Historical Press Releases | Fort Donelson Camp #62

September 12, 2012

“William Driver’s ‘Old Glory’” at Fort Negley

On Tuesday, September 25, 2012, the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Middle Tennessee, at the Fort Negley Visitors’ Center in Nashville at 110 Fort Negley Boulevard will present local historian Dr. Sam Gant, who will speak on “William Driver’s ‘Old Glory.’”

Captain William Driver was a shipmaster operating out of Salem, Massachusetts when he coined the name “Old Glory” for his twenty-four star flag. He moved to Nashville in 1837 and became his flag became a fixture on display during national holidays. As war clouds gathered in 1861, Driver hid the flag from secessionists who sought to destroy it. On February 25, 1862, Union forces captured Nashville and a small ensign was raised above the Capitol. The flag was soon replaced by Driver’s successfully hidden “Old Glory.” Driver is buried in Nashville’s Old City Cemetery and his grave is one of only a handful of sites where the Flag of the United States may be flown 24 hours a day by act of Congress.

Dr. Gant is a retired professor of history at Nashville State Community College. He is a Past-Commander of the Fort Donelson Camp and the Department of Tennessee and Alabama, SUVCW.

We hope to see you there!

January 18, 2012

“Abraham Lincoln: divorce lawyer” at Fort Negley

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 6:00 p.m., the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Middle Tennessee, at the Fort Negley Visitors’ Center in Nashville at 110 Fort Negley Boulevard will present Thomas Flagel giving a program entitled “Abraham Lincoln: Divorce Lawyer.”

In a law career spanning a quarter century, Abraham Lincoln was involved in more than 140 divorce cases. Delving into these many bids for separation reveals volumes on how the prairie lawyer worked, what he believed in, and how his society operated. In addition, the clients and situations he encountered shed new light on the strength of Lincoln’s own marriage, a bond that is often portrayed as strained and painful. Lastly, Flagel will examine how Lincoln viewed the institution in regards to the nation as a whole, and how it related to the secession crisis as he entered the presidency.

Thomas Flagel is an instructor of History at Columbia State Community College, and is the author of several books on the Civil War, including “The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War” and a similar work on Gettysburg. He holds a B.A. in History, a M.A. in European History and a M.A. in International History. An Iowan by birth with an ancestor who fought with the 2nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry, he now resides in Franklin.

The meeting is free and open to members and perspective members. A kiosk in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center provides a computer link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where attendees can search for Civil War ancestors. The group will hold a business meeting at 6:00 p.m. prior to the program.

The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Roger Tenney at ratenney@comcast.net and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

7 AM CDT September 16, 2011

“FREEDOM’S CAPTAIN: FROM SLAVERY TO CONGRESS” at Fort Negley
On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Middle Tennessee will meet at the Fort Negley Visitors’ Center in Nashville at 110 Fort Negley Boulevard. Kraig McNutt will present a program on “Freedom’s Captain: Robert Smalls, From Slavery to Congress.”
Mr. McNutt is an amateur historian who has been publishing Civil War related content on the Web since 1995. He publishes two major Civil War blogs, The Civil War Gazette and The Battle of Franklin, which combined receive thousands of views a month.
Robert Smalls was born in a slave cabin in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839. In 1862 he escaped through Charleston harbor to Washington D. C. and a meeting with Abraham Lincoln. The president awarded Smalls with bounty-money and a commission into the Union Navy as the first black Captain of a U.S. Naval vessel.
Three months later Smalls would visit Abraham Lincoln in the Whitehouse to plead the opportunity for blacks to fight for the Union. Just days afterwards Lincoln approved the raising of the first black Federal troops and Smalls went on to help raise the 1st South Carolina Infantry of U.S. Colored Troops. After the Civil War, Smalls was elected as part of the freshman class of blacks to serve as U.S. Congressmen.
The meeting is free and open to members and perspective members. A kiosk in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center provides a computer link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where attendees can search for Civil War ancestors.
Fort Donelson Camp # 62 will hold a business meeting at 6:00 p.m., prior to the program.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

