Stones River National Battlefield

Stones River National Battlefield Stones River National Battlefield preserves over 600 acres of the historic battlefield and National Cemetery near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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A Hard Earned Victory:

The Battle of Stones River began on the last day of 1862 and was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Civil War. The battle produced important military and political gains for the Union, and it changed forever the people who lived and fought here.

As summer turns to autumn, the sun sets a little earlier each day. Starting today our visitor center parking lot gate wi...
09/01/2026

As summer turns to autumn, the sun sets a little earlier each day. Starting today our visitor center parking lot gate will close at 6 PM CDT. All other gates will continue to close at 5 PM. All park areas are closed to the public at sunset.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice William F. Messenger was born in 1829, likely in Ohio. On March 5, 1861, at the age of ...
09/01/2026

Stories of Service and Sacrifice

William F. Messenger was born in 1829, likely in Ohio. On March 5, 1861, at the age of 32, he married Mary Thornburg while living in Morrow County, Ohio. On June 4, 1861, just four months after getting married, William enlisted with the Union Army earning the rank of corporal.

1862 saw William fighting in multiple battles, including Shiloh (Tennessee), the siege of Corinth (Mississippi), and the battle of Perryville (Kentucky). They began their last campaign of 1862 on December 26th. William and his regiment arrived in Murfreesboro on December 29th and were positioned as reserves on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. On December 31st, the 13th Ohio prepared to cross the Stones River at McFadden’s Ford as part of a planned flanking movement.

An early morning Confederate attack crushed the Army of the Cumberland’s Right Wing, forcing a change of plan. The attack across the river was cancelled. Corporal Messenger joined his regiment as they rushed to protect their army’s lifeline back to Nashville. They formed a line along Asbury Lane and fought fiercely against Confederates for nearly four hours.

Following that first day of fighting, the 13th Ohio was soon thrust into fighting on January 2, 1863. The final Confederate charge drove the men of Van Cleve’s division from the hill they occupied on the east bank of the river. Following a deadly artillery barrage, Union forces pushed back and regained the high ground.

Corporal Messenger survived one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War at Stones River only to be struck down by the conflict’s greatest killer. He succumbed to illness on February 2, 1863, just one month after that final fight along the banks of the Stones River.

William Messenger is laid to rest in the Stones River National Cemetery in plot D-1586. He is also listed under the last name “Hessenger.”

You can read much more about Messenger at go.nps.gov/sacrifice.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice is an initiative remembering at least 250 individuals buried at Stones River National Cemetery and their contributions to our nation’s 250-year story.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice Andy Colden Johnson was born on April 7, 1932, and served as a Corporal in the US Army ...
08/31/2026

Stories of Service and Sacrifice

Andy Colden Johnson was born on April 7, 1932, and served as a Corporal in the US Army during the Korean War. He served in the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

Johnson was wounded in South Korea on February 14, 1951, though he returned to service on March 22 that year. An enemy missile strike killed Johnson on October 4, 1951. He was awarded a Purple Heart and is honored at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

His remains were returned to the United States thanks to the work of the American Graves Registration Branch. He rests at Stones River National Cemetery in plot P-6341.

You can read more about Andy and other stories spanning more than 160 years of service to our nation and its ideals at go.nps.gov/sacrifice.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice is an initiative remembering at least 250 individuals buried at Stones River National Cemetery and their contributions to our nation’s 250-year story.

Happening now: Junior Ranger Day is in full swing at Stones River National Battlefield! With our morning activities wrap...
08/30/2026

Happening now:
Junior Ranger Day is in full swing at Stones River National Battlefield!

With our morning activities wrapping up and a brief break for lunch, our Living History volunteers are preparing to kick off the afternoon with a cannon firing at 1PM followed by an infantry display at 3PM to close out the day.

It’s not too late to join in the fun of Junior Ranger Day! We hope to see you here!

Stories of Service and Sacrifice Walter C. Wyker was born in 1842 in New Jersey to Eveline Wyker. As a young adult, he l...
08/30/2026

Stories of Service and Sacrifice

Walter C. Wyker was born in 1842 in New Jersey to Eveline Wyker. As a young adult, he left his home state and settled in Pecatonica, Winnebago County, Illinois working as a carpenter.

At nineteen, Wyker chose to join the Union cause during the Civil War. He enlisted on September 1, 1861, in Chicago and mustered in five days later as a private in Company K of the 59th Illinois Infantry. Records describe him as standing 5 feet 5½ inches tall, with dark hair, gray eyes, and a light complexion.

The regiment Wyker joined had only recently taken shape. First organized as the 9th Missouri Infantry in September 1861, it was redesignated as the 59th Illinois Infantry the following February. Much of its early service took place in Missouri, where Union forces were working to secure the state.

Wyker and his fellow soldiers saw their first major combat at the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862 in Arkansas. From there, the regiment moved south to take part in the Siege of Corinth in Mississippi that May. They fought in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky in October 1862, moved to Nashville, Tennessee with the Army of the Cumberland. In December, they fought at Stones River as part of Col. P. Sidney Post’s brigade in Gen. Jefferson C. Davis’s division.

Walter survived the deadly fighting during the morning of December 31, 1862, that cost his regiment 80 casualties. Following their victory at Stones River, the Union army remained in Murfreesboro until mid‑1863. After two years of service, On April 22, 1863, Private Wyker joined his company on the picket line and perished as a result of an accidental discharge.

Walter C. Wyker was laid to rest in the Stones River National Cemetery in plot A-1.

