free tennessee civil war resource booklet as a download

environs of knoxville seen from south bank of tennessee river, east tennessee university in middle distance - knoxville, tennessee: photo compliments of the us library of congress, american memory collection

on a trip home to harriman, tn, a couple of weeks ago, we stopped as we always do at the tennessee state line visitor's bureau to check the brochures and maps available this fall. this stop, we got a gem: a path divided, tennessee's civil war heritage trail, written by dr. wayne c moore of the tennessee state library and archives and published by the tennessee wars commission. the glossy 47-page booklet outlines not only tennessee's major battles but the state's role in the confederacy. it contains concise background histories, battle summaries, timelines, and a fold-out map.

some good news is that i've just discovered that the entire booklet is available online for download.

this is a terrific resource for tennessee genealogists.

though brief, the booklet offers insight and leads for those of us researching individuals and families whose history includes tennessee and the civil war era. the booklet's brevity is actually one of its major strengths. it can be read in its entirety in one sitting. it is well organized: a historical prologue is followed by sections on the state's invasion by river; the fight for west tennessee; the contest for middle tennessee; and east tennessee's mountian war. it is highly readable without being condescending.

i love that now i can have an electronic copy handy on my hard drive for instant reference.

the free electronic version (a pdf file) can be downloaded from here .

and if you're in a civil war sort of mood today, check out the civil war preservation trust mentioned in the booklet. a link to the preservation trust website is here |.