7 AM CDT May 30, 2011

Flag Day Ceremony at Rest Haven Cemetery
On Saturday June 11, 2011, at 10:00 a.m., the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Franklin and Middle Tennessee will hold a Flag Day ceremony at Rest Haven Cemetery in Franklin. The ceremony will take place at the grave of the Unknown Soldier and will honor those who served in all wars. The 10th Tennessee Infantry Sons of Veterans Reserve will act as uniformed color guards.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Union Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

7 AM CDT May 17, 2011

“Loyal Cavaliers: Tennessee’s Union Cavalry” at Fort Negley
On Tuesday May 24, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Franklin and Middle Tennessee will present Myers Brown, curator of extension services at the Tennessee State Museum, who will speak on “Loyal Cavaliers: Tennessee’s Union Cavalrymen.”
Despite officially joining the Confederacy in 1861, Tennessee provided the Union with nearly 32,000 troops during the Civil War. Representing a Southern opposition to secession and loyalty to the Union, many of these Tennesseans served as cavalry or as mounted infantry. Labeled traitors and renegades by Confederate Tennesseans, these men risked reprisals on their homes and families as they dutifully served the Union cause.

Brown holds a B.A. in History from Oglethorpe University and an M.A. in Public History from Middle Tennessee State University. He has served as the curator of military history at the Atlanta History Center and as the curator of the General Joe Wheeler Home in Courtland, Al. He joined the staff of the Tennessee State Museum as curator of extension services in 2005.

Brown has published articles or book reviews in Military Collector and Historian, Blue and Gray, History News, The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Atlanta History, Civil War: A Journal of the Middle Period, and The Historian. His most recent publication is Tennessee’s Union Cavalrymen from Arcadia press.

The event is free and open to the general public. After the program the group will have a business meeting. A kiosk in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center provides a computer link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where perspective members can search for their Civil War ancestors.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Union Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

7 AM CDT May 17, 2011

7 AM CDT March 14, 2011

“WAS Thomas slow at Nashville?” at Fort Negley
On Tuesday March 22, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Franklin and Middle Tennessee will present Dan Hughes, who will portray Major General George H. Thomas in the first-person. Hughes is an Air Force veteran and recently retired from a forty-plus-year career with Cummins Corporation.
General George H. Thomas was a career military man who fought in the Mexican War, and although a Virginian, remained in the Federal Army to become an important commander in the Western Theater. Although earning his nickname, the “Rock of Chickamauga” in 1863, he was perceived by Lincoln as being too slow to attack at Nashville in December of 1864.
After the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864 two great armies spent two cold weeks staring each other down. After repeated telegrams urging him to attack, Thomas’ commanding officer, Ulysses S. Grant was on his way to Nashville to relieve him from command. Thomas finally did attack, in two days destroying the Army of Tennessee and the ability of the Confederacy to wage war in the West.
Although General Thomas’ military career was full of success, he never achieved the historical acclaim of his West Point classmates Grant and Sherman. He developed the reputation of being a slow and deliberate commander. Dan Hughes, as the General himself, will help answer the question, “Was Thomas Slow at the Battle of Nashville?”
The event is free and open to the general public. After the program the group will have a business meeting. A kiosk in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center provides a computer link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where perspective members can search for their Civil War ancestors.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Union Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

