City of Clarksville, Tennessee
The history of Clarksville unfolded on this site. Recipients of land grants
from the American Revolution built settlements along the
Cumberland and Red Rivers and with them, came early trade
As the Civil War moved closer, Clarksville, with its 5,000 inhabitants, was
considered a prize for the Union forces, because of its large tobacco
warehouses, prosperous businesses and educational institutions, its steamboat landings and railroad crossing. The Clarksville iron works and other foundries were capable of producing small arms, cannons and shells
With the fall of Fort Donelson in nearby Dover to the Union in February 1862, Clarksville and the Confederate river defense at Fort Defiance was
considered critical to stopping federal forces from reaching Nashville. But
as Union ships steamed toward Clarksville, city fathers determined the
wiser course would be to surrender. Thus, the fort was taken without a
shot, and the city fell under lengthy Union occupation. Union troops
aided by local blacks who sought federal protection, reinforced the fort
and renamed it Fort Bruce after Col. Sanders Bruce, the Union commande
Efforts to show the significance of this history began in 1982, in
preparation for Clarksville's 1984 Bicentenary. Judge and Mrs. Sam E. Boaz
who owned the fort property, deeded it to the city. and students
Faculty from Austin Peay State University cleared the site, and
Mayor Ted Crozier arranged for its maintenance as a city park
In 2002, Mayor John Piper established the Fort Defiance Commission to
devise a plan for developing the site. With a $2.2 million federal grant and
city funding awarded during Mayor Piper's administration in 2008, an
interpretive center and other amenities have resulted.
John E. Piper, Mayor
1999-2002 and 2007-2010
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