Hello,

February 20th, 2017 – Our 95th meeting!! We continue our seventh year.

The next meeting of the Nashville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Monday, February 20th, 2017, in the visitor’s center of Ft. Negley Park, a unit of Metro Parks, Nashville, TN. This is located off I-65 just south of downtown between 4th Avenue South and 8th Avenue South on Edgehill Avenue/Chestnut Avenue. Take Exit 81, Wedgewood Avenue, off I-65 and follow the signs to the Science Museum.

The meeting begins at 7:00 PM and is always open to the public.

Our Speaker and Topic - “Days of Darkness: Nashville's Postwar Crime Wave of 1865”

Students of the Civil War more often than not focus on battles and leaders during the war. Some also look at taking cities or regions or guerrilla war or cavalry raids, railroads etc. Few look at how the war affected a certain town or city especially after the war was over. Fortunately, this month’s program will looks at a city just down the road from Clarksville; the Tennessee state capitol of Nashville.

Like most conflicts, the end of the Civil War was neither simple nor painless. In the winter of 1865 the military and civil authorities of Nashville were pushed to their breaking point by an unprecedented outbreak of violent crime. Bringing law back to the city would require a remarkable partnership between the occupied and the occupiers. This month’s program, by Nashville historian Brian Allison, will examine how this did and did not work as well as the repercussions involved.

Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Brian Allison grew up fascinated by the rich historical heritage of the area around him. A graduate of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, he has worked in the history field for the better part of two decades, most recently as the curator at Travellers Rest in Nashville. He is currently working as a writer, museum designer, and in documentary films. He is the author of Murder and Mayhem in Nashville, due to be published by The History Press in October, 2016. Brian will have his book at this month’s meeting for sale.