The Cemetery Community

Building Stones River National Cemetery - 1865

Library of Congress

The U.S. victory at Stones River gave the Union Army control of middle Tennessee and bolstered support for the Emancipation Proclamation. The focus of the Civil War shifted to the end of enslavement, and escaped enslaved people flocked to Murfreesboro for protection. Black men and women often found work supporting the U.S. army, and some men joined the United States Colored Troops.

 

Voices of Cemetery

“The members of Cemetery community were closely united in spirit, and [they] strived to accomplish a better way of life.” –Leonora “Boe” Washington, Cemetery Resident

 

A Cemetery Community home.

NPS Photo

The 111th U.S. Colored Infantry built Stones River National Cemetery. Some veterans and formerly enslaved people built a vibrant Freedmen’s settlement on the destroyed landscape of the battlefield. Known as Cemetery, this community provided opportunities for dozens of families to create a better life.

 

Voices of Cemetery

“It was a central location where people gathered, and talked, discussed…. It was very good–a close-knit community, very close-knit community. It was the center of our social life really, that and the school.” - Anthony E. King, Cemetery Resident

 

 

Vocies of Cemetery

“On these grounds Free People with a thirst for knowledge became Educated Citizens of the United States of America”–Cemetery School Memorial Plaque

 

Cemetery School

NPS Photo

Cemetery School was built on donated land in 1874. Generations of children received their 1st-8th grade educations there until 1962. The final building from 1940 is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is being developed into a museum and cultural center.

 

Voices of Cemetery

“They really didn’t want to sell the land because that was the first thing they owned.” –Gale McLean, Cemetery Community Descendant

 

Cemetery School Plaque

Vincent Windrow - Cemetery Community Descendant

Congress approved the creation of Stones River National Military Park in 1927. African Americans, who owned more than half the land, were forced to sell their property. The displacement of Black people and erasure of their history created resentment and distrust between the park and the remaining community.

Stones River National Battlefield, through partnerships with the Black and African American community, continues to uncover and present stories of Cemetery. This work is slowly rebuilding trust and healing broken relationships.