Report and Recommendations
The Triune Fortifications
Triune, Williamson County, TN
Introduction
In July of 2008, Thomason and Associates (Consultant) contracted with Franklin’s Charge to provide consulting services related to the Triune Fortifications. The Consultant agreed to endeavor to meet or talk with all owners of the Triune Fortifications to discuss the significance of the fortifications and options for their preservation and to detail in a written report the fortifications’ current condition, ownership, threats, and recommendations for preservation.
Significance
The Triune Fortifications in eastern Williamson County, Tennessee are an important historical resource from the middle of the Civil War. After the United States Army of the Ohio defeated the Confederate Army of the Mississippi at Perryville, Kentucky in October of 1862, the Confederates ceded control of the state and retreated to positions north of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. There the army reorganized, becoming the Army of Tennessee, but remained under the leadership of General Braxton Bragg. United States forces followed the Confederates into Tennessee, occupying the capital city of Nashville. They also reorganized, into the Army of the Cumberland, and received new leadership under Major General William Rosecrans. The United States planned to advance south and east along the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad to Chattanooga.
The two armies clashed next at the Battle of Stones River, fought on the farms just north of Murfreesboro from December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863. The Union army advanced towards Murfreesboro from Nashville and Union Major General Alexander McCook’s corps at the southern flank of the United States line advanced south to Triune, an important crossroads community. Stationed at Triune was Brigadier General S. A. M. Wood’s brigade of Major General Patrick Cleburne’s division. When Wood realized the strength of the United States advance, he moved all of his Confederate forces a few miles south to a stronger position along the Franklin – Murfreesboro Pike. A dense fog, then “a heavy storm of hail and rain” accompanied the skirmishing that lasted throughout the day. The Confederates ultimately fell back to join the rest of the Confederate army at Murfreesboro. The troops of United States Brigadier General Philip H. Sheridan camped around Triune that night and the next day, before following the Confederates thorough pouring rain and mud toward Murfreesboro. The Battle of Stones River resulted in a defeat for Bragg’s army but both armies were so severely depleted by casualties that they rested and refitted for several months.
In the interim, both armies constructed fortifications to defend their positions. The Confederates located their fortifications along a ridge north of their positions in Shelbyville, Bell Buckle, and Wartrace in middle Tennessee. Triune, at an important crossroads south of Nashville, was located at the western end of the United States position. Workers under United States Brigadier General James B. Steedman constructed their earthworks between January and March of 1863 on a series of three hilltops approximately one-and-a-half miles north of Triune. On the hilltops were redoubts, artillery positions, and powder magazines; connecting them were trenches and rifle pits.
Triune’s geographic significance insured that military activities continued there throughout the war, particularly over the first several months of 1863 when both armies remained in the vicinity. United States forces used the fortifications as a signal post between Franklin and Murfreesboro. Skirmishes occurred there on at least eleven different occasions between March 2 and June 19, 1863. United States mounted units regularly patrolled local roads.
The Tullahoma Campaign, the major military action following the Battle of Stones River, began in the summer of 1863. McCook’s corps of the United States Army of the Cumberland began their advance south from Triune on June 23, 1863. The force numbered nearly 30,000; it was the largest military command to ever pass through Triune.[3] The Tullahoma campaign was a major Union victory and resulted in the abandonment of Middle Tennessee by Bragg’s army as he fell back to Georgia.
Triune continued to see limited military action during the last two years of war. It remained a United States garrison until Confederate General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee moved back into middle Tennessee in November of 1864 and the United States army abandoned Triune and similar posts. Confederate cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest and Maj. Gen. William B. Bate’s division moved through Triune toward the United States presence in Murfreesboro in the beginning of December 1864, then maintained wagon trains and hospitals there during the early part of the month. After the Confederate defeat on December 15-16, the United States army again occupied Triune. The last skirmish recorded at Triune occurred on February 10, 1865. At war’s end, the United States abandoned Triune and similar positions, and civilians again managed fields and forests on the Triune fortifications.
