Camp Boone

Camp Boone, Tennessee was located on Guthrie Road/ (Wilma Rudolph Boulevard) U.S. Route 79 near the Kentucky - Tennessee border at Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee (in the area formerly known as Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee before annexation by Clarksville, Tennessee).



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, KY) and James Moss (of Columbus, KY). They were soon joined by Robert J. Breckenridge, Jr., (of Lexington, KY) and Lloyd Tilghman (of Paducah, KY).

William Temple "Temp" Withers, a native of Kentucky and a veteran of the Mexican War was living in Mississippi in 1861 and was appointed by Jefferson Davis to help confederate recruiting in Kentucky. He was appointed the rank of temporary General and placed in command of Camp Boone.

Another early camp commander was Simon Bolivar Buckner, CSA. Col. (later Brig. Gen.and the 30th Governor of Kentucky). Roger W. Hanson brought here a regiment of Kentucky State Guards, which became the 2nd Ky. Inf., CSA. Other Kentucky units staging here included the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Ky. Cavalry Regiments.

The site selected for Camp Bone was an excellent choice. In addition to its location just 3.5 miles by road from the Kentucky-Tennessee state line, and a little over a mile from a Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad line still in use and existence now; owned and operated by the R.J. Corman Railroad Group, the site provided ample supply of water from Spring Creek which flowed around it on two sides and was feed by a cool spring.

The camp was a training site and staging area for the Confederate States of America Army of Tennessee. Many of the Kentuckians who were serving in the Confederate States Army joined the Confederates at Camp Boone which was its primary purpose. The 2nd Kentucky Infantry mustered at Camp Boone 17 July 1861 commanded by Colonel James B. Hawes of Lexington, KY while the 3rd Kentucky Infantry mustered three days later under the command of Colonel Lloyd Tilghman of Paducah, KY.

A Tennessee Historical Commission marker #3C 40 marks the location of the civil war camp today at US Hwy. 79 east (Guthrie Road) Clarksville, Tennessee.