BGuthrie Photos: TN -- Clarksville -- Ft Defiance

TN -- Clarksville -- Ft Defiance:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. FTDEF_140527_008.JPG: Fort Defiance Defending the River These are the remnants of Union Fort Bruce. In September 1861, the Confederate defense line in the western theatre extended from Columbus, Kentucky, to Cumberland Gap in East Tennessee. It included most of the Cumberland River and protected the Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad, as well as the major supply base at Nashville. The three small forts constructed at Clarksville were integral parts of this perimeter. Confederate Gen. Albert S. Johnston ordered West Point-trained engineer Maj. Jeremy F. Gilmer to "arrange the works for the defense... at Dover, Clarksville, and Nashville." Gilmer hired an experienced civilian, Edward Sayers, to execute the construction. Sayers constructed Fort Sevier on a hill overlooking the Cumberland and Red rivers, Fort Clark south of here where the two rivers merged, and Fort Terry northeast of here on the Red River. In January 1862, Sayers reported, "work progressing very well now; 200 slaves adn 50 soldiers at work; 24-pounders mounted; one 12-pounder also mounted." After the fall of Fort Donelson on February 16, 1862, the Union navy headed upstream for Clarksville. Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote found the fort deserted and flying a white flag. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered the other earthworks destroyed but spared Fort Sevier. in December 1862, Col. Sanders D. Bruce's brigade command expanded the fort and occupied it for the rest of the war. Renamed Fort Bruce, it provided a safe haven for local freedmen, many of whom joined the US Colored Troops (USCT). Later called Fort Defiance, the origin of the name is unclear.
2. FTDEF_140527_015.JPG: Fort Defiance Interpretive Center City of Clarksville, Tennessee The history of Clarksville unfolded on this site. Recipients of land grants from the American Revolution built settlements along the Cumberland and Red Rivers and with them, came early trade. As the Civil War moved closer, Clarksville, with its 5,000 inhabitants, was considered a prize for the Union forces, because of its large tobacco warehouses, prosperous business and educational institutions, its steamboat landings and railroad crossing. The Clarksville iron works and other foundries were capable of producing small arms, cannons, and shells. With the fall of Fort Donelson in nearby Dover to the Union in February 1862, Clarksville and the Confederate river defense at Fort Defiance was considered critical to stopping federal forces from reaching Nashville. But, as Union ships steamed toward Clarksville, city fathers determined the wiser course would be to surrender. Thus, the fort was taken without a shot, and the city fell under lengthy Union occupation. Union troops, aided by local blacks who sought federal protection, reinforced the fort and renamed it Fort Bruce after Col. Sanders Bruce, the Union commander. Efforts to show the significance of this history began in 1982, in preparation for Clarksville's 1984 Bicentenary. Judge and Mrs. Sam E. Boaz, who owned the fort property, deeded it to the city. Faculty and students from Austin Peay State University cleared the site, and Mayor Ted Crozier arranged for its maintenance as a city park. In 2002, Mayor John Piper established the Fort Defiance Commission to devise a plan for developing the site. With a $2.2 million federal grant and city funding awarded during Mayor Piper's administration in 2008, an interpretive center and other amenities have resulted. John E. Piper, Mayor 1999-2002 and 2007-2010
3. FTDEF_140527_023.JPG: Bringing the War to Clarksville The Confederates: The Confederate Engineers: Major Jeremy Gilmer and Edward Sayers A West Point-trained engineer from South Carolina, Gilmer was tasked by General Johnston to erect defenses in Middle Tennessee. Gilmer visited Nashville, Clarksville, and Forts Henry and Donelson, overseeing construction and hiring other engineers to handle specific sites. For Clarksville, Gilmer hired Irish-born civilian engineer Edward Sayers. Sayers began work on Forts Clark, Sevier, and Terry in late October 1861 using slaves and available troops. Sayers laid out another fort on high ground above Fort Sevier, which was never built. He later became a Captain of Engineers in the Confederate Army. General Albert Sydney Johnston: A Kentucky native, General Albert Sidney Johnston was considered the top soldier in America in 1861. He chose to fight for the South was was given command of Department No. 2, which included Tennessee. Johnston's headquarters were in Bowling Green, Kentucky. After the fall of Fort Henry, Johnston and the Confederate forces fell back to Corinth, Mississippi. On April 6, 1862, at the Battle of Shiloh, Johnston was killed rallying his troops. The Union: Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote: Connecticut native Andrew Foote initially attended West Point but was appointed an Acting Midshipman in the US Navy at age 16. Foote served on warships and in other important posts, rising to Captain in June 1861. By November, he was Flag Officer in command of the Western Flotilla of gunboats. Foote's boats helped capture Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Clarksville. He died of disease in June 1863. Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant: Ohio-born Grant graduated from West Point in 1843 and served in the Mexican War. After leaving the army in 1854, he failed in business ventures. In 1861, Grant joined the Union Army, becoming colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry. Rising quickly to Brigadier General, Grant commanded the army that captured Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Clarksville. He ended the war as a Lieutenant General in command of all Union troops, and in 1869 became the 18th President of the United States.
4. FTDEF_140527_035.JPG: Early Settlement: River transportation ... high ground ... good soil .. spring-fed fresh drinking water ... all that could be asked for to begin a new homestead. During the 1790s, the site at the juncture of the Cumberland and Red Rivers was called Sevier Station. It marked the western edge of the Cumberland Settlements and was part of a cluster of small forts and farms along the central Cumberland and its tributaries. Frontier warfare was common, including several attacks on Sevier Station. In 1819, as population grew north of the Red River, the area around Sevier Station became the Town of Cumberland. TW Atkinson and Henry Trice established a keelboat landing and agricultural market including a large tobacco warehouse near Trice's Landing. The keelboats gave way to steamboats along with the development of the Red River Landing near here and two others downstream. A bridge was built across the Red River in 1829. By the 1840s, the Town of Cumberland was replaced by the communities of New Providence and Meachamville, near the landings and along the Hopkinsville Pike. These hamlets were much smaller in population than Clarksville, which had 1,754 residents in 1840. By the 1850s the two towns had merged as New Providence and became a market and transportation center for the northern section of Montgomery County.
5. FTDEF_140527_040.JPG: Crossroads of Change Clarksville, Tennessee 1861-1865
6. FTDEF_140527_044.JPG: Faces and Places Connected to Clarksville: Since its founding, Clarksville's location on the Cumberland River and Red River made it an important and prosperous commercial crossroad. After the Civil War, it was once again an attractive place to set roots... but now for a variety of new citizens -- former soldiers, both Union and Confederate, newly freed slaves, and others hoping to start a new life -- planting the seeds of today's diverse, vibrant city.
