Media Advisory: Preservation Advocates Will Gather at Fort Negley to Celebrate Successes, Look to Future

(Nashville, Tenn.) — As the American Battlefield Trust, the nation’s largest battlefield preservation organization – with more than 56,000 acres protected in 25 states, including more than 4,000 acres across a dozen Tennessee sites – opens its Annual Conference, it is inviting Fort Negley’s champions to gather tomorrow morning, Wednesday, May 17, to celebrate the site’s past — and its future.  

The only remaining portion of the Union defenses that encircled Nashville during the Civil War, Fort Negley, has faced several major threats in recent years that would have destroyed portions of its unique cultural landscape. But local advocates, assisted by the Trust, rallied to defend Fort Negley from development. And with major investments on the horizon, a bright new era is dawning for the fort.  

Following the official program, a short interpretive program will be offered by Angela Sutton, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University, director of the Fort Negley Descendants Project. Appropriate footwear is recommended for those who wish to walk uphill to participate.  

WHAT: News conference to laud past advocacy efforts at Fort Negley and look toward future investments in stewardship, interpretation and preservation at the UNESCO Slave Route Project site. 

WHO: American Battlefield Trust officials and Nashville Mayor John Cooper, alongside representatives from the Friends of Fort Negley and African American Cultural Alliance 

WHEN: Wednesday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m. CST 

WHERE: Fort Negley Visitors Center, 1100 Fort Negley Blvd, Nashville, TN 37203.  
 
The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 56,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War across 155 sites in 25 states. Learn more at www.battlefields.org. 

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