John BanksThompson’s Station, Tennessee
When looking for Civil War sites to see in Middle Tennessee, most explorers make a beeline for Franklin, where on November 30, 1864, a five-hour battle resulted in 8,500 casualties, or they head to Nashville, the site two weeks later of a decisive Union victory. A site often overlooked is nearby: Thompson’s Station (10 miles south of Franklin on Columbia Pike/State Route 31 or about a 45-minute drive from downtown Nashville). Here on March 5, 1863, Confederates under Earl Van Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest captured roughly 1,100 Union soldiers in an unheralded but nasty battle.
For decades afterward, Thompson’s Station was a sleepy town along the Nashville & Decatur Railroad line. Now it’s a growing suburb near the Interstate 65 corridor. But pockets of the battlefield remain untouched by developers—if you know where to look.
Homestead Manor (4683 Columbia Pike, 615-854-7975), the wartime residence of Confederate officer Thomas Banks and the vortex of the battle, serves today as a community center/coffee shop. You can down a latte in the mansion and examine battlefield relics (including a large cannonball once used as doorstop) displayed in a side room. Nearby, along the railroad track that follows the wartime line, is the third iteration (shown here) of the Thompson’s Station Depot (1550 Thompson’s Station Rd W), the original having been destroyed during the fighting. This is where dismounted Texas cavalry forced the retreat of the 33rd and 85th Indiana infantry regiments.
For the best view of the battlefield, head from the depot past the distillery nearby and hang a right at the tracks until you reach the gravel parking lot for Preservation Park (1600 Thompson’s Station Rd W). From there, follow the steep trail to the tall hill for what is an epic view. Somewhere on the battlefield, 19th Michigan soldier Judson Austin found his brother—one of the battle’s roughly 2,200 casualties. “I stooped to his ear & called his name,” he later wrote, “but no answer.”
In the distance, across Columbia Pike, stands a circa-1820 mansion altered by a 21st-century developer. Nearby a large monument, dedicated in 2009, honors Forrest’s beloved mount, Roderick, killed during the fighting and whose remains are said to rest somewhere on the battlefield.
John Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip of a Lifetime (2023), Connecticut Yankees at Antietam (2013), and Hidden History of Connecticut Union Soldiers (2015). He lives in Nashville with his wife, Carol.