7. FTDEF_140527_052.JPG: Rivers and rails provided a mercantile connection between Clarksville and the world. Shipping Industry: Steamboats & Locomotives: The Cumberland River was Clarksville's commercial lifeline. By the 1840s, hundreds of steamboats stopped here, making Clarksville an important receiving and distribution point. Products included hardware, coffee, window glass, sugar, whiskey and fabrics. Locally produced flour and tobacco were shipped from Clarksville to New Orleans and other locations. Later, railroads connected Clarksville to major cities and a wider market throughout the United States.
8. FTDEF_140527_062.JPG: Fertile fields and flowing waters were cornerstones of early commerce. Farming Industry: Wheat, Hogs, & Sheep: Farmers raised crops and animals for local, national and world markets. Among these were wheat for the local flour industry, hogs for meat processing, and sheep, which provided wool. Flour, saw and woolen mills were built along the waterways, which powered the millstones and saws. Peacher's Mill, Barker's Mill, and Ringgold Mill were among the sites built prior to the war. In 1858, Clarksville shipped 170,000 barrels of flour. Large warehouses stored commodities to await steamboat transport to the world.
9. FTDEF_140527_069.JPG: The iron industry was Clarksville's gateway to America's Industrial Revolution Iron Industry: Furnaces & Forges: Iron furnaces in Montgomery County, dating from 1805 and fueled by an abundant timber supply, were part of the largest concentration of furnaces in the South. Fortunes were made in profitable pig iron production attributable to at least eight local furnaces. In 1852, Louisa Furnace produced 1,800 tons of pig iron and Montgomery Furnace produced 1,700 tons. Forges and foundries converted pig iron into agricultural implements, railroad and steamboat parts, and items for home use. Whitfield, Bradley and Company (known today as Clarksville Foundry), produced complex castings such as cannon, iron balls and shot.
10. FTDEF_140527_076.JPG: Tobacco was King. Clarksville's prosperity rested on this fact. Tobacco Industry: Money Crop: Tobacco transformed Clarksville into a prominent economic center during the Antebellum Period. By 1855, Clarksville's Type 22 Dark Fired tobacco, dubbed the "strongest tobacco in the world," was particularly popular in England, Germany, France, and Italy. In 1858, almost 18,000 hogshead barrels valued at $2,390,000 were shipped from Clarksville Landing and Trice's Landing. Money from the tobacco industry was the source of wealth that financed the building of several mansions and churches in Clarksville.
11. FTDEF_140527_083.JPG: "If the Declaration of Independence justifies the secession from the British empire of 3,000,000 colonists in 1776, we do not see why it would not justify the secession of 5,000,000 of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861." -- New York Tribune, December 17, 1860 National Debate: Secession South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 1860 after the election of Abraham Lincoln. Over the following months, six more Deep South states seceded. After the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, four more states left the Union. The long-simmering issues of slavery, states' rights, and protective tariffs were the catalysts that prompted secession of these states. The Republican Party, with its known anti-slavery stance, and the election of Lincoln provided the motivation to leave the Union. Secession set the stage for the Civil War.
12. FTDEF_140527_086.JPG: Location, Location, Location: Clarksville's location at the confluence of the Red and Cumberland Rivers, along with its rail connections and proximity to Nashville, helped it become a hub of commerce. A healthy and vital center of production and distribution provided a robust local economy. The rivers and rails controlled commerce.
13. FTDEF_140527_089.JPG: Clarksville's River Connection: Clarksville's location on the Cumberland River was ideal. The river's connections to both the Tennessee and Ohio River and ultimately to the Mississippi meant crucial products including coal from Pittsburgh, PA and textiles from the northeast were delivered to the city via the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. Clarksville tobacco and flour were shipped to New Orleans and the world.
14. FTDEF_140527_092.JPG: Location of Clarksville's Forts: Clarksville's location on the rivers gave it strategic importance for both Southern and Northern forces. The Confederate War Department laid out a series of three forts on the rivers to protect against movement of gunboats, supplies and invading troops.
15. FTDEF_140527_096.JPG: "I think that this battle ought to be fought not outside, but inside the Union, and upon the battlements of the Constitution itself." -- Cave Johnson letter to the Clarksville Jeffersonian, January 2, 1861 Local Debate: Secession: Montgomery County and Tennessee were staunchly pro-Union in early 1861. In February 1861, a statewide vote was held to call a convention to debate secessio. It was soundly defeated, with only 23.6% in favor. Sentiments changed rapidly after the firing on Fort Sumter in April and pressure from pro-Secessionists. In May, the Tennessee legislature voted to secede. In June, it was ratified by public vote with 68.9% in favor. In Montgomery County, 2,632 voted for secession with 32 against. Clarksville voted 561 to 1 in favor of secession.
16. FTDEF_140527_113.JPG: "Tennessee will not furnish a single man for the purpose of coercion, but 50,000 if necessary for the defense of our rights and those of our Southern brothers." -- Tennessee Governor Isham Harris to US Secretary of War Simon Cameron, April 17, 1861 Raising Local Troops: Even before Fort Campbell, Montgomery County had a long history of training troops. Tennesseans trained at Camps Duncan and Quarles, while Kentucky Confederates trained at Camps Boone and Burnett. In April 1861, volunteer companies formed to protect Clarksville and the state. Captain William A. Forbes formed a company from Stewart College, which became part of the 14th Tennessee Infantry. Other companies joined that regiment as well as the 49th and 50th Tennessee Infantry. The Montgomery Heavy Artillery defended Clarksville's forts. Area troops fought from Gettysburg to Atlanta to Vicksburg. William A. Quarles and William McComb, two Clarksville men, became Confederate generals.
17. FTDEF_140527_121.JPG: Original Layout for Fort Sevier Later known as Fort Bruce & Fort Defiance
18. FTDEF_140527_124.JPG: Site Selection & Fort Construction: As supports to Forts Henry and Donelson, engineer Jeremy Gilmer visited Clarksville to choose sites for local fortifications. Gilmer hired Edward Sayers, a civilian engineer, to oversee construction. Sayers used local troops and leased slaves to cut trees, build parapets and dig ditches. Work began on Fort Clark on the Clarksville side of Red River. It progressed to Fort Sevier in New Providence on a high hill above the river allowing "plunging fire" from its artillery battery. Fort Terry was built east
19. FTDEF_140527_127.JPG: "I have sent Major Gilmer to make an examination of Clarksville and Nashville, with the design of constructing works of defense at both places." -- General Albert S. Johnson, CSA, October 27, 1861 of town on the Red River. Sayers laid out another fort on Hopkinsville Pike, but it was never built. Short of labor, Sayers appealed through newspapers for more slaves and construction equipment. Due to inadequate response, the forts would not be finished in time. In January 1862, Sayers reported the forts were "progressing very well now" and guns were being mounted. When captured, it was reported that three guns each were mounted at Forts Clark and Sevier with two at Fort Terry.