Description
The Triune Fortifications remain one of the most intact and unaltered sets of Civil War earthworks in Tennessee. The National Park Service listed the Triune Fortifications in the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 1999 for their historical and archeological significance. The fortifications are located approximately one-and-a-half miles north of Triune, a Williamson County crossroads community centered on the intersection of Nolensville Road/Horton Highway and Murfreesboro Road/Franklin Road. The earthworks and their immediate surroundings are largely wooded. The area around them is pastoral, with limited residential development.
Williamson County is among the counties of Middle Tennessee that have experienced recent and explosive growth. The city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, adopted August 16, 2007, established land-use categories for unincorporated county land outside of the designated Urban Growth Boundaries. Triune itself is in the Village category, which is slated for the development of an individual Village plan designed to preserve and protect its unique character. The Triune Fortifications, however, are in the 840 Center category, which is identified for potential new residential and business growth opportunities.
The fortifications consist of three hilltop redoubts, artillery positions, and powder magazines connected by trenches and rifle pits. The western redoubt measures approximately 2,800 feet by 250 feet, and has eroded walls between three and five feet tall and an outer ditch. The central 220-by-188-foot redoubt is irregularly shaped and surrounds a 24-by-10-foot stone-lined ammunition magazine. In some places, builders used hand-stacked field stones in the redoubt’s construction. The eastern, arrowhead-shaped redoubt measures approximately 400 feet by 200 feet and has a 44-foot opening in its western end. The fortifications remain readily visible and retain much of their integrity.
The Triune Fortifications are currently divided between approximately 17 parcels. A few parcels may not have physical earthworks on them but are so closely adjoined that they also constitute part of the historic landscape. These parcels are pictured and listed individually in the final section of this report.[1]
Process
The Consultant first examined a topographic map of the fortifications produced by Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Geography and Geology and a property map marked by the Tennessee Wars Commission (TWC). Using the Williamson County Property Assessor’s Advanced Internet Mapping and with the MTSU and TWC maps as a guide, the Consultant accessed tax maps showing the parcels comprising the Triune Fortifications and compiled a list of current property owners.
Outright purchase and management of the Triune Fortifications by some entity committed to preservation, such as Williamson County Parks and Recreation, Franklin’s Charge or the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), is a possible means of preservation. Should interested entities choose to consider ownership as a preservation option, the parcel maps shown following this section may be used to guide acquisition.
Because the Triune Fortifications are privately held amongst several landowners, conservation easements provide a particularly effective means of preserving the historic landscape. Conservation easements are legal agreements by which landowners voluntarily place restrictions on the future development of their property in order to protect certain conservation values such as agricultural land, forests, wetlands, wildlife habitat, scenic landscapes, and the land around certified historic sites or structures. The landowner retains title and the right to use the land in ways that do not interfere with the conservation goal stated in the terms of the easement. Owners usually retain the ability to: sell the property, farm or mange timber, hunt or restrict hunting, transfer ownership to heirs, and restrict public access. Landowners typically restrict the right to subdivide and develop their property because their goal is to preserve the land’s special natural or historic character, however, is it possible to stipulate in the easement that a limited number of structures may be built in the future. Each easement is individually crafted to provide for owner needs and interests.
Conservation easements may also carry financial benefits. Because the rights that have been given up under the easements are appraised and assigned a financial value, many owners see reduced federal income and capital gains taxes, local property taxes, and estate taxes. Under the current IRS code, set to expire at the end of 2009, the value of the donation of a qualified conservation easement can be deducted at an amount up to 50 percent (or up to 100 percent for full-time farmers) of the donor’s adjusted gross income in the year of the gift. If the easement’s value exceeds 50 percent of the donor’s income, the excess can be carried forward and deducted over all or part of the next 15 years. A conservation easement may reduce or stabilize property taxes, depending on current zoning, land use, and assessed value. The donation of a conservation easement whether during the landowner’s life or by bequest, can reduce the value of the land upon which estate taxes are calculated. This benefit can mean the difference between heirs having to sell or develop the property to pay estate taxes or being able to keep the property in the family. These incentives make easements particularly attractive options for landowners with low or moderate incomes who have seen a dramatic and rapid increase in land value.
