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This monument memorializes War of 1812 soldiers buried along the old Natchez Trace. And it honors the service of all brave volunteers who marched on the Natchez Trace during the War of 1812 to help establish American independence.
The Natchez Trace served as an important route to move troops for the defense of the Gulf Coast Region. Tennessee volunteer calvary under leadership of Andrew Jackson marched down the Natchez Trace to Natchez in January 1813. General Jackson marched with his soldiers on their return April 1813. Solder detachments under Jackson's command again marched on the Natchez Trace in 1814. And following the victory of the Battle of New Orleans, most of the Americans who fought the battle returned on the Trace. Volunteers marched hundreds of miles often in severe weather with little food and inadequate equipment. Natchez Trace inns served as hospitals. Soldiers who did not survive the marches are buried in unmarked graves along the Trace. On General Jackson's return near this point, he proclaimed his view of the significance of the victory earned by the soldier's sacrifices "Our Rights Will Henceforth Be Respected".
Tennessee State Society United States Daughters of 1812
On The Bicentennial June 16, 2012
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The U.S. Army cleared this section of the "Natchez Road" in 1801-02 and continued clearing southward with the consent of the Chickasaw Nation.
This is the northernmost intersection of the old "Natchez Road" and the new "Natchez Trace Parkway". Heading north, the old path lies east of the modern parkway as it headed towards what is now downtown Nashville. The new roadway goes a little west towards the southwest corner of Nashville.
This dirt path running along the ridge is a remnant of the original Natchez Trace. In the early 1800s it was the most direct route northward from the port of Natchez on the Mississippi to Nashville. In between were 500 miles of wilderness.
Boatmen, mail riders, traders, soldiers, Indians and outlaws passed here. On horseback and on foot - later with wagons - they followed the serpentine trail into the deep woods of Indian country. By the mid-1800s cross country travelers turned to other means of transportation - steamboats, railroads and roads connecting developing towns. As the wilderness began to fade, so did the old wilderness road. Today only pieces of the Old Trace remain.
This section of the Old Trace is also part of the Highland Rim Trail (Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail). Hikers can park here and then hike on the trail either to the north or the south. For more information, pictures and maps about the Highland Rim Trail click here.