You can read more about Walter and other stories spanning more than 160 years of service to our nation and its ideals at go.nps.gov/sacrifice.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice is an initiative remembering at least 250 individuals buried at Stones River National Cemetery and their contributions to our nation’s 250-year story.

National Park Week - Staff SaturdayStones River National Cemetery is a place of honor and remembrance that houses our co...
08/29/2026

National Park Week - Staff Saturday

Stones River National Cemetery is a place of honor and remembrance that houses our collective story. The nearly 7,000 veterans who rest there served our nation for more than a century from the Civil War through the Vietnam War.

A team of employees working through the National Park Service's National Cemetery Investment Initiative (NCII) cares for this hallowed ground. Our NCII team does everything needed to keep the national cemetery looking its best from cleaning headstones, to pruning trees, to turf management.

You can learn more about the National Cemetery Investment Initiative at https://ow.ly/E9w250ZCVFG. We’re looking for volunteers to join our NCII Team. Go to https://ow.ly/KwM750ZCVHG and check out our Cemetery Caretaker opportunity. If you are part of a group looking for a recurring volunteer opportunity, consider joining our Adopt-A-Section program.

National Park Week - Staff SaturdayCaring for the natural resources that make up the historic battlefield landscapes is ...
08/29/2026

National Park Week - Staff Saturday

Caring for the natural resources that make up the historic battlefield landscapes is Biologist Daniel's job. He works with other park teams, interns, and volunteers to fight the ongoing battle against invasive plants. He coordinates our partnership with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to protect the unique cedar glade habitat that lies in the heart of the battlefield. He also monitors the health of our ecosystems and the animals that live in them.

If you'd like to volunteer to help us manage the battlefield's flora and fauna, go to Volunteer.gov and apply for our Natural Resource Management Assistant opportunity.

On this Staff Saturday of National Park Week, we want to share stories of our teammates whose work is so important to ou...
08/29/2026

On this Staff Saturday of National Park Week, we want to share stories of our teammates whose work is so important to our mission to preserve the park's historic and natural treasures and allow the public to enjoy and learn from them.

Let's start with our Facilities Maintenance team. These dedicated employees arrive just as the sun comes up, sometime even before, to ensure our visitor center and restrooms are clean and ready for the day's visitors. They spend the rest of the day outside picking up trash, mowing, string trimming, clearing trails, and a multitude of other jobs to keep our buildings, roads, trails, and historic landscapes at their best today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice Prosser Duer was born in 1837 in Killbuck, Holmes County, Ohio to parents John and Jane...
08/29/2026

Stories of Service and Sacrifice

Prosser Duer was born in 1837 in Killbuck, Holmes County, Ohio to parents John and Jane Duer. He was the sixth of nine children in the Duer family. Their names in order of age were William, Thomas, Maria, Mary Ann, John, Prosser, Sarah Jane, Mark, and James. Prosser and many of his brothers worked as farmers in the Holmes County area.

In August of 1862, Prosser Duer he mustered into Company F of the 99th Ohio Infantry as a private on August 26, 1862. He was 25 years old.

Quickly after its organization, the 99th Ohio was sent to Kentucky in pursuit of Gen. Braxton Bragg’s invading Confederates. They fought at the battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862, functioning primarily as reserves. Prosser and his regiment moved to Nashville, Tennessee with the Army of the Cumberland staying there until the Stones River Campaign began on December 26, 1862.

On December 31, 1862, Prosser’s regiment, part of Price’s brigade, was tasked with holding high ground above the west fork of the Stones River. While the first day’s fighting raged nearby, the 99th Ohio remained unengaged, witnessing the chaos from their vantage point. On January 1, 1863, they crossed the river at McFadden’s Ford—a maneuver that set the stage for the battle’s decisive final day.

The afternoon of January 2 brought a fierce Confederate assault. In less than 45 minutes, the high ground held by the 99th Ohio became a scene of intense combat. Prosser Duer was mortally wounded and taken to a regimental hospital. According to the U.S. Register of Deaths of Volunteers, he had suffered extreme injuries to the abdomen, wounds that took his life later that day.

Prosser Duer was laid to rest in the Stones River National Cemetery in plot D-1615. His last name is also listed as “Door.”

You can read more about Duer and other stories spanning more than 160 years of service to our nation and its ideals at go.nps.gov/sacrifice.

Stories of Service and Sacrifice is an initiative remembering at least 250 individuals buried at Stones River National Cemetery and their contributions to our nation’s 250-year story.

The Battle of Stones River marked a turning point in the American Civil War.The costly U.S. victory supported President ...
08/28/2026

The Battle of Stones River marked a turning point in the American Civil War.

The costly U.S. victory supported President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation which declared, “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

The proclamation backed by military success at Stones River transformed the war’s objectives. No longer was the country steeped in turmoil and bloodshed to put the union back together as it was. It had become a conflict that led to the end of slavery and a transformation that brought us closer to meeting the ideals established at our nation’s founding.

In the summer of 1863, Lincoln wrote to General William S. Rosecrans, “I can never forget, if I remember anything, that at the end of last year and the beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory, which had there been a defeat instead, the country scarcely could have lived over.”

On this , we encourage you to stop and learn more about the Battle of Stones River and how it brought us one step further in the process of giving our nation, “a new birth of freedom.”



Image - National Archives - Emancipation / Th. Nast ; King & Baird, printers, 607 Sansom Street, Philadelphia.

Address

3501 Old Nashville Highway
Murfreesboro, TN
37129

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16158939501

Website

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