Clarksville Civil War Roundtable’s next meeting is February 20th, 2013

The 107th meeting

Clarksville, TN – The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 at the Bone & Joint Center, 980 Professional Park Drive, right across the street from Gateway Medical Center. This is just off Dunlop Lane and Holiday Drive and only a few minutes east of Governor’s Square mall. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm and is always open to the public. Members please bring a friend or two – new recruits are always welcomed.

“Hurst’s Wurst: The 6th Tennessee Cavalry U.S.”

The Sixth Tennessee Cavalry (U.S.) was described by one Confederate soldier as “an ignorant posse of men led by vicious and unprincipled leaders” who were “the scourge and terror of the lower Eastern Counties of West Tennessee, and were as thoroughly detested and hated as any band of marauders who ever disgraced the name of soldiers.” Nathan Bedford Forrest loathed this unit and enjoyed beating them as often as possible.

Were the men who served in the Sixth Tennessee truly the villains that partisan writers have portrayed them? Or were they persecuted for the choice they made not to join the Confederacy but stand for the Union instead? They hailed from the McNairy County area along the Tennessee River, which was not known as a big area for pro-Union sentiment in the state.

Our speaker this month is a descendant of soldiers who served in the Sixth Tennessee. Author of a book on the regiment, Kevin D. McCann examines the activities of the Sixth Tennessee—both official and unofficial—and gives a historical and factual account of this controversial Federal regiment and its equally controversial leader, Fielding Hurst. He will have copies of his book for sale at the meeting.

Kevin D. McCann was born in Jackson, TN in 1970 and attended public and private schools in Jackson and Madison County. He attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in History from Union University in 1993. He now lives in Dickson, TN with his wife Cindy and their two children, Braden and Brianna.

Kevin’s interests range from the Civil War to minor league baseball and the Age of Jackson, though all pertain to his love for Tennessee history. He is the author of four books: Jackson Diamonds: Professional Baseball in Jackson, Tennessee (1999); Hurst’s Wurst: Col. Fielding Hurst and the Sixth Tennessee Cavalry U.S.A. (2007); Adam Huntsman: The Peg Leg Politician (2011); and The Jackson Generals: Minor League Baseball in Jackson, Tennessee (2012).

He is the co-author of The Kitty League (Images of Baseball series) and co-editor of The Reminiscences of the Early Settlement and Early Settlers of McNairy County, Tennessee (2012).

Kevin is the co-founder of BrayBree Publishing, an independent publishing company that specializes in books on Tennessee history. His company’s website is braybreepublishing.com