Cherry Mansion is a historic

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...

house in

Savannah, Tennessee Savannah is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,213 at the 2020 census. Savannah is located along the east side of the Tennessee River. Savannah hosted the NAIA college football national ...

, located on a bluff overlooking the east bank of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

. It has historical significance for its role as General Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters at the time of the Civil War

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

Description and history

Cherry Mansion is a white

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

building with a two-level

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

on its west front, which faces the Tennessee River. A series of

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

s descends from the house to the river.Hulan, Richard H., Giebner, Robert C. (July 1972); McCown, Susan (1985). The house sits atop the site of a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

d prehistoric settlement, established some 2000 years ago, that is marked by

Indian mound A number of pre-Columbian cultures are collectively termed "Mound Builders". The term does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks erected for an extended period of more than 5 ...

s that were largely obliterated by later construction. The house was built by David Robinson, who was among Hardin County's early settlers and owned extensive acreage on both sides of the Tennessee River. Sources differ on the date of the house's construction. Most accounts state that it was built around 1829–30 as a wedding gift for Robinson's daughter Sarah and her husband, William H. Cherry. Analysis for the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

found evidence that the house was not completed until around the time of Robinson's death in 1849, and that ownership was transferred to Cherry in 1855. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Cherry was sympathetic to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

side. From March 13 to April 29, 1862, before and after the

, his house served as headquarters for

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

Generals

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, C. F. Smith,

Don Carlos Buell Don Carlos Buell (March 23, 1818November 19, 1898) was a United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles— Shiloh and Perr ...

, and

W. H. L. Wallace William Hervey Lamme Wallace (July 8, 1821 – April 10, 1862), more commonly known as W.H.L. Wallace, was a lawyer and a Union general in the American Civil War, considered by Ulysses S. Grant to be one of the Union's greatest generals. Early ...

. According to Cherry family accounts, General Grant and his staff had just sat down at the breakfast table on April 6, 1862, when they heard distant cannonfire indicating that the battle had begun about up the river. They boarded a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

at the landing below the house to travel to the site of the battle, leaving their meals uneaten. Generals Smith and Wallace died in the house in the aftermath of the battle. The Cherry family continued to own the house until 1935. Queen and Alex Haley, the grandparents of writer

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...

, worked for the family at Cherry Mansion after the Civil War. Queen was a

domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

in the house and her husband operated a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

for the Cherry family. Haley's novel '' Queen: The Story of an American Family'' and related television miniseries were based on Queen Haley's life. In the late 19th century, the Cherry family made alterations to the building, replacing some of the house's original

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

es with woodwork of Victorian design. The next owner, Bob Guinn, undertook in 1935–36 to restore the porticoes to their original design, based on recollections of living members of the Cherry family. The restoration of the porticoes was part of a more extensive restoration and remodeling project, based on design plans by

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

architect Hubert T. McGee, that included addition of a new kitchen and bath facilities, replacing

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

on the east wall with brick, and adding emphasis to the house's west front. The house remains in private ownership and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977. It is opened to visitors by advance arrangement.

References

{{reflist

External links

Images of Cherry Mansion
Tennessee State Library and Archives Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Houses in Hardin County, Tennessee Houses completed in 1830 Historic American Buildings Survey in Tennessee 1830 establishments in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Hardin County, Tennessee

Description and history

See also

References

External links