Fort Gillem

Fort Gillem (1862-1865) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1862 in present day Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. Named Fort Gillem after Union Brigadier General Alvan C. Gillem, (Cullum 1504), who supervised construction of the fort. Renamed Fort Sill in 1863 probably after Brigadier General Joshua W. Sill, (Cullum 1581), who was killed on 31 Dec 1862 at the Battle of Stone's River. The fort was abandoned by Union troops in 1865 after the end of the war.

History of Fort Gillem

The beginning of the U.S. Civil War found Nashville under Confederate control with Fort Henry and Fort Donelson providing external protection. With the loss of Fort Henry (6 Feb 1862) and Fort Donelson (16 Feb 1862) the Confederate position in Nashville became untenable and they surrendered the city on 25 Feb 1862.

Union forces occupied the city and turned Nashville into a Union logistics hub for the region. Work on the fortifications for the city began in August 1862 using large numbers of conscripted contrabands (runaway slaves) and free Blacks.

Fort Gillem was built as a strong earthworks fortification by Union forces under the command of Brigadier General Alvan C. Gillem, (Cullum 1504), in 1862.

The Battle of Nashville

The Battle of Nashville began on 15 Dec 1864 south of the city and away from Fort Gillum. The battle pitted the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt. General John Bell Hood, (Cullum 1622), against Union forces under Major General George H. Thomas, (Cullum 1028). General Hood had been a student of General Thomas at the United States Military Academy, received instruction in artillery from him. The Union forces prevailed and the Confederates fell back with heavy losses.

Fort Gillem was abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war and eventually the fort site became a part of Fisk University and some of the fort buildings were used by the school for a time. Fisk was founded in 1866.

Current Status

The site is now part of Fisk University's Jubilee Hall.

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USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1680783

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Location: Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. Maps & Images Lat: 36.16889 Long: -86.805 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 515'

See Also:

• Nashville Defense System - U.S. Civil War

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 747.

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Gillem

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