Recently I was in Tennessee and visited Stones River Battlefield. This was one of my biggest disappointments as far as battlefields go yet.
The visitors center was typical with the typical photos and captions as to be expected for a propaganda site. The war was all about slavery, the Union was fighting to free the slaves and the Confederacy was fighting to keep the slaves. Just subtle hints to make a casual vistor believe this to be true.
One sharp eyed fellow spotted some contradictory captions and asked out loud about them-- Lincoln freed the slaves yet did not free the Slaves in the North( as stated by the caption) WHY? I explained the war gad nothing to do with slavery and went on to prove my statement. Another fellow decided to inject his two cents into the conversation arguing the war was about slavery because the Nation Park Service said so. He went on to the secession docs. When he finished I asked him to quote the exact sentence from the secession docs that declared war. He then just turned and walked off.
leaving the visitors center, turning right the first thing you see is the Union Cemetery. Well groomed and taken care of. No Confederate cemetery in sight. A Ranger told me it was downtown in a beautiful spot after being moved a couple of times. He did not offer directions.
Continuing on the driving tour, I finally found the location of a Confederate marker, Chalmers's brigade. The area is only a couple hundred yards long, parts having been taken by a highway ramp. These are the only two Confederate markers I found.
It is my opinion that the condition of the battlefield is poor, on the driving tour I did not find any Union markers and only saw a few cannons scattered here and there. The ground were grown up not at all like Shiloh was has well groomed ground and is marked. Perhaps this is to show some type of 1860's landscape?
In my opinion this is dis-respect for the men who fought and died there. I Would suggest to anyone interested to visit this park but on the driving tour, do not expect to see much.