Hello everyone,
Please find below acomplete list of the numerous Civil War events coming up the last week of August in Clarksville, TN. We call these the Cumberland Civil War Heritage Days and it features concerts, historic cemetery tours,lectures and the Riggins Hill reenactment.
All proceeds go to benefit the Montgomery County Civil War Preservation Society and related organizations.
We would appreciate you coming to Clarksville to support our efforts to raise awareness of its Civil War history!
Thanks in advance,
Greg Biggs
Clarksville CWRT
Montgomery County Civil War Preservation Society
As follows:
If you are interested in tickets to any of the events please let me know at Biggsk@aol.com and we can take care of you by mail. Tickets are limited so please get your orders in as soon as possible if you wish to attend any events. We certainly hope you all will come and help us celebrate Clarksville's Civil War heritage! Events like these can only be possible if they are supported!
Thursday - August 18, 2005 - Mt. Olive Cemetery Day
This will be the official dedication of the historic Mt. Olive Cemetery, which contains the graves of a number of men who served in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops. There are also World Wars One and Two veterans buried there. The event is open to the public at no charge. Further information can be found at: http://www.mtolivecemetery.org/ or by emailing Geneva Bell at: Genevab1941@aol.com
10 AM - Opening remarks, prayer
10:10 AM - Introduction of speakers. Special Guest Speaker - Brig. Gen. Michael L. Oates, Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Ft. Campbell, KY. Other special dignataries to be in attendance including state and local elected officials.
10:30 - Cemetery tour.
10-11:30 AM - serving of refreshments
Saturday - August 20th - Fort Defiance Day.
There will be a public picnic from 1-4 PM at Ft. Defiance Park. Period reenactors will tell stories and perhaps play period games. There will also be tours of Clarksville's only remaining Civil war fort. There is a charge of $5 per person. Proceeds benefit the Friends of Ft. Defiance.
Please contact Phyllis Smith, Friends of Ft. Defiance, at pms007@bellsouth.net for tickets or the Clarksville Chamber Of Commerce (cbatts@clarksville.tn.us).
Sunday - August 21st - Arts & Heritage Day - Smith-Trahern Mansion - period cotillion
Civil War era dance and catered dinner from 4 - 7 PM. This will feature period dances, story telling and more. There will be a band providing period music. Come and have fun learning historic dances! All proceeds go to the Mt. Olive Cemetery and the Renaissance Festival.
The tickets are $40 per couple and are available at the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce (cbatts@clarksville.tn.us), or through Theresa Jones at: theresajones15@yahoo.com.
Monday - August 22nd - Historic Cemetery Tours - Greenwood and Riverview Cemeteries in Clarksville. 5-9 PM.
Learn about the Civil War personalities buried in these two historic cemeteries! Guided tours will take visitors through each cemetery where period reenactors will portray the individuals who rest there. Eight tour guides and 12 reenactors will treat the public to a rare look at Clarksville's past by visiting the graves of famous Civil War officers, Tennesse governors and the ultimate Civil War love story, along with Nannie Haskins, whose diary was used in the Ken Burns Civil War series on PBS. And maybe if there's time, you can see the grave of Frank Sutton, the Clarksvillian who portrayed Sgt. Carter on the TV show "Gomer Pyle, USMC."
Guides include Cleo Hogan, local cemetery expert; Thomas Murff, Frank Gracey SCV Camp, Clarksville; Lisa Earle, Civil War reenactor from KY and Jerry Ross, Clarksville, cemetery tours coordinator. The reenactors include David Fraley, Carter House Historian, Franklin, TN.; John and Nikki Walsh, Ft. Donelson Relics and local reenactors; Susan Hawkins, Ft. Donelson National Battlefield; Greg Miller, Civil War historian, Murray, KY; and Robert Hundley, Clarksville Civil War Roundtable and local reenactor.
The Frank P. Gracey Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans in Clarksville will provide the refreshments. All tours begin at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Library and will run at least 2 hours. Tickets are $10 - kids 5 and under are free and are available through Greg Biggs (Biggsk@aol.com), Jerry Ross (mailto:jerryrosssgt@hotmail.com, at Ft. Donelson Relics in Dover (nikki@fortdonelsonrelics.com), the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce (cbatts@clarksville.tn.us), as well as the day of the event at the library. Seating is limited. All proceeds go to the Montgomery County Civil War Preservation Society.
