Hazen Brigade Monument: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Stones River National Battlefield, National Park Service

National Park Service

The Hazen Brigade Monument is a component landscape of the Stones River National Battlefield located northwest of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, approximately 40 miles southeast of Nashville. Situated between the Old Nashville Pike and the CSX Railroad (formerly the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad), the Hazen Brigade Monument and landscape were constructed in 1863-1865 by members of Col. William Hazen's Union Brigade. The historic designed landscape consists of a small rectangular lot (0.84 acres) based on the 1875 tract acquired by the War Department. According to National Register documentation, the Hazen Brigade Monument is significant as a designed landscape and contributes to the larger Stones River National Battlefield historic district. It is nationally significant as a part of a Civil War battlefield and as a commemorative site, marking the location of the Union defense with one of the first monuments erected before the end of the war. The landscape also features a unique example of vernacular design, representative of the traditional commemorative architecture that would be replaced with the development of post-war memorial design. The period of significance for the Hazen Brigade Monument spans 1862-1933; this includes the Battle of Stones River that occurred at the site, early efforts of Brigade members to memorialize the battle, and the eventual War Department administration of the site. Of these years, the most active period of construction and commemoration in the landscape’s history was 1863-1865. A limestone perimeter wall at the east end of the tract encloses a large quadrangular monument and cemetery. The enclosed portion of the landscape contains several offset rows of limestone and marble headstones, totaling 55. The stone wall encloses an area measuring approximately 40 by 100 feet, and in 1895 this dry-stacked wall was entirely reconstructed with mortared joints. The Hazen Brigade Monument stands in the middle of this walled area, a 10-square foot limestone marker with inscriptions on each side and the oldest known Civil War monument in its original location. The monument commemorates the Union position, known as Round Forest, successfully held by the 19th brigade during the first day of fighting during the Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862 - January 2, 1863). A curvilinear concrete walkway leads from the parking lot to the monument. The path winds through an open grassy field and terminates at a gap in the stone wall, beyond which two additional gravesites of African-American individuals are located. Two cannons mounted on carriages flank the pathway, and the field is punctuated by a scattering of mature deciduous and small flowering trees. Although the site is near the Stones River National Cemetery in terms of both history and proximity, the landscapes are regarded as distinct. The monument landscape retains integrity in aspects of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and the site continues to convey its significance to the Civil War battle events, subsequent commemoration efforts, and its relationship to the Stones River National Battlefield. The 1999 General Management Plan for the park states its objective to preserve "the 1860s design of the Hazen Brigade Monument, and maintain a quiet, reflective, and reverent atmosphere.” This would be achieved though the continued preservation of structures and small scale features at the site, along with increased interpretation.

Hazen Brigade Monument: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Stones River National Battlefield, National Park Service

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