Clarksville, TN – The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 at Fort Defiance Interpretive Center, our new home, 120 Duncan Street, off New Providence Boulevard. Turn onto Walker Street off New Providence Boulevard and then onto Duncan Street. There are site markers on New Providence Boulevard above and below the park.
The meeting begins at 7:00pm and is always open to the public.
This month’s program – “General James Ewell Brown Stuart – In the First Person”
The American Civil War created generals and leaders of all ranks for both sides. It also created icons; names that still are talked about today with buffs and scholars still learning more about them and debating things like character, leadership skills and more.
Men like U.S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, George Custer, James Longstreet, William T. Sherman and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Certainly ranking within this pantheon is James Ewell Brown Stuart, aka JEB Stuart. The charismatic leader of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, Stuart gets praised for lightning raids and stand-up fights along with criticism for not doing the proper job of the cavalry – screening the army and performing reconnaissance, in this case during the Gettysburg Campaign.
The “Plumed Cavalier,” one of his more famous nicknames, was still a fine cavalry officer with pre-war experience in the U.S. Army. He continues to be studied today.
Our speaker this month making a return visit, Dr. Lucas Wilder, dons the iconic uniform to deliver a first-person performance of the life of JEB Stuart. The flamboyant cavalier rides through the imaginations of Civil War aficionados and Wilder perpetuates that ride with thrilling stories of Stuart’s military career, as well as heartbreaking stories about death and uplifting stories about Stuart’s friendship with figures, such as Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Robert E. Lee.
Wilder brings the cavalryman to life through his years of dedicated research about Stuart and the Civil War, giving audience members a personal look at the man who captured the imaginations of Confederates and became a thorn in the side of the Union.
Lucas Wilder received his Bachelor’s Degree from Lincoln Memorial University, his Masters from East Tennessee State University, and his PhD from Mississippi State University. Being born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains, Wilder became enraptured by its Civil War History.
His dissertation focused on the evolution of mountain warfare analyzing the attempted invasions of East Tennessee. Lucas has worked for the National Park Service as an interpretive ranger for nearly fifteen years and has a prospering YouTube Channel called History Gone Wilder, where he hopes to bring academic studies to the masses through his breakdowns of historical topics using the latest scholarship. The channel has nearly 700 videos, 1 million hours of watch time, and 8 millions views and counting.
We hope you will join us for this fine program.