Tuesday - August 23rd - Civil War Performance - Customs House Museum Auditorium. 7-8:30 PM
Thomas Cartwright will perform a one-man play, "Co. Aytch - The Sideshow To The Big Show." Based on the Civil War memoir of Sam Watkins, Co. H, 1st Tennessee Infantry, whose words were used in the Ken Burns PBS Civil War series, Cartwright will bring to life one of the most famous personalities from the period.
The director of the Carter House Civil War site in Franklin, TN, Thomas Cartwright has appeared on "Civil War Journal" and other Civil War television programs as an expert historian. He regularly lectures to Civil War roundtables all over the country.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day of the show and are available at the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce (cbatts@clarksville.tn.us), at Ft. Donelson Relics in Dover (nikki@fortdonelsonrelics.com), and through Greg Biggs (Biggsk@aol.com). Seating is limited to 185. All proceeds go to the Montgomery County Civil War Preservation Society.
Thomas Cartwight's performance is sponsored by Harris Chiropractic Clinic, 1202 Crossland Ave, Clarksville, TN, 37040 (931)645-5154. Not only are they great chiropractors - they LOVE history!
Wednesday - August 24th - Gentry Auditorium - Music & Fine Arts Building, Austin Peay State University Campus. 7-9 PM.
Well known Civil War musician Bobby Horton will perform in concert. Horton, an accomplished musician with multi-instrument skills, will perform using many period intruments. Music was the most common form of entertainment during the Civil War era and served to inspire both soldiers and the home front, North and South.
Bobby Horton has been preforming period Civil War music all over the country in addition to touring as a member of a musical comedy group. He has released nearly 20 CDs of period Civil War music and is probably the most well known modern performer of the genre. He has supplied music to several Ken Burns PBS documentaries including, "The Civil War," "Baseball," "Thomas Jefferson," and "Lewis And Clark." Mr. Horton, who resides in Birmingham, AL, will be offering for sale his CDs of Civil War music.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and are available at the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce (cbatts@clarksville.tn.us), at Ft. Donelson Relics in Dover (nikki@fortdonelsonrelics.com) and through Greg Biggs (Biggsk@aol.com). Seating is limited to 490. All proceeds go to the Montgomery County Civil War Preservation Society.
Bobby Horton's performance is sponsored by the Montgomery County Arts & Heritage Development Council.
Thursday - August 25th - Customs House Museum Auditorium. 7- 9 PM.
The Cumberland Civil War Days conclude with two events this evening. First will be a lecture by Jim Lewis on "The Orphan Brigade." One of the most famous Confederate figthing units, the Orphan Brigade formed in Bowling Green, KY. and had as part of its structure 3 regiments of Kentuckians who came to Camp Boone near Clarksville to enlist in the army. Thus, Clarksville's history for training troops began back in 1861 - not 1942! Since Kentucky did not secede from the Union, these men could never go home during the war, hence their brigade title.
The evening will conclude with Thomas Forehand, a historian of Gen. Robert E. Lee, who will portray, "Lee After The War." His performance will be done in character as Lee telling of his post-war career, which included being president of what is now Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA.
Jim Lewis is a park ranger at Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro, TN. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Secretary and Program Chair of the Middle Tennessee Civil War Roundtable.
Thomas Forehand is a Clarksville resident who has been portraying Gen. Robert E. Lee for a number of years. His presentations have taken him all around Middle Tennessee for various historical groups where his performances have won rave reviews. His first book, on Gen. Lee, should be published in 2006.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day of the show and are available at the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce (cbatts@clarksville.tn.us), at Ft. Donelson Relics in Dover (nikki@fortdonelsonrelics.com) and through Greg Biggs (Biggsk@aol.com). Seating is limited to 185. All proceeds go to the Montgomery County Civil War Preservation Society.
Jim Lewis and Thomas Forehand are sponsored by Ft. Donelson Relics, Dover, TN, located just outside the main gate of Ft. Donelson National Battlefield on Highway 79 on Norfleet Drive. Visit their website at: http://www.fortdonelsonrelics.com/
Friday-Sunday - August 26-28th - Civil War Reenactment at historic Collinsville, south of Clarksville
This event reenacts Montgomery County's only Civil War battle - the Battle of Riggins Hill and New Providence, Sept. 1862, when Union forces coming over from Dover, TN. under the command of Col. William Lowe attacked and broke the ranks of CS Col. Thomas Woodward's Kentucky cavalry who had re-captured Clarksville from the Federals only three weeks before.
For more details and ticket prices please go to: http://www.historiccollinsville.com/ or contact Davalyn Black at: BBlueeyesblack@aol.com