The next meeting of the Nashville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Monday, December 14th, 2009, 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 and Greer Stadium. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm and is always open to the public. There is no charge to attend.

This month's program:

“Artillery In The Fort Donelson Campaign”

As in many battles of the Civil War, the artillery side of things is often overlooked. The Fort Donelson Campaign is no exception. Although the guns used in this campaign for both armies were smaller calibers than what would come later in the war, they were still quite effective in doing their job on offense and defense. When you add in the larger guns of the Union Navy and the Confederate water batteries, at both Forts Henry and Donelson, then you have artillery capability of a much larger scale which both sides used very effectively.

John Walsh, a member of the Clarksville CWRT, will discuss the use of artillery by both armies and the Union Navy in this vital campaign showing its capabilities, limitations, types of ammunition used, organization, leadership and effectiveness.

John Walsh works in the medical industry. He is also a well respected relic hunter and dealer who, along with his wife Nikki, own Fort Donelson Relics, in Dover, Tennessee. John also is a collector and expert on Civil War era photography and has done a lot of research on Birge’s Sharpshooter’s (14th Missouri Infantry/66th Illinois Infantry) and their role in the Civil War. He has submitted an article to Military Images and has presented Civil War programs around Tennessee. He is also an expert tour guide for the Ft. Donelson campaign. Please join us for another outstanding and entertaining program by John Walsh.

We hope you will join us for this special December meeting of the Nashville Civil War Roundtable. The Nashville Civil War Roundtable is made possible by Nashville Metro Parks and the Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Military History.