The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, June 16th in our new home at the Bone & Joint Center, 980 Professional Park Drive, right across from Gateway Hospital. This is just off Dunlop Lane and Holiday Drive and only a few minutes from the mall. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm and is always open to the public. Members please bring a friend or two – new recruits are always welcomed.
OUR PROGRAM
“GOVERNING CHAOS: THE EIGHT SOUTHERN GOVERNORS OF THE BORDER AND MIDDLE SLAVE STATES”
The more than 2 million men (and some women) who participated in our nation’s defining war were not recruited to join an already organized armed force. While there was an extant U.S. Army, it numbered only 16,000 officers and men. Most state militias had been disbanded or fallen into disuse. The majority of these new soldiers formed new companies in addition to revitalizing some militia units and began to drill in 1860 with even more coming in 1861. Lured by the prospect of a nice uniform, some food, maybe a tent to sleep in and, in some cases, new muskets, these new troops awaited orders from “someone” as to where they would be sent.
Those “someones” were the governors of the various states under whose auspices these troops would be clothed, armed and fed eventually sending them to training camps to form regiments. The eight Southern governors, the object of this presentation, had their own ideas about what direction to send their troops, how they would be organized and what would be needed to deal with the troops of the opposing side. But getting that done to their satisfaction was anything but easy. This program will discuss a group of Democrats (save one who had bolted to another party) trying to defend their own states, plead with their state legislatures for the funds and material they felt was necessary, and eventually be pushed aside by events out of their control. Given the circumstances of the time, it was a wonder that anything coherent came out of the efforts of these men, but they did their jobs as well as could be expected. They took their medicine as a result, sometimes bitter, sometimes ironic, but always loyal to their beliefs and, in some cases, raised fine combat forces.
Tracy Jackson is a charter member of the Clarksville CWRT and a member of the Clarksville Civil War 150th Steering Committee. He is a retired Lt. Colonel of the US Army, a retired engineer from McDonnell-Douglas with both careers taking him almost completely around the world in a number of fascinating jobs. He also holds two degrees from Clemson University. Tracy was an adjunct professor In the Austin Peay State University School of Business for 5 years and then began his own business, Glenwood Landscapes & Design in 1997, which is still ongoing. He has also been very active in civic groups as well as historical organizations in Clarksville including the Customs House Museum, the Montgomery County Historical Society, the Chamber of Commerce and others. Furthering his ever growing interest in history, Tracy is hard at work on a book on Clarksville in the Civil War and is the descendant of a Confederate captain from South Carolina.
Please join us for another informative meeting of the Clarksville Civil War Roundtable.
Greg Biggs