Battery Cruft

Battery Cruft (1863-1866) - A Union U.S. Civil War Battery established in 1863 as a part of Fortress Rosecrans in present day Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee. Named Battery Cruft after Brigadier General Charles Cruft. The Battery was abandoned in 1866 after the end of the war when Fortress Rosecrans was abandoned. History of Battery Cruft After the Union army occupied Murfreesboro, Tennessee in January 1863, Major General William S. Rosecrans, (Cullum 1115), Commander of the Army of the Cumberland, gave his chief engineer Brigadier General USV James St. Clair Morton, (Cullum 1495), the job of designing and constructing what became Fortress Rosecrans. Morton planned a large enclosed fortification of over 200 acres that occupied both the north and south sides of the Stones River at Murfreesboro and included an important road junction and a rail line. Battery Cruft and the other Batteries at Fortress Rosecrans were lightly armed earthworks along the outer perimeter providing strong points along a line of rifle trenches that connected them. Each Battery was served by three to nine guns under the command of a commissioned officer with 60 to 100 enlisted men present. Battery Cruft was abandoned in 1866 after the end of the war when Fortress Rosecrans was abandoned. Current Status No remains. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1680410 Location: Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee. Map point is from the GNIS coordinates and may not be accurate. Maps & Images Lat: 35.86 Long: -86.41583 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 584' See Also: Fortress Rosecrans Murfreesboro Defense System - U.S. Civil War Sources: Links: North American Forts - Battery Cruft Visited: No