20. FTDEF_140527_136.JPG: "Commenced altering an old dress this morning, but company prevented me making much progress. This evening cousin Lou and I prepared a dinner to take to Camp Quarles to morrow." -- Serepta Jordan, July 1, 1861 Homemaker: Clarksville's ladies contributed to the Southern war effort through soldiers' and societies and making clothing and other items for the troops. They visited several training camps, bring cheer and homemade baked goods to the soldiers. Women also cared for the wounded at several hospitals in the city. As raw materials like cloth were bought by the Confederate military, shortages made home life difficult. Ladies learned to recycle, invent new uses for common goods, or often did without.
21. FTDEF_140527_144.JPG: "You can't imagine the sad appearance of our city. All the dry goods merchants have left except the Coulters." -- Wm. Epps Newell to Sallie Ann Newell, February 20, 1862 Merchant: Patriotism, profit, loss and rebirth typified many Clarksville businesses during the war. Local firms sold crackers, repaired wagons, packed meat, and provided medicine and other items to support the Confederate war effort. Whitfield, Bradley and Company cast cannon and shot for artillery. John Neblett made stoves and cutlery for the army. Some business closed due to shortages and inability to ship goods. The arrival of Union troops changed the business climate. Union authorities formed a board of trade that dictated who could sell goods. The permanent Union garrison at Clarksville, plus the reopened rivers allowed new channels of commerce and brought in new businesses.
22. FTDEF_140527_150.JPG: Fall of Clarksville's Forts: In February 1862 the Union offensive against Tennessee began. An army under Ulysses Grant and a naval flotilla under Flag Officer Andrew Foote captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River on February 6. They took aim at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Despite initial Confederate success, the entire garrison of 15,000 troops surrendered on February 16. Grant, under orders from General Henry Halleck, then moved against Clarksville. Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote was injured at Fort Donelson, captured Clarksville in 1862, and died suddenly in June 1863.
23. FTDEF_140527_157.JPG: "We took possession of two forts at Clarksville. There was some powder at the lower fort which we threw into the river." -- Col. Joseph B. Webster, USA, February 20, 1863 On February 19, Foote, with the gunboats USS Conestoga and USS Cairo, arrived in Clarksville. Foote reported finding abandoned forts and white flags flying. The retreating Confederates set fire to the railroad bridge, which was extinguished by local citizens. Foote then sent for "the authorities of the city." Cave Johnson, Mayor George Smith and Judge Wisdom responded. Foote assured the city that only military supplies would be destroyed. Grant dispatched General Charles F. Smith's division as Clarksville's first Union garrison. Cave Johnson, the most prominent Clarksvillian, was part of the group that met with Flag Officer Andrew Foote to discuss Clarksville's surrender.
24. FTDEF_140527_158.JPG: Gunboats & Union Strategy: Recognizing the value of the western rivers, the Union military created a series of gunboats to attack and control key locations. Strategically, control of the Mississippi River meant control of North America. Three "timberclad" gunboats, the Lexington, Tyler, and Conestoga were converted at Cincinnati, Ohio. In the fall of 1861, nine "ironclad" boats were designed and built with armor plate to attack Confederate fortifications with their heavy cannons and enabled the Union to conquer most of Tennessee by mid-1862. The Fairplay (Tinclad #17) was a Confederate transport until captured by the Union and converted to a gunboat. It helped break up a Confederate Army attack on Federal forces in Dover, Tennessee on February 3, 1863.
25. FTDEF_140527_162.JPG: "They have placed their gunships so that if an attack is made they can shell the town, poor cowards. I can just turn my head now and see the men crawling about on the boats like so many black snakes." -- Nannie Haskins, Clarksville Civil War diarist As the main fighting moved further south, the Union built a series of "tinclad" gunboats to patrol the rivers and escort supply ships. These were lightly armored with thin pieces to fire on attacking guerrillas and cavalry raiders. Tinclad ships passed through Clarksville frequently and were involved with the April 1863 attack on Palmyra, Tennessee. The ironclad USS Cairo, built in Mound City, Illinois in 1861, was active in the occupation of Clarksville (February 10, 1862) and Nashville (February 25, 1862). It sank in Mississippi in December 1862. The timberclad USS Conestoga, Andrew Foote's flagship when Clarksville was captured, also assisted in the taking of Forts Henry and Donelson by Union troops in February 1862.
26. FTDEF_140527_166.JPG: USS Cairo The USS Cairo was one of seven ironclad gunboats by the Union to control the rivers. She was 52 feet wide and 175 feet long and carried 13 heavy guns. The Cairo helped capture Clarksville, Nashville and Memphis. She hit a mine and sank in December 1862.
27. FTDEF_140527_173.JPG: Occupied Clarksville & the Confederate Recapture: Clarksville, a vital link to the Union's supply depot at Nashville, was garrisoned by Union troops protecting supplies, railroads and telegraph lines. In April 1862, the garrison shrank to six companies of the 71st Ohio Infantry, whose four other companies held Dover. In August, combined CSA cavalry forces of Colonels Thomas Woodward and Adam Rankin (Stovepipe) Johnson took Clarksville and the 71st Ohio without firing a shot. Johnson took supplies and left for Kentucky. Woodward rode to Thomas Woodward, who attended West Point, raised several Confederate Kentucky units and became Colonel of the 15th Kentucky Cavalry.
28. FTDEF_140527_176.JPG: "Rails flew left and right... it was real funny to see them get away from the falling limbs... two men were lying nearby, one with his head shot off." -- Private Carrington, 11th Illinois Infantry, Battle of Riggins Hill a failed attack on Dover. In September, Colonel William Lowe's 5th Iowa Cavalry marched on Clarksville with the remains of the 71st Ohio, the 11th Illinois and 13th Wisconsin Infantry and four pieces of Illinois artillery. At Riggins Hill in Woodlawn, reinforced by armed townspeople, Woodward made his stand. His line was shelled until his troops broke and ran towards town. Lowe pursued and forces Clarksville's surrender. Woodward surrendered. After robbing the town and taking supplies, Lowe's men returned to Dover. Colonel William Lowe, a veteran of the elite 2nd US Calvary, served in the Civil War in Tennessee, commanding mounted troops.
29. FTDEF_140527_181.JPG: "Rails flew left and right... it was real funny to see them get away from the falling limbs... two men were lying nearby, one with his head shot off." -- Private Carrington, 11th Illinois Infantry, Battle of Riggins Hill a failed attack on Dover. In September, Colonel William Lowe's 5th Iowa Cavalry marched on Clarksville with the remains of the 71st Ohio, the 11th Illinois and 13th Wisconsin Infantry and four pieces of Illinois artillery. At Riggins Hill in Woodlawn, reinforced by armed townspeople, Woodward made his stand. His line was shelled until his troops broke and ran towards town. Lowe pursued and forces Clarksville's surrender. Woodward surrendered. After robbing the town and taking supplies, Lowe's men returned to Dover. Colonel William Lowe, a veteran of the elite 2nd US Calvary, served in the Civil War in Tennessee, commanding mounted troops.
