Hoofbeats in the Heartland

Museum Travels Civil War Cavalry Exhibition

Hoofbeats in the Heartland: Civil War Cavalry in Tennessee is a traveling exhibit created by the museum to explore the development and impact of mounted warfare in Tennessee during the Civil War.
      Funded in part by a grant from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, the traveling exhibition opened at Travellers Rest Historic House Museum in June of 2007 and continues to travel across Tennessee through the early part of 2010.
      Drawing upon artifacts, photographs, drawings, and art from the collection of the Museum, the exhibition explores seven thematic areas: (1) Leaders (commanders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Hunt Morgan, Samuel Carter, and John Wilder), (2) Troopers, (3) Horses and Mules, (4) Occupation and the home front, (5) Spies, Scouts, Partisans and Guerillas, (6) Battles in Tennessee, and (7) the Legacy. Each section includes photos, graphics, and artifacts explaining the role of mounted warfare during the Civil War era.
        Due to mounted warfare, the home front often became the battle field as mounted soldiers skirmished on the streets of Memphis, Murfreesboro, Greeneville, and hundreds of towns and communities across the state. Indeed, every county of the state felt the impact of Union and Confederate cavalry thundering across the state as part of a raiding party, occupation force, or guerilla band. Each community had its unique experience with Civil War cavalry forces and the State Museum has encouraged each venue hosting the exhibition to develop a local history component to compliment the traveling exhibition.
       For more information contact Myers Brown, Curator of Extension Services, at 615-741-2692 or by email at Myers.Brown@state.tn.us.

Exhibition Dates:

Future dates are subject to change. Contact the specific institution for more precise information.