 men were killed, 7,800 were wounded and 3,700 were missing--a total of 13,200 casualties from an army estimated to count 41,400. The Confederates’ casualties included 1,300 killed, 7,900 wounded, and about 1,000 missing for a total of 10,200 out of an estimated army of 35,000. A Confederate soldier wrote of the battle:

"I am sick and tired of this war, and I can see no prospects of having peace for a long time to come, I don’t think it will ever be stopped by fighting, the Yankees cant whip us and we can never whip them, and I see no prospect of peace unless the Yankees themselves rebell and throw down their arms, and refuse to fight any longer."⁶

Many Union soldiers were as tired of the fighting as this unnamed foot soldier, but they did not rebel. The war continued for more than two years after the Battle of Stones River. Finally, with two-thirds of its railroad mileage destroyed, its capital at Richmond in flames, and General Robert E. Lee blocked by General Ulysses S. Grant, the Confederate army was forced to surrender on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

¹ Samuel Seay, 1st Tennessee, Maney’s Brigade, as quoted in David R. Logsdon, Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Stones River (Nashville: Kettle Mills Press, 1989), 13.
² Sgt. Major Widney, 34th Illinois, Kirk’s Brigade, as quoted in Logsdon, 14.
³ Sgt. Major Widney, 34th Illinois, Kirk’s Brigade, as quoted in Logsdon, 15.
⁴ Washington Mackey Ives, 4th Florida, Preston’s Brigade, as quoted in Logsdon, 67.
⁵ J. T. Gibson, 78th Pennsylvania, as quoted in Logsdon, p. iii.
⁶ As quoted in E. B. Long with Barbara Long, The Civil War Day by Day--An Almanac 1861-1865 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1971), 307.

Reading 1 was compiled from David L. Logsdon, Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Stones River (Nashville: Kettle Mills Press, 1989); and E. B. Long with Barbara Long, The Civil War Day by Day--An Almanac 1861-1865 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1971).

Questions for Reading 1
1) Do you think the time of year may have affected the moods of the soldiers as they prepared for battle? How?
2) Read the following lyrics of "Home Sweet Home," written by John Howard Payne. The music was by Sir Henry Bishop. It was first performed in 1823.

’Mid pleasures and Palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble there’s no place like home!
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.
Home! Home, sweet sweet Home!
There’s no place like Home! There’s no place like Home!

Why do you think the soldiers sang "Home Sweet Home"? Do you think it would have comforted them, or made them more sad and frightened? How do you think the soldiers might have felt about their enemies who were singing the same song, but against whom they would soon be fighting?
3) Do you think Bragg should have telegraphed Richmond with news of his early success? Why or why not?
4) Why do you think both sides took January 1 off as a day to tend to their wounded and readjust their lines? Do you think that would happen in a modern war?
5) If the number of casualties determined who won, would Union or Confederate forces be the victors at the Battle of Stones River?
6) Why do you think General Bragg withdrew his forces?
7) Why was middle Tennessee such an important gain for the Union?

Determining the Facts

Reading 2: Night on the Battlefield

Following are excerpts from two articles that appeared in the Cleveland Herald in April, 1863.

Night on the Battle Field of Stone’s River--The Old Year Out--the New Year’s Ride
Carefully, driver, carefully! Let the hard iron of the wheels roll slowly over the pounded stone of the [Nashville] pike. The young soldier still lives. His breath is short, but we may yet reach the hospital ere he dies. Guide steadily past the shattered wagons--round the heaps of dead horses--through the long rows of corpses; watch that no foot of a horse jars against the fallen dead--the heroes of the last day of 1862--resting now, where they fell, or where friends have laid them. Here they lie in rows of miles, sleeping out the old year. On the last day of Sixty-two they stood for their country and for Freedom. At its midnight hour they sleep, no more to awake to war’s ringing bugle call.

Well might thoughts of the old year and of eternity crowd upon the mind of the soldier whose duty to the wounded living brought him across that vast field of the ghastly dead--this night so clear and frosty--the last of December.

The story, as he told it--he, a private...--let me tell it.

That awful night! Words will not paint it, yet may give some faint idea of what sad experience a day of carnage brings.

At 9 o’clock of the evening of December 31st, an ambulance left one of the hospitals of Rosecrans’ army, moving in the direction of Nashville. Two soldiers lay upon the carriage. The life blood of one, following the passage of a minnie ball through the breast, was oozing out from the right lung, staining the blankets beneath. The other, suffering from a crushing shot through the left leg...[was] scarcely conscious. Along with the carriage walked [the] private--going to care for his wounded companions.

Three miles along the stony pike...lay their route. Here an artillery wagon had been swept by a bursting shell--its gun dismounted, its wheels shattered, the horses and men fallen together, lay mixed as they had gone down. Still tangled in the harness hitched to the caissons, lay the hind parts of a horse, his breast and forelegs swept away, while the lifeless body of an artillerist rested with an arm over the dismounted gun....

Yonder a cavalryman had fallen, his drawn saber reflecting in the moonlight against the dark earth where he lay; and beside him his comrade and his horse, all keeping the same silent watch of death.