30. FTDEF_140527_186.JPG: Confederate Guerrillas & Cavalry Raiders: Confederate guerrilla bands formed after Middle Tennessee fell to the Union. Farmers and civilians by day, they attacked Union posts by night, becoming the scourge of these garrisons. Guerrilla activity between Palmyra and Yellow Creek caused problems for Union commanders. Stewart County's Jack Hinson, a civilian sharpshooter, was notorious for killing dozens of Union officers. Confederate cavalry moving through the region often worked with bands of guerrillas. Colonel Thomas Woodward and General Nathan Bedford Forrest utilized Palmyra General Nathan Bedford Forrest, considered Tennessee's most highly regarded and controversial soldier, began his career as a private and finished a Lieutenant General.
31. FTDEF_140527_189.JPG: "(Clarksvillians) have been following the savage and disgraceful system of guerrilla warfare, the effect of which is to breed robbers and murderers and to carry war and desolation into peaceful communities." -- General William S. Rosecrans letter to CSA General Braxton Bragg, December 4, 1862 in early 1863 to ambush Union ships on the river. After a Confederate attack on a convoy in March 1863, a Union naval squadron under Lt. Commander LeRoy Fitch arrived in April and shelled Palmyra. Fitch landed troops who burned the town. Several days later, Union troops under Colonel Abel Streight arrived to secure mules for their Alabama raid and noted that all that remained were chimneys. The typical Confederate cavalryman in the west was more "rough and tumble" than he eastern counterpart. Lt. Commander LeRoy Fitch, a veteran gunboat officer, moved his ships on the rivers, protecting supply convoys and fighting raiders and guerrillas.
32. FTDEF_140527_193.JPG: "I was over the largest portion of Clarksville. There is many nice residences adorned with beautiful shade and ornamental trees... but yet there is a lack of taste in the keeping of their streets in order." -- Pvt. William Davis, 83rd Illinois Infantry, April 21, 1863 Union Soldier: Union and Confederate soldiers in Tennessee were mostly from farms or small towns. The war took them the farthest they had ever been from home. After battles like Fort Donelson, garrison and occupation duty seemed dull and tedious. Coming to towns like Clarksville was an appealing change from sleeping in tents in the field. Shopping, dining and having their pictures taken added normalcy to daily life. Besides protecting towns, occupying troops guarded telegraphs, railroads, and other aspects of the Union supply line. It often involved skirmishes with guerrillas.
33. FTDEF_140527_201.JPG: "We left Clarksville about eleven o'clock... as we passed our batteries below town, we were greeted with two salutes by Capt. Aker's artillery company and on arriving at Trice's Landing, by the New Providence brass band..." -- 49th Tennessee Infantry, December 10, 1861 Confederate Soldier: Montgomery County's Confederate soldiers were farmers, lawyers, business leaders and students from Stewart College. Local leaders raised and financed companies of troops and were often elected captains. After training camp, they boarded steamboats and railcars headed to war. They maintained local ties while away through letters to family and newspapers, reporting battle events, humorous stories, their general well-being and requesting needed personal items. For most, their first long distance travel from home began as an adventure, but the realities of war soon altered that view.
34. FTDEF_140527_210.JPG: The Union Strikes Back: After Colonel William Lowe's Union troops returned to Dover in September 1862, Clarkesville was unoccupied by either army. Locals anticipated the Union Army's return, and in December, a brigade under Colonel Sanders Bruce arrived from Russellville, Kentucky. From their post at Fort Sevier, renamed Fort Bruce, Union troops patrolled the countryside attempting to subdue Confederate guerrilla activity. Moving as far west as Palmyra and Yellow Creek, often by riverboat, troops clashed with guerrillas and cavalry raiders. Like many Kentucky families, Bruce's family had divided loyalties. His sister Rebecca was married to future Confederate General John Hunt Morgan.
35. FTDEF_140527_213.JPG: "No other subject can come even edgewise; and all seemed to fear a return of the Yanks to Clarksville." -- Serepta Jordan, November 3, 1862 Bruce and his men were replaced by other troops. The 102nd Ohio Infantry, using a steamboat armed with a small cannon, visited Palmyra to roust raiders hiding in the railroad tunnel. The 83rd Illinois Infantry was spread between Clarksville and Dover. Among their ranks were future U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp and Marion Morrison, actor John Wayne's grandfather. Constant skirmishes with guerrillas resulted in Morrison being wounded in 1864. The site of Fort Bruce, formerly Confederate Fort Sevier and Clarksville's riverfront as seen from the Cumberland River. Virgil Earp, charged with stealing money, spent time in Clarksville's jail. He and his brother Wyatt were later famous as U.S. Marshals and for the gunfight at the OK Corral.
36. FTDEF_140527_216.JPG: "No other subject can come even edgewise; and all seemed to fear a return of the Yanks to Clarksville." -- Serepta Jordan, November 3, 1862 Bruce and his men were replaced by other troops. The 102nd Ohio Infantry, using a steamboat armed with a small cannon, visited Palmyra to roust raiders hiding in the railroad tunnel. The 83rd Illinois Infantry was spread between Clarksville and Dover. Among their ranks were future U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp and Marion Morrison, actor John Wayne's grandfather. Constant skirmishes with guerrillas resulted in Morrison being wounded in 1864. The site of Fort Bruce, formerly Confederate Fort Sevier and Clarksville's riverfront as seen from the Cumberland River. Virgil Earp, charged with stealing money, spent time in Clarksville's jail. He and his brother Wyatt were later famous as U.S. Marshals and for the gunfight at the OK Corral.
37. FTDEF_140527_227.JPG: "... the citizens are coming at the rate of from thirty to fifty a day to take the Oath in order to save their property." -- Robert McConnell, 71st Ohio, September 11, 1862 The Loyalty Oath: Union military governor Andrew Johnson implemented the Loyalty Oath to the United States after his arrival in Nashville. The signed oath was required of residents to secure travel passes, conduct business, maintain homes and property and in some cases, to buy everyday necessities and food. Some people took the Oath willingly, others took it begrudgingly, and still more tried to ignore it as long as they could. Some women hid their cross fingers in the folds of their skirts, while taking the Oath, thinking it "wouldn't count." Taking the Oath was Risky: Residents who took the oath could incur the wrath of local guerrillas who punished those who appeared to support the Union cause. This included the burning of homes, farms, theft of valuables and livestock, and even death. Those who swore allegiance were often treated as outcasts from society.
38. FTDEF_140527_232.JPG: Oaths and passes were administered by the Provost Marshall's office, which served as the police force the occupying army.
39. FTDEF_140527_237.JPG: Nannie Haskins (left front) with Hattie Donoho, Janie Moore, and Dora Judkins in 1862. On April 26, 1863 Haskins wrote in her diary: "They have stolen all the provisions in the whole country, have pressed wagons and teams and negroes to work on the fortifications (to shell our town when the confeds come) and thus they are trying to make every body take the oath even the women; 'they cannot support people who are not loyal.' But here is one who will not take an oath of any description." Nannie's defiance last only another month. In her diary entry for May 30, 1863, she wrote, "They have forced me to sign the parole of honor -- Oh how I do regret it..." Historical accounts exist of women, while being administered the oath, daydreaming of other things or crossing their fingers so the oath "would not count."
