The 90th Meeting
Clarksville, TN – The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 in our new home at the Bone & Joint Center, 980 Professional Park Drive, right across the street from Gateway Hospital. This is just off Dunlop Lane and Holiday Drive and only a few minutes east of Governor’s Square mall. The meeting begins at 7:00pm and is always open to the public.
This meeting’s topic is Brig. General James R. Chalmers and the Battle of Nashville.
Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers was a veteran infantry and cavalry commander and commanding one of the divisions of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Cavalry Corps. Chalmers and his escort made Belle Meade Plantation their headquarters in the days before the December 1864 Battle of Nashville. His escort provided a violinist and Selene Harding played piano to make their nights “heavenly.”
The good times ended sometime after 2:00am on December 15th when a courier had Chalmers awakened to learn of the impending attack by the Union army of George Thomas. With Biffle’s Brigade detached on the far right, Chalmers only had Rucker’s Brigade in hand to fight off the Union cavalry and the U.S. Navy on the Cumberland River. He battled both to a stalemate that day.
On December 16th, Chalmers, totally cut off from the infantry line, pulled off a perfect withdrawal and covered Hood’s retreat from the city. His stand on Granny White Pike prevented the Union cavalry from cutting off General John Bell Hood’s retreat as it moved down the Franklin Pike thus saving Hood’s army from being trapped. It was one of the highlights of this under-appreciated cavalry commander.
Our speaker this month is Ross Massey, historian for the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society and Nashville CWRT member. He is the author of a guide to sites of the Battle of Nashville and has appeared on Civil War TV shows as well as lectured around the country. Ross will be bringing his vast knowledge of this battle to this month’s meeting of our roundtable. For those that were here when we began, he was the first speaker of the Clarksville CWRT!
This program will be an important addition to our understanding of this pivotal battle as the cavalry operations often get left out.
Please join us for this program about a very overlooked part of the Battle of Nashville.
