(June 2013) Enlarge Shy's Hill is named for the 26-year-old colonel of the 20th Tennessee, William M. Shy, who was shot through the head and killed instantly here. Less fortunate perhaps, was Brig. Gen. Thomas Benton Smith who was captured and assaulted on his way to the rear by a vengeful Federal officer who struck the unarmed young general with his sword, cleaving his skull and leaving him mentally unbalanced for the rest of his long life. The location of the current park is totally unmarked from the main road, accessible by Shy's Hill Lane and Benton Smith Road; if I didn't remember its location from back in 1987, plus the 1964 guidebook I used then, I'd never have found it! There's little here, and what there is is reached only after a steep climb on a trail through a sheltering patch of woods amid another residential neighborhood. One can only wonder if there are any plans to somehow improve, tie together, or promote that which remains in time for the Sesquicentennial of the battle next year.
 
James Neel photo

(10-05) Confederate earthworks are still visible on the top of Shy's Hill
 
Andy Creighton photo

(10-05) Confederate earthworks on Shy's Hill

(10-05) Stewart's Stone Wall, Dec. 16, 1864. View looking north from the Confederate position toward the Union attack