40. FTDEF_140527_240.JPG: "We who are so entirely in the power of and so entirely surrounded by the enemy... cannot but feel gloomy. Every day the reigns are tightened." -- Sarah Kennedy, March 13, 1863 Daily Life: Once Clarksville was occupied, freedoms were restricted or lost. Shortages and inflation took a toll on residents trying to feed their families. Those who could do so, traveled to Oak Grove and outlying communities to shop where prices were lower. Residents encountered Union soldiers at every turn, which was a constant topic in letters and diaries. Despite hardships, they tried to maintain as normal a life as possible with church activities, birthdays, weddings, picnics, sewing circles and other social events. The Porter Children: Even the wealthy were deprived of access to medicine as most medical supplies were used by the military. The measles epidemic of 1864 killed Irma Eugenia Porter, aged four, and her brohter James Hartwell Porter, aged 11 months, probably due to inadequate medical attention. They are buried in Riverview Cemetery with their grandparents.
41. FTDEF_140527_243.JPG: The Porter Children: Even the wealthy were deprived of access to medicine as most medical supplies were used by the military. The measles epidemic of 1864 killed Irma Eugenia Porter, aged four, and her brother James Hartwell Porter, aged 11 months, probably due to inadequate medical attention. They are buried in Riverview Cemetery with their grandparents.
42. FTDEF_140527_246.JPG: "We want to see people resuming their former avocations... business reviving and the channels of trade reopening... discord superceded by peace ... and the soldiers giving place to the citizen." -- The Clarksville Chronicle, July 1865 Starting a New Life: The end of open warfare in April 1865 did not end the old antagonisms. Some guerrillas and Confederate regulars remained in the field. Peace returned gradually throughout 1865. The 83rd Illinois appealed through their newspaper to the citizens of Clarksville, asking them to "return to the good feeling that existed before the war." The local economy recovered ahead of the rest of the South. Confederate veterans returned home to a different world and some family ties were broken forever. The post-war period called Reconstruction took a toll on everyone. Differences in race, social status and political views took a long time to overcome. The Freedman's Bureau, a federal agency, aided ex-slaves and planters in adjusting to freedom, which meant more than just jobs and houses. Segregated schools and churches were established, and became a focal point for the activities of the emerging black community. Life, for most, was beginning to make sense again. A Nation Mourns: The death of Abraham Lincoln shocked the North and even parts of the South. Clarksville, which had been openly Secessionist in 1861, held mass meetings at local churches, mourning the death of the president.
43. FTDEF_140527_256.JPG: The (Emancipation) Proclamation may not free a single slave, but it gives liberty a moral recognition." -- Henry Ward Beecher, January, 1863 The Confederate retreat from Maryland in September 1862 gave President Abraham Lincoln enough of a victory to move forward with his Emancipation Proclamation, to take effect January 1, 1863. Despite warnings from his cabinet that passage would bring disaster in the November Congressional elections, the president persisted. The proclamation applied only to those states still in rebellion. Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and the District of Columbia were not affected. Military governor Andrew Jackson arranged for Tennessee to be the only exempt Confederate state. The counties that formed West Virginia in 1863 were also excluded. Lincoln's Proclamation attacked the Confederacy by promising freedom to its labor force, the enslaved population. This precious resource could not be replaced. It added a new moral aspect to the war and drove a wedge between the Confederacy and European powers seeking to recognize them. Union Army opinion was divided. Levi Ross, a soldier in the 8th Illinois Infantry, wrote, "only 8 men in Co. K approve the policy and proclamation of Mr. Lincoln. Many are deserting." Robert McConnell of the 71st Ohio Infantry stated, "I enlisted to try and save Liberty for you and me... but they have turned the thing round till we are fighting to Free the Blessed negro." Others felt differently. Colonel John Beatty, 3rd Ohio Infantry, wrote, "The mere reconstruction of the Union on the old basis would not pay humanity for all the blood shed since the war began. The extinction of slavery, perhaps, will." General Order 143, establishing the United States Colored Troops, allowed for large-scale recruitment of black soldiers. Runaway slaves, often by the trainload, assembled at recruiting stations throughout Tennessee.
44. FTDEF_140527_259.JPG: "Negores of every description are coming in to the Yankees... recruiting among the men is going as rapidly as could be desired. THe Regiment ... will soon be filled." -- Serepta Jordan on the formation of the 16th USCT, January 24, 1864 From Contraband to The Sable Arm: Union forts became magnets for runaway slaves seeking freedom and protection. Due to confusion in laws, some officers kept the slaves in camp, while others returned them to their masters. Slaves who stayed were called "Contrabands." Men worked on Union fortifications or drove supply wagons. Women cooked, washed clothing and repaired uniforms. Forced labor became paid labor as the war progressed. After the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, Lincoln's administration recruited United States Colored Troops regiments. Newspaper ads listed recruiting locations including Clarksville. Approximately 2,000 men joined the 16th USCT and the 9th US Colored Heavy Artillery, raised in Clarksville. Others joined the 12th, 13th, 17th and 101st USCT in other parts of Middle Tennessee. Many recruits came from the Contraband camps. "Sable Arm" was a Nineteenth Century term referring to Black troops. One Man's Story: Andrew Jackson Kendrick, born a slave in 1836, fought in the battle of Nashville. He returned home to New Providence, attended school, and later made his living teaching others to read. "I slipped off and joined the war because I wanted to help us get out of bondage." -- Andrew Jackson Kendrick
45. FTDEF_140527_267.JPG: "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free, honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve." -- Abraham Lincoln What really Ended Slavery? The Emancipation Proclamation was a major step in solving the slavery issue. However, a Constitutional amendment was required as slaves were considered property protected by the Constitution. Congress debated several proposals before final passage by the Senate in early April 1864 and the House in late January 1865. Lincoln's signature sent it to the states for ratification. The 13th Amendment required ratification by 27 of the 36 states. By December, 1865, enough states passed the amendment to ultimately end slavery. Eventually all states voted in favor, but three took until the 20th century. Supported by the 14th Amendment (1968 -- protecting civil right) and the 15th Amendment (1870 -- banning racial voting restrictions), the road to freedom was finally opened. "1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." -- United States Constitution, Amendment 13
46. FTDEF_140527_276.JPG: "The South has done more in fourteen months that I expected to see accomplished in several years. Slavery is abolished. The Confederate debt is repudiated. The people are submissive. What more do you want?" -- US President Andrew Johnson, to a group of radical Republican congressmen, 1866 Bringing Order out of Chaos: While the Reconstruction era was 1865-1877, it began with Union Army control of a Confederate state. Readmission to the Union required restructured political, social and economic systems. Tennessee, the first state readmitted, began Reconstruction in 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. In 1864, Montgomery County voters who took the loyalty oath elected a sheriff, a registrar and court clerk. In 1865, Clarksvillians elected Joshua Cobb their first mayor since the war began. Governor William G. Brownlow (1865-1869) denied former Confederates voting rights. Under law, voters in the elections in February and March of 1865 were automatically registered, but poll books were stolen or destroyed to eliminate proof of qualification. Brownlow raised the Tennessee State Guard in February 1867 to enforce his voting laws, allowing him to sweep the state in the 1867 election. Rising statewide against Brownlow's Radical Reconstructionist policies and later against Freedmen, local Ku Klux Klansmen met regularly at Dunbar Cave, the basement of Stewart College, and operated a barber shop at Strawberry Alley. Clarksville's Freedmen's Bureau reported in 1868 the Klan was "openly drilling in force." Controlling the Vote: Prominent Rossview planter Joseph B. Killebrew never fully approved of the Confederacy, but was still denied voting rights. He said of the 1867 election, "Every voter had to get a certificate from a creature appointed by Brownlow to do this dirty work with the command to give certificates to no one who had the least sympathy with the Confederate cause. I was refused because I was a white man. Soldiers were kept at the polls to see that no one voted against the powers that existed."
