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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

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