This year’s “Path to Freedom” lecture at Fort Negley Park will explore a lesser-known aspect of the Civil War: the courageous journeys of African Americans who fled slavery in search of safety behind Union lines. As announced on the Nashville park's website, the lecture will highlight powerful stories of survival and examine Fort Negley’s pivotal role as the first major site in Tennessee to employ newly freed Black labor in support of the Federal war effort. This landmark initiative later inspired the establishment of contraband labor camps across the state.
Civil War historian Amy Murrell Taylor, whose work has received multiple national awards, will lead the discussion. Her book, "Embattled Freedom: Journeys Through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps," was recognized with the Civil War and Reconstruction Prize and the Frederick Douglass Prize from Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center, according to the park's announcement.
Amy Murrell Taylor’s work at the University of Kentucky and her upcoming presidency of the Society of Civil War Historians establish her involvement in the field. Her research, based on military records, documents from the American Missionary Association, and wartime journalism, presents detailed accounts of refugee camps. These camps, which expanded rapidly during the war, functioned as places where African Americans worked, practiced their faith, and reconnected with family or formed new bonds under challenging conditions.
Additionally, the expansion of these camps led to the development of a new governmental infrastructure designed to manage and support the people living within them. Taylor identifies this shift as a significant departure from earlier federal policies, such as the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. In her book, she examines the irony of this reversal, which laid the groundwork for the eventual creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The experiences of those who lived in the camps, often overlooked in historical narratives, are documented in her work as part of a broader effort to bring attention to their stories.
The lecture, organized by Metro Parks and Friends of Fort Negley Park, will be held at the Fort Negley Visitors Center. Due to limited capacity, early ticket reservation is advised. Tickets can be obtained through the Fort Negley Eventbrite page.