47. FTDEF_140527_283.JPG: "Clarksville at no period of her history has experienced greater prosperity ... new buildings going up, population increasing ... and not a respectable house in the city unoccupied." -- Clarksville Tobacco-Leaf, 1869 Rebuilding the Local Economy: Despite political turmoil, Clarksville rebuilt its economy. Early Union occupation prevented large-scale property destruction, allowing for rapid economic rebound. The tobacco industry reopened in October 1865 with limited shipments to New Orleans in December. From 1870 to 1880, tobacco production doubled. Local investors expanded the industrial base with new mining and oil companies. Cotton and woolen mills, foundries, lumber, furniture, tannery and brewing companies were also opened. Products shipped to national and world markets via revitalized steamboats and railroads. Clarksville was an attractive place to live. The 1861 population of 5,000 grew to 8,000 post-war, due to returning Confederate veterans and pro-Southern civilians, Freedmen settlements, and relocating Northerners. Stewart College and the Female Academy reopened as prominent educational institutions. New schools and, in particular, churches became the focal point for educating the emerging black community with five well-established congregations in Clarksville by 1875. Clarksville's economic progress suffered its second great trial in less than 20 years when the massive fire of 1878 destroyed 15 acres of downtown including the courthouse, the core of the business community and tobacco industry. Clarksville rebounded yet again. Financial Changes: Tennessee's Legislative Act of 1865 forbade all banks from acting as a fiscal agent of the state, unless the president, cashier and directors were, "since the beginning of the Revolution, and are now, unconditional Union men." The same year, the US Treasury, under an act of Congress, authorized the First National Bank of Clarksville (a Unionist bank) to handle national currency, with Sterling F. Beaumont elected the bank's first president. In 1877 the state authorized several Clarksville banks as depositories of state funds.
48. FTDEF_140527_287.JPG: Financial Changes: Tennessee's Legislative Act of 1865 forbade all banks from acting as a fiscal agent of the state, unless the president, cashier and directors were, "since the beginning of the Revolution, and are now, unconditional Union men." The same year, the US Treasury, under an act of Congress, authorized the First National Bank of Clarksville (a Unionist bank) to handle national currency, with Sterling F. Beaumont elected the bank's first president. In 1877 the state authorized several Clarksville banks as depositories of state funds.
49. FTDEF_140527_305.JPG: Freedmen's Camps and the USCT: Wars generate refugees, and the Civil War was no exception. After Union forces took permanent control of Clarksville and New Providence in early 1863, many escaped slaves and a few uprooted white Unionists came here for protection and assistance. They were housed in tobacco warehouses and in camps near fortified posts like Fort Defiance/Fort Bruce. Called "contrabands," some were hired by the army as civilian labor. Fourteen infantry regiments and eight artillery units were organized with 24,000 men from Tennessee beginning in October 1863. The 16th USCT (United States Colored Troops) and one company of the 9th US Colored Heavy Artillery were raised in Clarksville. While in Clarksville, these soldiers engaged in duties including checking civilian passes, driving weapons, handling supplies, and guarding contraband camps (later known as Freedmen's camps). All USCT units were transferred from Clarksville to other parts of the state for similar duties. Men from Clarksville serving in the 12nd and 13th USCT completed the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad from Kingston Springs to Johnsonville, Tennessee, before fighting in the Battle of Nashville. Near the war's end, the US Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau to further post-war employment and create schools for refugees. After the war many remained and established neighborhoods near the now abandoned military posts. Much of present-day New Providence is an outgrowth of the Freedmen's Camp located here. Some current residents are direct descendants of former slaves who sought the security of the Union troops garrisoned at Fort Bruce. Approximately 180,000 ex-slaves and Freedmen enlisted in the United States Colored Troops. A Harper's Weekly Illustration depicts a typical Freedmen's Bureau office where former slaves received assistance in the transition from slavery to freedom. Nearly 4 million former slaves were provided clothing, food, medical attention, jobs and education. Many of today's traditional Black colleges were formed with the assistance of the Bureau.
50. FTDEF_140527_312.JPG: Life as a Garrisoned Union Soldier It has often been said of the Civil War soldier that life consisted of moments of sheer terror followed by months of sheer boredom. For the garrisoned soldier, it tended more towards boredom. For many Union garrisons occupying Clarksville, daily rituals consisted of guarding the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad, the Hopkinsville Turnpike, and the river. Soldiers also checked citizen passes, handled supplies, and drilled. Some were dispatched around Montgomery County on anti-guerilla patrols and were subject to attack by Confederate cavalry. The rest of the time was spent writing letters home, playing cards, repairing personal items and equipment, and cooking. Officers often resided in homes or hotels in town. Enlisted troops on the grounds at Stewart College and at the fort lived in tents or small huts of chinked logs. Huts typically had a door at one end and a chimney at the other. A tent canvas usually served as a roof, but if the tools were available, a wooden roof might be added. Soldiers frequently added a wooden floor and a window. Latrines (toilets) consisted of trenches dug in the ground away from the living quarters. Food supplies, often tainted, lacked variety and nutrition. Safe drinking water was not always available. Living conditions were generally unsanitary. With so many men living in close quarters, diseases and infections were easily spread. Illnesses, including measles, colds, influenza, eye infections and dysentery, put hundreds of men into hospitals and graves. The average soldier believed the bullet was his greatest danger, but disease was actually the biggest killer of the war. In the Union army, nearly three out of five deaths were from disease, while in the Confederate army, disease was responsible for two our of every three deaths.
51. FTDEF_140527_317.JPG: These earthworks represent the lives and struggles of many. Help preserve them by staying on the walkways.
