Editing Clarksville, Tennessee (section)

===19th century===
[[File:Fort Defiance, Clarksville, TN -7.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Defiance (Tennessee)|Fort Defiance]]]]
Clarksville grew at a rapid pace. By 1806, the town realized the need for an educational institution, and it established the Rural Academy that year. It was later replaced by the Mount Pleasant Academy. By 1819, the newly established town had 22 stores, including a bakery and silversmith. In 1820, [[steamboats]] begin to navigate the Cumberland, bringing hardware, coffee, sugar, fabric, and glass. The city exported flour, tobacco, cotton, and corn to ports such as [[New Orleans]] and [[Pittsburgh]] along the Ohio and [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers.

In 1829, the first bridge connecting Clarksville to [[New Providence, Tennessee|New Providence]] was built over the Red River. Nine years later, the Clarksville-[[Hopkinsville, Kentucky|Hopkinsville]] [[Turnpike (pre-freeway)|Turnpike]] was built. Railroad service came to the town on October 1, 1859, in the form of the [[Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad]]. The line later connected to other railroads at [[Paris, Tennessee]] and at [[Guthrie, Kentucky]].

By the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the combined population of the city and the county was 20,000. Planters in the area depended on [[slavery in the United States|enslaved African Americans]] as workers in the labor-intensive [[tobacco]] industry, one of the major commodity crops.

In 1861, both Clarksville and Montgomery counties voted unanimously for the state to secede and join the [[Confederate States of America]]. The birthplace of Confederate President [[Jefferson Davis]] was about 20 miles across the border in Fairview, [[Christian County, Kentucky]]. Both sides considered Clarksville to be of strategic importance.

[[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[Albert Sidney Johnston]] set up a defense line around Clarksville expecting a land attack. The city was home to three [[Confederate States Army]] camps:
* [[Camp Boone]] located on [[U.S. Highway 79]] Guthrie Road/([[Wilma Rudolph Boulevard]]),
* Camp Burnet
* [[Fort Defiance, Tennessee]], a Civil War outpost that overlooks the [[Cumberland River]] and [[Red River (Cumberland River)|Red River]], and was occupied by both Confederate and Union soldiers. In 2012 the City of Clarksville, Tennessee completed construction of an interpretive/ museum center here to chronicle the local chapter in the Civil War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftdefianceclarksville.com |title=Ft. Defiance Clarksville |publisher=Ft. Defiance Clarksville |access-date=April 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofclarksville.com/parks&rec/parks/fortdefiance.php |title= Clarksville, TN • CivicEngage|website=www.cityofclarksville.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119035841/http://www.cityofclarksville.com/parks%26rec/parks/fortdefiance.php |archive-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc3/fort_defiance1.htm |title=Fort Defiance – Fort Bruce site photos |publisher=Civilwaralbum.com |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624060450/http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc3/fort_defiance1.htm |archive-date=June 24, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] sent troops and gunboats down the Cumberland River, and in 1862 captured [[Fort Donelson]], and [[Fort Henry (site of the Battle of Fort Henry)|Fort Henry]]. On February 17, 1862, the ''[[USS Cairo]]'', along with another Union [[ironclad]], came to Clarksville and its troops captured the city. There were no Confederate soldiers to contend with because they had left prior to the arrival of the ships. White flags flew over Ft. Defiance and over Ft. Clark. Those town citizens who could get away, left as well. Before leaving, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] soldiers tried to burn the railroad bridge that crossed the Cumberland River, so that the Union could not use it. But the fire did not take hold and was put out before it could destroy the bridge. This railroad bridge made Clarksville very important to the Union. The ''USS Cairo'' tied up in Clarksville for a couple of days before moving to participate in the capture of [[Nashville]].

Between 1862 and 1865, the city shifted hands, but the Union retained control. It also controlled the city's newspaper, ''The Leaf Chronicle'', for three years. Many slaves who had been freed or escaped gathered in Clarksville and joined the [[Union Army]] lines. The army set up [[Contraband (American Civil War)|contraband camps]] in mid-Tennessee cities, to provide shelter for the freedmen families. Other freed slaves lived along the side of the river in shanties. In 1865, the [[Ogburn Chapel Missionary Baptist Church]] was founded. The Army enlisted freedmen in all-black [[regiment]]s, in some cases putting them to work in building defenses. The [[United States Colored Troops|16th United States Colored Infantry regiment]] was mustered in at Clarksville in 1863.{{Citation needed|date=September 2014}}