Hello,

The next meeting of the Nashville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on TUESDAY, July 17th, 2018, in the visitor’s center of Ft. Negley Park, a unit of Metro Parks, Nashville, TN. This is located off I-65 just south of downtown between 4th Avenue South and 8th Avenue South on Edgehill Avenue/Chestnut Avenue. Take Exit 81, Wedgewood Avenue, off I-65 and follow the signs to the Science Museum.

The meeting begins at 7:00 PM and is always open to the public.

Our Speaker and Topic - “A “Devil” Of A Situation: Forrest’s Attack on Fort Pillow”

One of the most controversial events of the Civil War was the attack on the Union garrison at Fort Pillow in West Tennessee in 1864. Consisting of white Union Tennessee troops and black Union artillerymen, the place was targeted for attack by Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry who was after supplies. The end result, in which a very large number of the garrison was killed, resonates today. Was it a massacre? Was it deliberate? Were Union troops killed after surrender? These were issues dealt with at the time and still discussed today.

Our speaker this month is Dr. Brian S. Wills, director of the Civil War Center at Kennesaw State University. Dr. Wills is an accomplished author and historian with a number of books to his credit including one of the best biographies of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Dr. Wills also authored the most current book on the attack on Fort Pillow using data not before used by previous authors. Dr. Wills speaks around the country and also leads Civil War tours.

This should be a very interesting program and it has gotten fine reviews from other CWRTs where it has been presented. We hope you will join us in July. Dr. Wills will have copies of his books for sale at the meeting.