The sharp frost of a clear night spread its white drapery over the clothes of the dead--on the locks [of hair]...gathered its icy breath, offering alike to all a common shroud....

All along the road for more than two miles, were these scenes of horror met by the weary soldier. Still on rolled the ambulance--past broken wagons--lost muskets and dismounted artillery, to the great general hospital of the fourth division.

Here after midnight lay the wounded and dying, covering an acre of ground...of which every room was filled, every outhouse crowded, the very floor wet with blood. Close by lay a man with an arm gone--next to him one with a leg smashed--there a part of a face was shot away....Yet all those hundreds living, many waiting the dressing of their wounds with patience.

Our two soldier boys were taken from the ambulance into the building, and with hundreds of others closed no eyes to sleep that last December night.

The morning sun of Jan. 1st, 1863 rose upon a day as clear as ever dawned. Surgeons came that morning, and looked upon the one wounded in the breast,...whispering to the private that "He will die."

At 9 o’clock that morning [another] soldier and the one wounded through the breast were put into a strong army wagon...and, with the private and...driver, started over the pike for Nashville. Just as they reached the bridge the enemy, sweeping round our right, had brought a battery to bear upon the bridge.

Fearfully whirled our driver on, as if careless of the dying men in his charge, and only seeking safety in flight. Full three miles the race continued, when on came dashing a battalion of the rebel Wheeler’s cavalry...yelling and firing on the teamster and the wounded. The breastwounded soldier lay gasping, and ordering the other soldier, who held his footless leg in one hand..., to shoot the driver if he did not stop, that they might surrender, before they were murdered by the now near foe. But on, on heedless alike of threats and enemy, dashed the driver.... Nine miles over the stony road had the race continued. The determined driver had brought his team through, and escaped with the suffering load.

At 9 o’clock that evening they were taken from the wagon...and placed upon good cots, receiving close attention at the hands of skillful surgeons.

Charles Stansell, the driver, and the soldiers he transported survived their ordeal at Stones River. Later, Stansell was killed in a fight. He is buried at the Hazen Brigade Monument on the battlefield at the request of those he saved. The soldier who had been wounded in the breast at Stones River wrote the following tribute for the Cleveland Herald:

Death of a Brave Soldier
The untimely death of Charles Stansell, Co. G 41st Ohio, deserves from me more than a passing notice.

Charles Stansell was the fearless driver of a four horse team from Murfreesboro to Nashville...when Lieut. Wolcott and myself were being conveyed to a hospital.... He...would not stop, but rushed on, heedless of our protests and threats...thus saving our team, our wagon, and our lives, all of which would have been sacrificed had we fallen into the hands of the rebels.

Questions for Reading 2
1) In your own words, what is the event described in the first newspaper article?
2) How was the narrator able to relate the events in such great detail?
3) What sights did the ambulance pass along the Nashville?
4) How does the narrator describe the hospital area? What words or phrases does he use to give a sense of the numbers of the wounded?
5) Who threatened the ambulance and its occupants after it left the division hospital?
6) Why do you think the breast-wounded soldier was taken to Nashville rather than being left at the division hospital?
7) Why do you think the soldier felt compelled to write a tribute to Charles Stansell after his death?

Visual Evidence

Painting 1: A view of the chaos and destruction of the Battle of Stones River as painted by William Travis, c. 1865

Smithsonian Institution, Photo no. 49431-A

Painting 1 shows the chaos and destruction of the battle, and the desperate situation of the Union army as it flees a Confederate onslaught.

Questions for Painting 1
1) Examine closely the action portrayed in this painting. Choose one of the characters shown and describe what you believe your character saw and what he was feeling.
2) What do you think is the focus of the painting? Why do you think the artist might have painted this particular scene?
3) What emotions does this painting evoke in you? Do you think the painter intentionally attempted to elicit strong emotions in this work? Why or why not?

Visual Evidence

Photo 1: Hazen Brigade Monument

Stones River National Battlefield

Visual Evidence

Diagram 1: Location of the artifacts found in the Hazen Monument.

National Park Service

Archer, Burton, and Parrot are types of artillery shells

Following the battle, a detail of soldiers from the four regiments composing Hazen’s Brigade set about the task of burying their dead. The site they chose was close to the crest of a hill near the railroad tracks. Hazen’s Brigade was one of the few Union units that held their ground and never retreated during the heavy Confederate attack on December 31, 1862. Fifty-five graves surround the 10-foot high limestone monument that was constructed in the months immediately following the battle.

In 1985 it became evident that rainwater seeping into the interior of the monument had loosened and displaced the mortar between the limestone rocks of the structure. In order to properly seal the walls and preserve the monument, the top was removed and the interior fill materials were taken out, level by level. On July 29, 1985, work was halted when strange evidence appeared among the fill material.

Diagram 1 is a drawing of the interior of the monument six levels down. A six-pound shell and three other artillery shells were immediately visible to the archeologist on site. Two rifle barrels, a staff, and several other artillery shells were soon found. All the objects were battle related, and most of Confederate origin.

