a town of the United States, North America, capital of the state of Tennessee, is situated on the left bank of the Cumberland River, 230 miles E.N.E. of Memphis, and 206 S.W. of Lexington. It is built on a limestone hill, in the midst of a rich and fertile country; and contains many splendid houses and public buildings. There is a fine square, in which stand the court-house, market-house, and other edifices. The capitol, which was built in 1845, stands on a height called Capitol Hill, 175 feet above the river, and is one of the finest buildings in the States. It is built of limestone, and is 240 feet in length, by 135 in breadth. It contains halls for the state legislature and government offices, and is calculated to have cost £200,000. The court-house is also a very fine building, with a dome, and a colonnade in the Ionic style. The town has also numerous churches, many of which are very handsome buildings; a university, founded 1806, which had in 1856, 7 professors, about 75 students, and a library of 10,207 volumes; a medical college in connection with the university; several schools; a penitentiary; and a lunatic asylum. Nashville has several manufactories of different kinds, and is the centre of an extensive trade. The River Cumberland is navigable up to this place; and the amount of tonnage belonging to the town in 1852 was 4083, entirely employed in steam navigation. The town is rapidly increasing in wealth and prosperity; and is the centre of several railways, completed or in progress. The assessed value of taxable property in 1857 was £2,726,327. Pop. (1850) 17,502; (1853) about 20,000.