Civil War Journey in Clarksville, Tenn.
Clarksville & Montgomery County Tennessee Civil War Journey - Crossroads of Change 1861-1865.
Clarksville & Montgomery County Tennessee Civil War Journey - Crossroads of Change 1861-1865.
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Introduction<br />
<strong>Clarksville</strong>-Montgomery County <strong>Tenn</strong>essee’s <strong>Civil</strong><br />
<strong>War</strong> story is not unlike the heritage of hundreds of<br />
Southern cities, towns and rural communities that<br />
endured bitter years between 1861 and 1865. However,<br />
one aspect that makes <strong>Clarksville</strong>’s story unique<br />
is that it was one of the longest “occupied” towns <strong>in</strong><br />
the western theater of the war. It is a journey filled<br />
with emotions – fear, love, suspicion, anger and hope<br />
– as recorded <strong>in</strong> personal journals, letters, newspapers<br />
and photographs of the time. Even now, 150<br />
years later, it is a story that cont<strong>in</strong>ues to <strong>in</strong>trigue and<br />
compel. Hopefully, this guidebook will aid you along<br />
<strong>Clarksville</strong>’s <strong>Civil</strong> <strong>War</strong> <strong>Journey</strong> ... as you seek your own<br />
answers and understand<strong>in</strong>g of this<br />
turbulent era <strong>in</strong> America’s history.<br />
Early Settlement<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce its found<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>Clarksville</strong>’s<br />
location on the Cumberland and<br />
Red rivers made it an important<br />
and prosperous commercial<br />
crossroad <strong>in</strong> Middle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee.<br />
Gen. George Rogers Clark<br />
<strong>Clarksville</strong> is named for<br />
Revolutionary <strong>War</strong> general, George Rogers Clark.<br />
John Montgomery who served under Clark, received<br />
a land grant, laid out a town plan <strong>in</strong> 1784 and<br />
named it <strong>Clarksville</strong> <strong>in</strong> his commander’s honor.<br />
Just north of <strong>Clarksville</strong>, at the juncture of the<br />
Cumberland and Red rivers, was the settlement of<br />
Sevier Station. Nearby, T.W. Atk<strong>in</strong>son and Henry<br />
Trice established a keelboat land<strong>in</strong>g, agricultural<br />
market and large tobacco warehouse. With the<br />
later development of Red River Land<strong>in</strong>g, keelboats<br />
gave way to steamboats, and <strong>in</strong> 1829, a bridge was<br />
built across the Red River. By the 1850s, the area<br />
north of <strong>Clarksville</strong> was called New Providence –<br />
a market and transportation center for northern<br />
Montgomery County.<br />
Sevier Station<br />
POINTING BY PEG HARVILL