19 Jan 2011

“Bringing Lincoln to Life” at Fort Negley
On Tuesday January 25, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., the Fort Donelson Camp #62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Franklin and Middle Tennessee will present the award-winning John Mansfield, who will portray Abraham Lincoln in the first-person. Mansfield brings Lincoln to life with stories of his boyhood and the struggles of a man trying to chart the course of his life—and how he ended up charting the course of a nation during the bloodiest war America has ever known.
Mansfield is a four-time winner of the Lincoln Days “Look-Alike” and Oration Contests at Lincoln’s birthplace of Hodgenville, Kentucky, competing against other Lincolns from six states. He has been featured in the film by Elvis Wilson entitled, “Being Lincoln, Men with Hats.” The film has been screened in Nashville at the Belcourt Theater and in film festivals across Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois.
Since 2006 Mansfield has presented Lincoln to numerous schools, the Boy Scouts, American Legion, civic groups, The Hermitage, the Kentucky Heritage Council’s “Lincoln Heritage Trail,” and many Civil War and Underground Railroad reenactments.
All month long, Mansfield has been seen in “Secession,” the first episode of Tennessee Civil War 150, the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission’s series produced by Nashville Public Television.
The event is free and open to the general public. After the program the group will have a business meeting. A kiosk in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center provides a computer link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where perspective members can search for their Civil War ancestors.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Union Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

7 AM CDT June1, 2010

Flag Day Ceremony Honors Local Federal Civil War Veterans
On Saturday, June 12, as part of national Flag Day ceremonies, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Fort Donelson Camp # 62 will hold a ceremony at the Crowell’s Chapel Cemetery near Shelbyville, Tennessee.
The gravesite ceremony will honor two local brothers who served in the 10th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, U.S. Privates Jacob Molder and Samuel Molder enlisted in 1862 in Company E, which was made up of men mostly from Bedford County. Samuel survived the war and was discharged in June of 1865. His brother Jacob was discharged in July of 1863 “on account of old age and infirmity.” He was murdered by “bushwhackers” two months later.
Tim Moulder, a descendant of the men will speak, and the 10th Tennessee Infantry Sons of Veterans Reserve will act as color guards.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public. Union Army re-enactors are invited to participate. The Crowell’s Chapel Cemetery is located at 825 Hall’s Mill Road near Shelbyville. The group will hold a short second ceremony at the Moulder Cemetery at 1772 Warner Bridge Road.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Civil War veterans. The Fort Donelson Camp #62 is headquartered in Franklin with members from a large area of Middle Tennessee. For more information, please contact Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.
7 AM CDT May 13, 2010
Sons of Union Veterans to Meet
On May 25, 2010, at 7:00 p.m., the Fort Donelson Camp # 62, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), of Franklin and Middle Tennessee will meet at the Fort Negley Visitors’ Center in Nashville at 110 Fort Negley Boulevard . The meeting will include a “Show & Tell,” with members bringing in Civil War artifacts, memorabilia, photos, and etc., and their associated stories to share with the group.
The meeting is free and open to members and visitors. A kiosk in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center provides a computer link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where attendees can search for Civil War ancestors.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Civil War veterans. For more information, please email Sam Gant at gant92ovi@yahoo.com and visit www.tnsuvcw.org.

7 AM CDT March 11, 2010

Flag Ceremony Honors Local Federal Civil War Veteran
On Saturday, April 10 the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Fort Donelson Camp # 62 will hold a flag ceremony at the Cookeville City Cemetery in Cookeville, Tennessee.
The gravesite ceremony will honor Sergeant. James Henry McCulley, Co. K, 13th Tennessee Cavalry U.S., a Civil War veteran buried at the cemetery. Sergeant McCulley, born in 1839, originally served as a Confederate soldier, but in 1863, joined the Federal army and participated with the 13th U.S. Tennessee Cavalry in the Battles of Bulls Gap and Blue Springs. The unit also was responsible for mortally wounding Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and participating in the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. McCulley survived the war, had twelve children, and served as the first post-war sheriff of Putnam County.
Bill Heard, great-great-grandson of Sergeant McCulley will speak, and the 10th Tennessee Infantry Sons of Veterans Reserve will act as color guards.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public. The Cookeville City Cemetery is located at 241 South Walnut Street in Cookeville.
Contact: Jay Sheridan Dr. Sam Gant
(615) 364-5143 (615) 957-1230