52. FTDEF_140527_321.JPG: The Rebel Positions Near Clarksville (Now in Possession of National Troops) 1. Gateway of Fort Severe. 2. Magazine of Port Severe. 3. Forty-two pound guns not in position. 4. Barracks. 5. Steam tow-host. 6. U.S. Gunboat Cairo. 7. U.S. Gunboat Conestoga; (flag ship.) 8. Nashville, Clarkesville and Louisville Railroad Bridge. 9. Barracks Fort Clark. 10. Magazine Fortifications: A fort is a defensive earthwork or wall used to protect a town, castle, or military position. Forts have been built of logs, stones, bricks, concrete, or simply mounds of earth. The strategy of a fortification is to enable a small number of soldiers to hold out for a period of time while inflicting significant casualties on the enemy. The parapet, or embankment, is used to shelter troops from enemy fire, enabling them to use their weapons in relative safety. One obstacle to hinder the advance of the enemy is a ditch located in front of the parapet. Builders of earthen forts, such as Ft. Defiance, were aware that shot would penetrate ordinary earth at the distances described below (quoted from "A Complete Treatise on Field Fortifications" written in 1836.) musket ball ... 1 foot, 6 inches 6 pound shot ... 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 feet 9 pound shot -- 6-1/2 to 7 feet 12 pound shot -- 8-1/2 to 10 feet 18 and 24 pound shot -- 11-1/2 to 13 feet
53. FTDEF_140527_325.JPG: Building Fort Sevier (Defiance) Throughout history forts have been built to protect important sites. Civil War-era forts were generally masonry for seacoast fortifications. Earthen forts were predominant at inland locations, including Forts Donelson and Sevier (Defiance). Fort Sevier's earthen walls, called parapets, were designed to protect its garrison from enemy fire. Ditches outside the parapets would slow assaulting troops. The covered way, a large trench with a wooden and dirt roof, protected troops carrying ammunition. The thickly protected magazine stored the ammunition. Senior Confederate military engineer Jeremy Gilmer sited Fort Sevier to protect the bend in the Cumberland River. Gilmer hired civilian engineer Edward Sayers to build the fort. Local slaves were leased, and Confederate soldiers were ordered to build the fort. Continuous labor shortages caused construction to lag. Factors made this an untenable fort. The hill's height required a downward angle that was too steep for the cannons to effectively fire upon that portion of the river. The shape of the fort and the structural core did not comply with military engineering guidelines. Earthen forts were typically built with a core of stacked logs with dirt packed on top, but archeological evidence shows Fort Sevier was not built in this manner. Fort Sevier and Fort Clark were initially garrisoned by the Montgomery Heavy Artillery, CSA. Clarksville's forts were not as heavily armed as Fort Donelson. They were abandoned after Fort Donelson's capture under the belief they could not stop the Union advance. French military engineer Sebastien Vauban revolutionized fort design in the 17th century and West Point officers studied his designs while at the academy. Fort Sevier used little of Vauban's design other than a salient angle gun platform facing Hopkinsville Pike (now Fort Campbell Boulevard).
54. FTDEF_140527_330.JPG: Restoration of the Site: In 1982, Mr. And Mrs. Sam Boaz deeded the property which includes the Ft. Defiance site to the City of Clarksville. Two years later, three professors at Austin Peay State University and other concerned citizens began the restoration. The History and Geology Departments worked as a team to complete a topographic survey of the site, with dimensions of the fort and located of such areas as the magazine determined. Using City equipment, the team was able to clear the interior of the fort, revealing two major gun platforms for river defense, two smaller platforms for inland defense, two covered ways, and the magazine. The City of Clarksville brought in heavy equipment and prepared the soil for grass seed and began the outer entrenchment restoration. Within months, the grass has taken hold, a parking facility had been added and the site was placed on a regular mowing schedule. Today the site is being restored by the Clarksville Montgomery County Historical Museum, the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department, and the Clarksville Street Department.
55. FTDEF_140527_338.JPG: Restoration of the Site: In 1982, Mr. And Mrs. Sam Boaz deeded the property which includes the Ft. Defiance site to the City of Clarksville. Two years later, three professors at Austin Peay State University and other concerned citizens began the restoration. The History and Geology Departments worked as a team to complete a topographic survey of the site, with dimensions of the fort and located of such areas as the magazine determined. Using City equipment, the team was able to clear the interior of the fort, revealing two major gun platforms for river defense, two smaller platforms for inland defense, two covered ways, and the magazine. The City of Clarksville brought in heavy equipment and prepared the soil for grass seed and began the outer entrenchment restoration. Within months, the grass has taken hold, a parking facility had been added and the site was placed on a regular mowing schedule. Today the site is being restored by the Clarksville Montgomery County Historical Museum, the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department, and the Clarksville Street Department.
56. FTDEF_140527_345.JPG: The Barracks: The most common type of shelter for garrisons such as those at Fort Sevier/Fort Bruce was a small hut of chinked logs. If the necessary tools were available, a roof of split timbers might be added. More often, however, a ten cloth served as roof. One door and a chimney completed the construction, although soldiers frequently added a wooden floor and a window. The huts generally housed from four to ten men, the number composing a mess, and were built by those who were to live in them.
57. FTDEF_140527_348.JPG: Forts Versus Ironclads: The Confederate response to Union gunboats on the western rivers was to build a series of forts. The better forts were built on higher ground allowing for "plunging fire" upon Union ships. Forts Sevier, Clark, and Terry in Clarksville were located to protect the rivers and two railroad bridges. Fort Sevier's height above the river, however, would have slowed its rate of fire, as the downward angle of the guns would have been too steep. Fort Donelson was heavily armed against the gunboats with 12 guns including 32-pounder smoothbore cannons, a 10-inch Columbiad smoothbore and a 6.5 inch rifled Columbiad, and two 30-pounder Cannonades. Fort Henry had 17 heavy guns facing the river. By contrast, Forts Sevier and Clark had a combined total of six heavy guns. These forts also used smaller 6 to 12-pounder cannons for land defense. Some of the bigger guns were mounted on wooden carriages, called barbettes, which allowed for recoil and reloading. Barbettes swiveled on a central pole called the pintle. Columbiads were mounted on iron carriages strong enough to take the shock of their fire, but sometimes broke while firing, which happened at Forts Henry and Donelson. Confronting the forts were Union "City Class" ironclad gunboats measuring 175 feet long by 51 feet wide and initially costing $89,600 each. Ironclads carried three 8-inch guns in the bow, with four 43-pounders and six 32-pounders mounted on the casemates -- sloped, armored structures framed with wood 18 inches thck and covered by 2.5 inches of iron plate. Union timbered gunboats, converted from steamboats, lacked armor but carried heavy guns and were designed to attack other boats and troops close to the river. The timberclad USS Conestoga, carrying six 32-pounder smoothbores and one 12-pounder rifled gun, assisted in the Union taking of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Clarksville in February 1862. The ironclad USS Cairo, built in Mound City, Illinois in 1861, was active in the occupations of Clarksville (February 19, 1862) and Nashville (February 25, 1862). It sank in Mississippi in December 1862. George Yost of Illinois enlisted on February 16, 1862 at age 15, and was the USS Cairo's youngest crewman. On February 19, he wrote in his journal, "Arrived late in the afternoon at the mouth of the Red River where there are two batteries. They surrendered without a word." Yost survived the Cairo's sinking in December 1862 near Vicksburg, Mississippi. Guns like this 32-pounder smoothbore mounted on a wooden barbette carriage were used at Clarksville's forts, and Forts Henry and Donelson.