Questions for Photo 1 and Diagram 1
1) Examine Photo 1, the Hazen Brigade Monument. What is your immediate reaction to the design of the monument?
2) Why, considering the horror these soldiers endured at that location, would they would erect a monument so soon after the battle?
3) Examine Diagram 1. Why do you think these items were placed in the monument? Keep in mind that it was not expected that these items would ever be seen by anyone other than the monument’s builders.
4) If you constructed the monument, what items might you have included?
5) Do you think it was important to protect this monument from further decay? Why or why not?

Putting It All Together

Today, Stones River National Battlefield preserves part of the site where many Civil War soldiers fought and died. These soldiers came from all over the country, representing various cultures, communities, and age groups. The following activities will help the students understand the experience of soldiers involved in a war.

Activity 1: Monument Inscriptions
Have students refer to the inscriptions on the Hazen Brigade Monument below. Working in pairs, have them choose one of the inscriptions to study. Have each pair decide what they think the inscription means, and report on its findings. Then ask each pair to create its own inscription for the Hazen monument. You may wish to display these inscriptions on the bulletin board.

The inscriptions on the Hazen monument read as follows:

Face One:

HAZENS BRIGADE
TO
THE MEMORY OF ITS SOLDIERS
WHO FELL AT
STONE RIVER DEC. 31 1862
"THEIR FACES TOWARD HEAVEN, THEIR FEET TO
THE FOE"

Face Two:

THE VETERANS OF SHILOH
HAVE LEFT A DEATHLESS HERITAGE OF
FAME UPON THE FIELD OF
STONE RIVER.

Face Three:

ERECTED 1863 UPON THE GROUND
WHERE THEY FELL.
BY THEIR COMRADES.

Face Four:

THE BLOOD OF ONE THIRD ITS SOLDIERS
TWICE SPILLED IN TENNESSEE
CRIMSONS THE BATTLE FLAG OF THE BRIGADE
AND INSPIRES TO GREATER DEEDS.

Activity 2: Working with Primary Sources
This lesson contains information from primary sources, sometimes called firsthand accounts. Remind students that written materials such as letters, diaries, some newspaper accounts, proclamations by government officials, proceedings of the courts, etc., are called primary documents because they were written by eyewitnesses and their contemporaries. Some paintings, photographs, coins, tools, weapons, and other examples of material culture may also provide primary information because they were crafted by people who were living at the time of a particular event. Once such materials have been examined and authenticated, they are used as the basis for the conclusions represented in written narratives.

Have students make a list of the primary sources used in this lesson (quotations in Reading 1, all of Reading 2, which was related to the author of the article by an eyewitness, the Hazen Monument and its inscriptions, and the diagram made by the archeologist; the painting by William Travis was created after the event, but it was based on firsthand account). Have each student choose one primary source and then complete the following analysis:

Identify

• Why is it considered a primary source?
• Can you identify an author?
• When was it created?
• Why was it created?
• Can you identify for what audience it was prepared?

Evaluate

• Is the information presented reliable? How do you know? What other sources could you use to verify its accuracy?
• Did the author take part in the event or was he reporting what others had said?
• Did the author have a negative or positive view of the events? How can you tell? Do you think that affected his or her judgment?

Share Your Information
Once students have studied their source thoroughly, have them share their conclusions with their classmates, especially with those who worked with the same evidence. Did they reach the same conclusions? How are data of this type useful to understanding one battle of the Civil War, compared to a historian’s description or textbook account?

Activity 3: Civil War Participation
Put the names of the following states on the chalkboard. Have students check the list to determine if soldiers from the state where their school is located, or from the states in which students were born, fought at the Battle of Stones River.

Alabama	North Carolina	Georgia
Indiana	Texas	Michigan
Missouri	Florida	Pennsylvania
Tennessee	Louisiana	Illinois
Arkansas	Ohio	Mississippi
Kentucky	Wisconsin	South Carolina

Then have students do research to find out if any Civil War battles occurred in their state. If so, have them describe the battles; if not, have them explain why their state did not take part in the Civil War in that way.

Additional Resources

Stones River National Battlefield
Stones River National Battlefield is a unit of the National Park System. Visit the park's web pages for more information about the park and Stones River National Cemetery.

The American Battlefield Protection Program
The American Battlefield Protection Program, a division of the National Park Service, provides detailed information about different topics in the Civil War on its website.

National Park Service Civil War Website
Visit the official National Park Service Civil War website. Offering the current generation of Americans an opportunity to know, discuss, and commemorate this country's greatest national crisis, while at the same time exploring its enduring relevance in the present, the website includes a variety of helpful features such as a timeline and stories from various perspectives. Also included are links to Civil War Parks, NPS education programs, and much more.

Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System
The National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System is a database containing facts about Civil War servicemen, lists of Civil War regiments, and descriptions of significant Civil War battles. Also on this site is a descriptive history of African-Americans in the Civil War.

Library of Congress
The Library of Congress created a selected Civil War photographic history in their "American Memory" collection. Included on the site is a timeline of the Civil War covering major events for each year of the war.

The American Civil War Museum
The American Civil War Museum is a center to explore the war and its legacies. Their website contains photographs, flags, and online exhibits.