Fort Hill at Waverly served as the headquarters of the 13th U.S. Colored Troops under Col. John A. Hottenstein from the fall of 1863 to the end of the war. The earthen fort defended the army-operated railroad running from Johnsonville on the Tennessee River east to Nashville, and its hillside position gave a commanding view of the railroad and the overland approaches to Waverly. In September 1863, the Bureau of U.S. Colored Troops began recruiting thousands of fugitive slaves in urban and rural areas, including Waverly, and many contraband camp residents fought for their freedom through military service. By the end of the war, 20,000 Tennessee blacks had served in the Union army. In October 1863, Union Gen. Alvan C. Gillem organized and armed nearly 1,000 black men to build a railroad through Waverly, while Federal troops, primarily the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops, the 8th Iowa Cavalry, and the 1st Kansas Battery, also helped construct and defend the line. These units built Fort Hill in the winter of 1863-64, and the 13th U.S. Colored Troops later fought at the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. After the war, Lt. James Nicholas Nolan of the 1st Kansas Battery returned to Waverly and in 1870 built a house on the hill opposite the fort where he had served; he later became a successful businessman, city alderman, and mayor of Waverly. Fort Hill and the Nolan House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.