Hendersonville’s position on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad made it an important objective for both Union and Confederate forces seeking control of Middle Tennessee. After the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862, Union troops advanced toward Nashville and soon occupied Hendersonville to control the rail lines from Kentucky. Federal forces used the Methodist church on Gallatin Pike and Walton Ferry Road overlooking Drakes Creek as an observation post, and they kept barracks and headquarters there for the rest of the war. Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan carried out several small attacks to disrupt Federal communication lines, but the Louisville & Nashville Railroad stayed in Union hands. Local residents suffered losses from soldiers on both sides, and Union troops occupied nearby houses and farms including Rock Castle and Hazel Path. Confederate Gen. Davis S. Donelson, owner of Hazel Path and a nephew of Andrew Jackson, is buried in the First Presbyterian Church cemetery. Monthaven, known during the war as Liberty Hall, served as a hospital for Confederate and Union soldiers. In August 1862, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered camps built for refugees, and land owned by Confederate officers and soldiers was treated as vacant and available for that purpose. By 1864, Hendersonville had a camp for refugee slaves, called contrabands, who received shelter, food, clothing, medical necessities, and work as laborers for the army. After the war, many newly freed African Americans established churches, schools, and homes in the area.