Located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Fortress Rosecrans was the largest fort built during the Civil War. At 225 acres, it covered an area close to a mile wide.

The fortress was built between January and June of 1863 following the battle of Stones River, which gave control of Middle Tennessee to the Union Army. It was named after the commander of the Army of the Cumberland, General William S. Rosecrans. Upon completion, it became a center for logistical support for the Union’s push into the South.

The periphery consisted of earthen curtain walls connecting a series of bastions, or lunettes, with fortified redoubts inside.

At the time, numerous buildings covered the site: warehouses, saw mills, depots and soldiers’ quarters. It sat astride the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and the intersection of two major pikes, Wilkinson and Old Nashville.

Today, only a small portion of its fortifications remain. The site is maintained by the National Park Service and is open to visitors year round.

Interactive map of the Fortress