Camp Boone (Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee)

Clarksville, Montgomery County · Tennessee · Civil War

History & Significance

Camp Boone was laid out in early 1861 by three men who had been authorized to raise a Kentucky Regiment for Confederate service: William T. Withers, Robert A. Johnson (of Louisville, Kentucky), and James Moss (of Columbus, Kentucky), soon joined by Robert J. Breckenridge Jr. (of Lexington, Kentucky) and Lloyd Tilghman (of Paducah, Kentucky). Located on Guthrie Road/U.S. Route 79 near the Kentucky-Tennessee border at Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee, the camp leveraged its strategic position just south of the state line to serve as a major training site and staging area for the Confederate States of America Army of Tennessee, and many of the Kentuckians who joined the Confederate States Army began their service at Camp Boone.

Fresh water was obtained from Spring Creek, which was fed by a cool spring and flowed around the camp on two sides. Col. Tilghman temporarily commanded the Kentucky Brigade from Boone and Burnett, the nucleus of the Orphan Brigade, and was promoted to General in October, leaving the Brigade under the command of Buckner until Gen. John C. Breckenridge arrived in Bowling Green in November, and assumed command of the First Kentucky Brigade as an officially organized unit. A Tennessee Historical Commission marker #3C 40 marks the location of the civil war camp today at US Highway 79 east (Guthrie Road) Clarksville, Tennessee.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Boone
• https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=36111
• https://sites.rootsweb.com/~orphanhm/campboone.htm
• https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/archaeology/documents/reportofinvestigations/arch_ROI_7_MidTnCivilWar.pdf

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