Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department hosted March to the Past at Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center Saturday, May 14th, 2022 from 10:00am until 3:00pm.
“We are doing our annual March to the Past today. This is a Friends of Fort Defiance event. We help hold it once a year. This event is actually older than the building. The building has been here 11 years but they have been doing March to the Past for over 15 years. So we kinda of inherited this event when we started up here,” stated William Parker, the Historical Interpreter at Fort Defiance.
“I like to show kids what a soldier could have carried during the war. They carried a gun. Some might have carried a pistol. They carried a haversack which I call it their suitcase. They would carry their knife and fork, maybe a diary, a few odds and ends and maybe a cup tied to it,” said George Wallace, a Civil War buff from Dover Tennessee. “The soldiers would carry d’handle Bowie knife. They just carried the bare essentials.”
“I like to show everyone these bullets. Most folks don’t like these bullets. These bullets have meaning. These bullets have been shot at something or somebody. These bullets have history. I have always heard that the dark greys in here have been in blood. If you get them in blood they turn grey. Now whether that story is true or not, Ive never been shot yet,” Wallace stated.
Artillery on display was provided by Porter’s Battery. There was even a musket firing demonstration.
“The turn out has been great today. The weather was just marvelous for this event,” Parker said. “I want to thank everyone that came out today and all the volunteers that helped put this on.”
Photo Gallery
About Fort Defiance
The Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center is operated by the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department.
Fort Defiance, which overlooks the confluence of the Red and Cumberland Rivers, was a cornerstone of the Confederate defense of the area and an important part of the eventual Union occupation of Clarksville. In 1982, Judge and Mrs. Sam Boaz, donated the property to the City of Clarksville.
In 2008, the City secured a $2.2 million federal grant that was combined with local funding and the process of construction of the interpretive center and walking trails began. The more than 1,500-square-foot Center features exhibits about the local area and the fort during the Civil War.
Fort Defiance Interpretive Center is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00am to 4:00pm and Sunday, 1:00pm to 5:00pm during the Spring and Summer.
It is located at 120 Duncan Street, Clarksville, TN.
For more information, visit www.fortdefianceclarksville.com
About the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department
Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department provides a variety of indoor/outdoor programs, facilities, nature activities and entertainment events for people living in Clarksville, Montgomery County and Fort Campbell. These free or reasonably priced, year-round experiences help residents enhance their health, wellness, and social engagement — resulting in a stronger, better community.
The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide variety of recreational facilities and activities for all ages, maintains more than 700 acres of parks and facilities, provides 22 park facilities that offer a variety of amenities, including playgrounds, picnic areas, walking trails and pavilions or picnic shelters and maintains three community centers with year-round programming for youth, adults and seniors, as well as four public swimming pools
The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department is located at 102 Public Square, Clarksville.
To learn more call 931.645.7476.
