In October 2001 the Tennessee Historical Society erected a historical marker at Redoubt No. 4 near Foster Hill Drive just off Abbott Martin Road in the Green Hills area of Nashville. Erected through the Joseph B. Leu Memorial Fund of the Tennessee Historical Society, this marker identifies and commemorates Redoubt No. 4, one of the last surviving features of the Battle Of Nashville. Below you will find the text of the marker as well as a photo of the marker.

Marker Text

Redoubt No. 4, Battle of Nashville

December 15, 1864

Redoubt No. 4 lies before you, one of the last surviving features of the Battle of Nashville.

In mid-December 1864, C.S.A. General John Bell Hood brought the 25,000 man Army of Tennessee to Nashville, hoping to liberate the city and move into Kentucky. On December 10, Hood ordered the construction of five redoubts (log and earth fortifications) near the Hillsboro Pike to protect his flanks. A winter storm froze the ground and the soldiers had not completed Redoubt No. 4 when the opening attack came on December 15.

In this part of the battlefield, U.S.A. troops formed about 11 a.m. along the ridge approximately ½ mile to the west of Redoubt No.4 (now Estes Road). Meanwhile over 24 U.S. cannons dueled with the redoubt’s 4 cannons fired by the 48 artillery men of Lumsden’s Battery, supported by 148 men of the 29th Alabama Infantry. They were ordered to hold the position at all hazard. 7,000 U.S. infantry and dismounted cavalry troops, armed with Spencer repeating rifles, began an assault at 2:15 p.m. Also, the U.S.A. had captured Redoubt No.5 to the south, and directed its cannon at Lumsden’s position. The Alabama troops were overwhelmed around 3 p.m. and a number were captured. The U.S.A. forces then crossed Hillsboro Pike, attacking the C.S.A. troops sheltered behind rock walls.

The Battle of Nashville continued until the late afternoon of December 16, when Hood’s army was finally defeated by the 50,000 soldiers under U.S.A. General George Thomas. It was the last battle of importance in Tennessee. By the following April, the Confederate States of America was no more.

Erected through the Joseph B. Leu Memorial Fund

of the Tennessee Historical Society

Marker at Redoubt #4. At left, Joseph L. May, President of the Tennessee Historical Society and at right, Dan E. Pomeroy, Immediate Past President of the Tennessee Historical Society.