August 12, 2009

UNKNOWN SOLDIER RECOVERED FROM FRANKLIN BATTLEFIELD
To Be Reinterred at Historic Rest Haven Cemetery in Franklin, Honored with Monument
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – A construction project in the area where the calamitous Battle of Franklin was fought on Nov. 30, 1864, has disturbed the resting place of an unknown soldier who was buried in a shallow grave 145 years ago during the tragic last days of the Civil War in Tennessee.
The City of Franklin’s Battlefield Task Force, along with local historians and government officials, led the recovery of the soldier’s remains and will direct a funeral ceremony to re-inter his body at the Historic Rest Haven Cemetery in downtown Franklin, where other brave veterans – both Union and Confederate – were laid to rest.
It is not known for which army the unknown soldier fought. A coffin containing his remains will lie in state at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 510 West Main Street in Franklin – the circa 1827 sanctuary which served as barracks for Federal troops during their occupation of the town in 1864 – from 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 until the funeral ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. One Union and one Confederate honor-guard sentry will be posted at the front doors of the church during the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. visitation period each day and prior to the ceremony on Saturday morning.
The soldier will receive full military honors from re-enactors representing brothers-in-arms from both the Union and the Confederacy. On Saturday morning, a Union and a Confederate Chaplain will conduct a brief funeral service in the church. Following the service, the casket will be borne from the church by uniformed pallbearers (Union and Confederate) and placed on a waiting, horse-drawn caisson in front of the church. Accompanied by a color guard, honor guard, and Civil War-era bagpiper, the caisson will move north on Main Street, crossing Fifth Avenue, circling the Square, proceeding north on Third Avenue, and then west on North Margin Street to the Rest Haven Cemetery gates.
As the procession leaves St. Paul’s and continues up Main Street, townspeople and visitors are invited to fall in behind the ranks of the marching re-enactors.
After arriving at Rest Haven Cemetery, a brief eulogy will be delivered by the chaplains, and will conclude with period-appropriate military honors including a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps” by a uniformed bugler.
A Monument to The Unknown Soldier who died on the Franklin Battlefield will be unveiled as part of the ceremony. Active participation in the ceremonies at Rest Haven and at St. Paul’s will be restricted to uniformed re-enactors only, but the public is invited to view the ceremonies from designated areas.
Any re-enactment unit that wishes to participate is encouraged to contact Robert Huff at (615) 500-8211, or via email at rghuff123@aol.com.
For information on Franklin and Williamson County, go to www.visitfranklin.com.

7 AM CDT June 3, 2009

Flag Day Ceremony Honors Local African-American Civil War Veterans

On Saturday, June 13, as part of national Flag Day ceremonies, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Fort Donelson Camp # 62 will hold a ceremony at the Toussaint L’Ouverture Cemetery in Franklin .
The gravesite ceremony will honor three United States Colored Infantry (U.S.C.I.) veterans buried at the cemetery. Privates John Dubuisson (Co. B, 100th U.S.C.I.), Peter Ratcliffe (Co. B, 15th U.S.C.I.), and Freeman Thomas ( Co. B, 12th U.S.C.I.) all gave service during 1864 and 1865, survived the war, and lived locally until their deaths.
Tom Murdic of the African-American Heritage Society will speak, and the 13th U.S.C.T re-enactors, commander by 1st Sergeant Norm Hill, and the 10th Tennessee Infantry Sons of Veterans Reserve will act as color guards.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public. Union Army re-enactors are invited to participate. The Toussaint L’Ouverture Cemetery is located at Hillsboro Road and Del Rio Pike in Franklin .
At 2:30 p.m. another ceremony will be held honoring Private Gabriel Capley, of Company E, 10th Tennessee Infantry U.S. in western Williamson County.
The SUVCW is a volunteer, non-profit, patriotic and educational organization founded in 1881 by sons of Civil War veterans.