Camp History

Fort Donelson Camp #62 SUVCW, was activated in 31 July 1995 at the Dover Hotel, Dover Tennessee, the 2nd Camp in the Department of Tennessee. The presiding officer was Brother Charles Yates, PCC Sultana Camp #1. Camp #62 derived its name from its early location, and numbered for the year of the Battle of Fort Donelson, 1862.

Early camp activities included meetings throughout Tennessee Meeting sites in Tennessee included Shiloh, Stones River, and Fort Donelson. The camp organized an illumination at Fort Donelson in the 1990’s. The camp sponsored a SVR unit (9th Kentucky Infantry) and was supported by a local chapter of the Auxillary to Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Membership of the camp reached 60 members. However, Fort Donelson Camp#62 members from Kentucky eventually formed camps that became part of the Department of Kentucky.

The Department of Tennessee was chartered on 10 April 1996, and members of Fort Donelson Camp #62 formed part of the department’s earliest leadership. the camp was a charter camp of the department and hosted the 1996 Departmental Encampment held at Dover, Tennessee.

In 2007, Fort Donelson Camp #62 received the following awards:

Private Henry Hoover Membership Award – Largest percentage growth
Corporal William H. Bell Membership Award – Most new camp members
Meritorious Service Award – Sam Gant

In 2008, the camp supported multiple events and meetings. Additionally, the camp reactivated its interest in an SVR unit with the activation of the 10th Tennessee Infantry (US), 7th Military District.

Fort Donelson Camp #62 Charter Members

Edward Duffel
Andrew Duffel
Ronald Powell
Allen Smith
Billy Darnell
Jack Moore
Richard Porter
Michael Farnsley
Steve Meservy
Richard Sherlock
Thomas VanDyke, Jr.
Michael Forsyth
Kenneth Thomson, Jr.
Joe Woosley, Sr.
Edward Freeman
Craig Courtney
Michael Haus
Geoffrey Michael
Scott Sallee
William M. Napier II
Guy Fletcher
Stephen King
John Suttles
Don N. King
Larry Waggoner
Grinn K. Waggoner
Eric S. Waggoner

Fort Donelson Camp #62 Past Camp Commanders

     Edward J. Duffel (1995, 1996, 1999)
     Craig Courtney (1998)
     Allen F. Smith (1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
     Andrew J. Duffel (2000)
     Sam Gant (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)