Clarksville Civil War Roundtable to hold next meeting on November 20th, 2024
Clarksville, TN – The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024 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.
Our Speaker and Topic – "Hood's Retreat From Nashville"
John Bell Hood brought the Army of Tennessee into its namesake state in late November 1864 hoping to defeat Union forces and take Nashville. After the affair at Spring Hill, the Battle of Franklin on November 30th, took the heart out of Hood's army.
The Federals fell back to Nashville and its powerful defenses, received reinforcements and waited for the weather to improve from the Arctic blast that hit Middle Tennessee. On December 15th and 16th, Union General George Thomas launched sledge-hammer blows against Hood's left flank, crushing it and forcing retreats both times.
During the period December 16th to December 26th, 1864, Hood's army is pursued by superior forces south into Alabama by land and river. The weather was bitterly cold, with rain, sleet, and snow. Despite the weather, sizeable numbers of deserters, and a close pursuit by Thomas, Hood's army was able to bring most of its men, guns, and wagons across the Tennessee River to safety.
A number of fights and skirmishes took place with the Confederate rear guard under Nathan Bedford Forrest protecting the retreat. It is an amazing story that is often overlooked by the two big battles of the campaign.
Our speaker this month is Brigadier General (ret.) John Scales and he will outline the line of retreat, the various units involved, and the locations of the rearguard engagements. It is a very interesting story with lots of human-interest value on top of the military actions. General Scales attended the University of Alabama 1966-70, graduating in 1970 with a degree in physics and a commission as an infantry lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He graduated from infantry officer basic, airborne and Ranger schools before being assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.
Later he led a rifle platoon in combat in Vietnam and joined the 101st Airborne (A/1-506 Infantry) upon return to the US. Leaving active duty in 1975, he joined the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) of the Alabama National Guard while getting a master's degree at Alabama and becoming Special Forces qualified. Over the years, while first teaching and later working as a scientist in Huntsville, he commanded a Special Forces Operational Detachment A, a company, a battalion, and the 20th Group itself.
He also received a Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Selected for promotion to general and assignment to US Army Special Forces Command, he was first the deputy commander and later the acting commanding general. After 9/11 he was assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command and led a Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan. General Scales retired from the military in late 2002 and continued his career as an engineer in Huntsville, being granted six patents and publishing three military history books and one novel.
We hope you can join us for this program.