The Land Trust for Tennessee, a non-profit, non-governmental organization with a mission “to preserve the unique character of Tennessee’s natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations,” is active in holding conservation easements on Tennessee properties. The typical process of setting up a conservation easement includes nine steps:
the owner and a Land Trust representative tour the property,
the Land Trust reviews the property and conservation goals with the Projects Committee of its Board of Directors,
the owner consults his or her legal and tax advisors,
the Land Trust compiles a baseline documentation report of the property,
the owner provides legal information related to title, legal description, liens, or mortgages to the Land Trust,
the owner obtains a mortgage subordination for the property,
the owner and the Land Trust negotiate the restrictions and draft the easement,
the owner obtains a qualified appraisal, and
the Land Trust Board of Directors is asked for formal acceptance of the conservation easement.
If the Land Trust holds a conservation easement on a property, it is then permanently obliged to oversee the easement’s terms and, to accomplish this, inspects the property annually. The oversight assures owners that their preservation goals will be met in perpetuity.
In October of 2008, the Consultant met with Emily Burnett Parish, Land Protection Manager for the Land Trust, to learn more about the program and inquire about the possibilities for partnerships between the Land Trust and owners of the Triune Fortifications. Parish agreed that conservation easements provide a particularly useful means of protection for resources like the Triune Fortifications, and agreed to work with the Consultant to promote easements to fortifications owners.
The Consultant and the Land Trust agreed that a public meeting would be the best means to communicate with Triune Fortifications landowners regarding the significance of their property and the option of using conservation easements to preserve it. Josie Waldron, who lives in the area and is active with the monthly Triune community meetings, agreed to schedule the Consultant as a presenter at the November 11, 2008 meeting. Land Trust for Tennessee Middle Tennessee Project Manager Audra Ladd agreed to present alongside Phil Thomason, Principal of Thomason and Associates. The Consultant created informational brochures about the fortifications and conservation easements and mailed them, along with an invitation, to Triune Fortifications owners. The meeting was also advertised through a monthly email to regular meeting attendees and in The Tennessean. Thirty participants attended the meeting. Many were regular members, a few were first time attendees drawn by the invitations, and a few were members of state or county preservation groups or sites drawn by their special interest in the fortifications. Most attendees lingered after the presentation to talk further with the Consultant, Ladd, or other attendees about the significance of the fortifications and conservation easements.
Recommended Action
Conservation easements should be pursued for property that contributes to the historic landscape of the Triune Fortifications. The Land Trust will consult with interested landowners and, for those willing, design and hold conservation easements. The following are parcels related to the Triune Fortifications, and marked in red are the portions that contribute to the fortifications’ historic landscape.
Conclusions
Commercial and residential development remains the greatest threat faced by the Triune Fortifications. Williamson County’s population grew by just over 50 percent between 1990 and 2000, from 81,020 people to 126,638. The estimated population in 2007 was 164,405, showing that the pace of growth slowed but remained dramatic. Triune’s proximity to Highway 840 comes with particular development pressures.
The Williamson County Comprehensive Land Use Plan calls for “moderate intensity, high-quality residential, office, and commercial development that is consistent with historical development patterns, and served by wastewater treatment facilities” in the 840 Center Special Area Plan and subsequent 840 Center Zoning District planned for the area surrounding the intersection of Nolensville Road/Horton Highway and Murfreesboro Road/Franklin Road. Franklin’s Charge and interested constituents should make the county aware of the significance of the Triune Fortifications and lobby for protection of the fortifications in planning actions.
Conservation easements are important tools for land conservation. The Land Trust for Tennessee is active in holding conservation easements in the state, and is committed to working with interested owners of the Triune Fortifications to craft individualized easements to protect the historic character of the fortifications. The private ownership of the Triune Fortifications makes conservation easements a particularly relevant tool, and interested landowners should be encouraged to talk with representatives of the Land Trust to discuss options for conservation easements. Partnerships with the Land Trust hold powerful potential for preservation of this resource.