Remembering by Rail

Wayside Exhibit - Remembering By Rail

Exhibit Text: The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway played a major role in memorializing battlefields. The company bought land and installed signs along the tracks to identify battle locations. They built monuments like the Artillery Monument in front of you. Special trains carried veterans to reunions and formal celebrations. Railway president John W. Thomas championed this work. During his tenure, the company scheduled tours to southern battlefields. At stops like Cemetery, railway platforms became the gateways to hallowed ground. Passengers stepped off trains and onto the burial ground for thousands of Union soldiers.

Subtext Upper Right: The railway interpreted the Civil War to its passengers. They provided booklets that explained the battles along the train’s route.

Subtext Lower Left: To see the Artillery Monument, passengers got off at this station, a half mile to your right.

 

Return to Stop 6: McFadden's Farm