58. FTDEF_140527_357.JPG: The Players Andrew H. Foote: Command of naval operations for the upper Mississippi belonged to Commodore Andrew H. Foote, a 39-year veteran of the U.S. Navy. His fleet of gunboats supported Grant in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, and terrified the citizens of Clarksville. After their appearance on Clarksville's watery doorstep, the fleet moved back to the Mississippi River. aiding in the capture of Island Number 10 and opening the way to Memphis and the lower Mississippi. Wounds he received at Fort Donelson forced Commodore Foote to relinquish command in June, 1862. He died a year later. Ulysses S. Grant: The Union's first great success, at Forts Henry and Donelson in February, 1862, moved unknown Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant into the history books. With his new nickname, "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, and rising popularity, Grant prepared to move his headquarters to Clarksville, a more easily defended position. Instead, General Henry W. Halleck gave the command to Brigadier General Charles F. Smith, leaving Grant at Fort Henry. The communication difficulties that had caused their rift were soon solved, however, and Grant resumed command on March 17 as the opposing armies moved toward Shiloh. Jeremy F. Gilmer: Major Jeremy Gilmer, Chief Engineer under General Albert Sidney Johnston, designed the Confederate defenses of Clarksville. His recommendations including destroying the fords of the Red River and guarding the remaining two turnpike bridges and the railroad bridge by two encampments along the river. His initial report also recommended: "To prevent our enemy from occupying the high ground just north of the Red River and to the left of the Hopkinsville turnpike, we must occupy it ourselves with a body of troops. and for greater security perhaps a small entrenchment ought to be through up on top of this hill."
59. FTDEF_140527_359.JPG: The Covered Way: An earthen-walled passageway called a covered way connected the magazine with the gun emplacements. This permitted garrison troops to move ammunition safely to the guns without being seen or subjected to enemy fire. Ft. Defiance's covered way was completed, the "cover" has long since been destroyed.
60. FTDEF_140527_380.JPG: Tobacco Trade and the Rivers: In the 1780s, the first land grant of 640 acres was made for this area north of the Red River. The stretch of the Cumberland River from Red River Landing to Trice's Landing played a crucial role in the region's economic development. Local farmers brought tobacco and other produce to the landings for storage in warehouses and then shipment downriver. Initially, large flatboats made the voyages, but by the late 1820s, steamboats carried the bulk of the cargo. Other businesses and small communities appeared inland near the landings to serve the farmers, merchants, shippers, and boatmen who frequented the landings. By the 1840s, the small communities evolved into New Providence, which was officially incorporated into the City of Clarksville during the 1960s. Beginning in January of 1880, tobacco sales were conducted in a new $30,000 Tobacco Exchange erected on a steep bank near Public Square. The Exchange spanned seven stories on two levels, with 19 offices and salesrooms featuring lighting, gas, and water. A telephone and speaking tubes furnished communication. Two bank rooms had fire- and burglar-proof vaults. Elegantly appointed for entertainment, the spacious upper floor was the site of many cotillions and balls. When tobacco practices changed, the need for the Exchange ceased and it was demolished in 1930. Former slaves who were now paid laborers continued to be the backbone of most of the domestic and agricultural labor force. Whole families -- grandparents, parents, young adults and children -- worked at getting the tobacco crop planted, cultivated, harvested, and loaded for the market. Many families also raised tobacco for themselves as well. Shallow draft packets designed for use in local river trade transported products including coal, hay, corn, salt, and lumber. The packet Margaret is shown here at Clarksville Wharf. The Tobacco Exchange building sits on the hill to the left of the historic Poston building. After cutting and curing, tobacco leaves were pressed in a hogshead barrel for transport to market. Almost 18,000 hogshead barrels were shipped from Clarksville Landing and Trice's Landing in 1858. Dark-fired tobacco from Montgomery County was popular in England, Germany, France, and Italy in the mid-1800s. Clarksville's Type 22 Dark Fired tobacco was called the "strongest tobacco in the world."
61. FTDEF_140527_385.JPG: Cigar mold, tobacco twist, can of dental snuff
62. FTDEF_140527_390.JPG: Town of Cumberland: The Town of Cumberland (1810-1843) was sited at the confluence of the Cumberland and Red Rivers as a projected river port for farming communities north of the Red River. It began as a keelboat landing slightly up the Red River to serve the original 640 acre grant dating from the 1780s. Despite the establishment of warehouses and a sawmill, the town never fully developed as planned. The landing, however, was a valuable location for loading flatboats and later, steamboats. By the 1840s, the area was called Red River Landing. A major road ran up the hill and between what is now Fort Defiance and Trice's Landing. Another road paralleled the Red River to a ford, and later, a bridge connecting to Clarksville. By the early 1840s, the towns of Meachamsville and New Providence developed along these routes and their connecting roads at the top of New Providence Hill. The area was a flourishing commercial center prior to the Civil War.
Wikipedia Description: Fort Defiance, Tennessee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In November 1861, Confederate troops began to build a defensive fort that would control the river approach to Clarksville, Tennessee. They mounted three guns in the fort. On February 19, 1862, Federal gunboats came up the river from Fort Donelson and reported the fort displayed a white flag and was deserted. The Federals took over the fort and enlarged it so that it would control traffic on the Hopkinsville (Kentucky) Pike. Clarksville was left with a small garrison of Union troops. In April 1862, this small garrison was made up of the 71st Ohio Volunteers commanded by Col. Rodney Mason.

During July and August 1862, there was an increase in guerrilla activity around Clarksville. On August 18, 1862, Clarksville was recaptured by Confederate Cavalry. Col. Mason was cashiered for surrendering Clarksville so easily. Union soldiers were sent from Fort Donelson to retake Clarksville in September 1862. Skirmishes were fought at New Providence on September 6, 1862 and at Riggins Hill on September 7, 1862. The town and fort were reoccupied by Federal troops who remained for the rest of the war. Col. Bruce was placed in command at Clarksville and Fort Defiance was renamed Fort Bruce.

At one point in time, Fort Defiance was also referred to as Fort Sevier.

The four-acre Fort Defiance park features earthen fort and walking trails. It is located at 120 A Street, Clarksville,Tennessee. The city of Clarksville dedicated a new $2 million Fort Defiance Interpretive Center in 2011 in time for the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War in 2011. The Fort has been owned by the City of Clarksville since the mid-1980s, when it was donated to the city by retired Judge Sam Boaz who had owned and preserved the site for some time.
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