Freedmen's Camp and the USCT

Freedmen's Camp and the USCT. . Wars generate refugees, and the Civil War was no exception. After Union forces took control of Clarksville and New Providence in early 1863 many escaped slaves and a few uprooted white Unionists came here for protection and assistance. They were housed in tobacco warehouses and in camps near fortified posts like Fort Defiance/Fort Bruce. Called "contrabands," some were hired by the army as civilian labor., Fourteen infantry regiments and eight artillery units were organized with 24,000 men from Tennessee beginning in October 1863. The 16th USCT (United States Colored Troops) and one company of the 9th US Colored Heavy Artillery were raised in Clarksville. While in Clarksville, these soldiers engaged in duties including checking civilian passes, driving wagons, handling supplies, and guarding contraband camps (later known as Freedmen's camps)., All USCT units were transferred from Clarksville to other parts of the state for similar duties. Men from Clarksville serving in the 12th and 13th USCT completed the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad from Kingston Springs to Johnsonville, Tennessee before fighting in the Battle of Nashville., Near the war's end, the US Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau to further post-war employment and create schools for refugees. After the war many remained and established neighborhoods near the now abandoned military posts. Much of present-day New Providence is an outgrowth of the Freedmen's Camp located here. Some current residents are direct descendants of former slaves who sought the security of the Union troops garrisoned at Fort Bruce.