Peace Monument
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Good afternoon, everyone. The history of an oft-neglected Nashville monument... Machetes, murders, and Memphis; a crime blotter... District 7 race continues to mutate... And much more!
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A Monument of Mourning: The Battle of Nashville
From Warren Steury
Our forefathers carved their values in stone so that we may never forget them. Nashville is home to many beautiful works of art. Our Parthenon, our churches, and the innumerable monuments scattered about our historic cemeteries all call to us from a distant past, reminding us of who we were and who we might still be.
Sitting on Granny White Pike stands one of these monuments, a towering obelisk to the wars that defined the American people. Now it stands nearly unnoticeable unless one knows where to look.
The Battle of Nashville Monument, or the Peace Memorial, stands thirty feet high and is composed of a white granite shaft adorned by bronze statuary. At the base of the monument sits a young man holding back two vigorous horses symbolizing the North and the South; above their heads is engraved the word “Unity”. Atop the monument is an Angel of Peace; she gazes down on the scene of youth restraining beastly passions below.
The Battle of Nashville was a pivotal moment in the Civil War and took place December 15-16, 1864. Confederate General John Bell Hood pushed to retake the city from the Union Army led by General George H. Thomas. After two days of hard fighting, Gen. Hood retreated with his soldiers to Franklin, effectively decommissioning the Army of Tennessee.
The monument stands in honor of the veterans of the Battle of Nashville and World War I. This monument was commissioned by the Ladies Battlefield Association and sculpted by Giuseppe Moretti of Italy. It was erected and dedicated on Armistice Day, 1927, and originally stood off of Franklin Pike until a tornado in 1974 severely damaged it. On June 26, 1999, the monument was rededicated at its current location off Granny White Pike, practically on the site of the Confederate defensive line during the battle.
On the south face of the monument is inscribed:
“A Monument Like This, Standing On Such Memories,
Having No Reference To Utilities, Becomes A Sentiment,
A Poet, A Prophet, An Orator To Every Passerby”
Monuments like this are not raised to serve some practical function; they are raised as messages to the hearts and minds of the people who approach them. In this non-utilitarianism, we find the essence of our highest culture; one not driven by profit, but by honor, tradition, and beauty.
The north face of the monument features a poem by John Trotwood Moore (1858 - 1929), an author and historian who served as the State Librarian and Archivist of Tennessee in the 1920s.
“Oh, Valorous Gray, In The Grave Of Your Fate,
Oh, Glorious Blue, In The Long Dead Years,
You Were Sown In Sorrow And Harrowed In Hate,
But Your Harvest Today Is A Nation’s Tears.
For The Message You Left Through The Land Has Sped
From The Lips Of God To The Heart Of Man:
Let The Past Be Past: Let The Dead Be Dead. —
Now And Forever American!”
May these monuments of sorrow, these echoes of our forebears, sink deep into our hearts and remind us daily what it means to be an American.
🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
♟ The Latest In D7 Political Tactics So far, only 36,000 people have voted in the special election primaries for the 7th congressional district. Voters have one more chance to weigh in on their partisan picks during primary election day next Tuesday. The low turnout has inspired some interesting mailers. According to WKRN, Republicans who have previously voted in primary elections are receiving Big Brother-like postcards warning them that the “TN Republican party HQ” and their “neighbors are watching and will know if you miss this critical special election.”
Meanwhile, Matt Van Epps is under fire after a complaint was filed by a former military veteran alleging the Republican primary candidate is violating U.S. Army rules and misleading voters with his ads. According to the Tennessean, the complaint focuses on Van Epps’ use of military garb and imagery. In one campaign ad, he delivers his entire message wearing an Army uniform sans insignia.
Van Epps’ campaign dismissed the complaint as a "frivolous" tactic orchestrated by an opponent. “Matt is proud of his service—from West Point to nine combat tours in the Middle East—and desperate nonsense like this only fires him up even more,” his campaign told the Tennessean.
🗡 Machetes, Murder, Memphis, And More… Crime and punishment are happening across the Tri-Star and, sadly, the former continues in Nashville. This week, the Metro Nashville Police Department launched investigations into two separate machete attacks. In one of the incidents, the suspect arrested after allegedly using a machete to attack his former roommate was put on an ICE detainer.
Continuing with the disheartening reports in Music City, a WeGo bus hit and killed a 64-year-old woman trying to cross Dickerson Pike, a man was shot and killed after being mistaken for another person, and a shootout in East Nashville between MNPD and a group of masked teens toting guns left one dead and three injured.
Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Memphis Safe Task Force made 53 arrests and seized 20 illegal firearms as of Tuesday this week. Yesterday, Governor Lee made good on a promise to the Home of the Blues by allocating the $100 million set aside in his budget for the Downtown Public Safety Grant Fund to the city in support of the Memphis Safe Task Force. There is also $75 million in the Violent Crime Intervention Fund still up for grabs.
💰 Let’s Make A Deal On Wednesday, the Trump administration sent out letters to nine universities asking them to sign onto a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Vanderbilt University was among the recipients asked to sign on to the terms, which ensure benefits and federal grants in exchange for their participation.
Some of the requests made by the administration include a cap on international undergraduate enrollment, a ban on using race or sex in hiring criteria, a tuition freeze for five years, and a reduction in administrative costs. It would also require the universities to conduct internal polling that evaluates how faculty, students, and staff feel about the university’s performance under the agreement.
DEVELOPMENT
- Developers eye new hotel on prime East Bank site (NBJ)
- Cafe Babu celebrates one year in Chestnut Hill (NBJ)
- Hillsboro Village-area office building sells for $4.5M (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎻 Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: Elgar’s Cello Concerto @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $43+, Info
🪕 Kissing Other PPL @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info
🎸 The Lumineers @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, $71+, Info
🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik and Camelia Brennan.