CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – On March 31, 2017, Dr. Ellen Kanervo gave a presentation for Women’s History Month to the students at the Clarksville Campus of Nashville State Community College.
The topic of her presentation was the Diary of Martha Ann “Nannie” Haskins Williams, which covered a number of years of her life. Of importance to Clarksville’s history are the entries from the Civil War years. As part of her presentation, Dr. Kanervo exhibited a short film, directed by her daughter Sarah Kanervo, which covered parts of Ms. Williams’ life.
Ms. Williams’ diary began around 1863 when Union forces occupied Clarksville. She wrote about the disbelief and contempt she felt at seeing Northern soldiers in her city. This was an extremely difficult time for her as she was just 16 years old and had two brothers who were away fighting for the Confederacy. One brother, Robert, fought at Fort Donelson while her other brother, Ben, fought in Virginia. Robert was captured when Fort Donelson fell and became a POW in Illinois where he died. Ben survived the war and eventually returned home to his family.
As she stated in her diary, Ms. Williams tried to limit the daily contact that she had with the soldiers and even showed a moment of softening after hearing wounded Union soldiers groaning in the hospital. She decided that a soldier who had been wounded was not the enemy. Her contempt was so great that she refused to take the Oath of Allegiance. However, she was eventually forced to sign the oath when she was threatened with signing the oath or being sent South, which would have been a burden on her family.
Over the years, Ms. Williams loved and lost, not only family members, but suitors as well. At times her words are those of a young girl, fantasizing about her future, while at other times she sounds more adult especially when speaking about the chaos around her because of the war. Eventually the war ended and Ms. Williams’ life resumed. As the years passed her father died and her mother moved the family to Graysville, KY. She eventually married her cousin, Henry Williams, and had many children with him. She spent many of her last years in Birmingham, AL with her sons, eventually making her way back to Clarksville along with her diary.
Dr. Kanervo spoke of how Ms. Williams’ diary was discovered and the process of transcribing and footnoting the diary for publication. She, along with Dr. Minoa Uffelman, Phyllis Smith and Eleanor Williams, from Austin Peay State University began the work of transcribing the diary in 2005 with publication occurring in 2012.
Dr. Kanervo and her colleagues brought into focus part of Clarksville’s history that cannot be taught from books alone. Hearing the words and thoughts of someone from the past helps students to relate to the history that formed the community around them.