Clarksville in Montgomery County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Fort Defiance Interpretive Center

City of Clarksville, Tennessee

Photographed by Shane Oliver, March 10, 2021

1. Fort Defiance Interpretive Center Marker

Inscription. 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 commander. Efforts

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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. Faculty and students 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

Erected 2010 by The City of Clarksville.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1862.

Location. 36° 32.502′ N, 87° 22.374′ W. Marker is in Clarksville, Tennessee, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from A Street 0.1 miles south of Walker Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 Duncan Street, Clarksville TN 37042, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Shane Oliver, March 10, 2021

2. Fort Defiance Interpretive Center Marker

this marker is in Middle Tennessee

and in the Highland Rim.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Fort Defiance (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Fort Defiance (within shouting distance of this marker); Bringing the War to Clarksville (within shouting distance of this marker); Freedmen's Camp and the USCT (within shouting distance of this marker); Life as a Garrisoned Union Soldier (within shouting distance of this marker); Building Fort Sevier (Defiance) (within shouting distance of this marker); Forts Versus Ironclads (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Tobacco Trade and the Rivers (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clarksville.

Related markers. Click here for a list

Fort Defiance Interpretive Center and marker. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 31, 2015

3. Fort Defiance Interpretive Center and marker.

of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . . Fort Defiance website. (Submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Center entrance sign. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 31, 2015

4. Center entrance sign.

Fort Defiance Walking Trail Map image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Shane Oliver, March 10, 2021

5. Fort Defiance Walking Trail Map

Credits. This page was last revised on May 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 722 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 10, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 5. submitted on May 10, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia.