Sarah Polk had been the widow of the 11th President of the United States for nearly a dozen years by the time the Civil War began to rage in 1861. During those years, Sarah had lived in quiet solitude in Nashville at Polk Place, the imposing mansion that she and her beloved James K. had […]
October 2015
James K. Polk | Shades of Gray and Blue
Holding Fast to Beauty Sarah Polk A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Johann Albert Lotz | Shades of Gray and Blue
In 1858 German immigrant Johann Albert Lotz (1820-1905) built a formidable wooden house in Franklin, Tennessee, trimmed inside and out with his highly decorative carving. Having learned his trade in Germany, he arrived in Franklin in 1855. Lotz had no way of knowing that his antebellum home would later be the center of the Battle […]
James Cameron | Shades of Gray and Blue
Scottish-born artist James Cameron moved to Chattanooga from Nashville sometime in the 1850s at the behest of Colonel James Anderson Whiteside. Whiteside, a Chattanooga businessman in the iron and railroad industries, was always eager to enhance the reputation and fortune of the city, and convinced the artist to move to Chattanooga under his patronage. Whiteside […]
Gates P. Thruston | Shades of Gray and Blue
Because Tennessee cities such as Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga were quickly occupied, some Union officers met sweethearts and married into southern society. Ohioan Gates P. Thruston met his future wife, Confederate sympathizer Ida Hamilton, in Nashville. Her father asked the well-mannered young captain for protection when their home was occupied by Union officers. Woodpecker Gorget. […]
Souveniring | Shades of Gray and Blue
Even though the University of the South did not open for classes until after the Civil War, the University possesses significant relics reflecting the pre-war prestige of the school. A thirty-one-star silk United States flag, created by the Ladies of Philadelphia in 1851, was carried in the procession for the inaugural meeting of the Trustees […]
His First Vote | Shades of Gray and Blue
Building a Future McKissacks A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Dog effigy pot front | Shades of Gray and Blue
Building a Future Gates P. Thruston A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
The Jubilee Singers | Shades of Gray and Blue
Making Music Jubilee Singers A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Susan Brownlow | Shades of Gray and Blue
Tennesseans at first voted against secession in February 1861. However, a statewide referendum held soon after the commencement of war found Middle and West Tennessee voters, whose living was tied to the southern system of agriculture, which was often dependent upon slavery, in favor of leaving the Union. East Tennessee, which remained loyal, was considered […]
Wooden Heart Closed | Shades of Gray and Blue
Visualizing The War Samuel Bell Palmer A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Wooden Heart Open | Shades of Gray and Blue
Visualizing The War Samuel Bell Palmer A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Federal Troop Barracks | Shades of Gray and Blue
Visualizing The War Samuel Bell Palmer A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Swafford’s Chapel | Shades of Gray and Blue
Making Music Jubilee Singers A website co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University Walker Library, and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, with generous support from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.