CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – It was a historic moment in Clarksville-Montgomery County Saturday as close to 150 people turned out for the unveiling of the U.S. Colored Troops Monument at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center.

The ceremony featured traditional music, a theatre and dance performance, comments from board members of the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, and a reflection on U.S. Colored Troops history from Clarksville City Councilman and U.S. Army Veteran, Joe Shakeenab.

The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The U.S. Colored Troops Monument at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The view of Clarksville from Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Society Board Member Tyler Nolting speaking at the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Society President, Nick Nicholson, speaking at the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Montgomery county Mayor Jim Durrett speaking at the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts speaking at the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville City Councilman Joe speaking at the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The U.S. Colored Troops Monument at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, U.S. Colored Troops Monument Unveiling Ceremony at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
The U.S. Colored Troops Monument at Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center on, June 18, 2022. (Lee Erwin)

Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society spokesman, Tyler Nolting, said the organization has completed more than a year long journey to donate and unveil a monument to U.S. Colored Troops, many of which were former slaves serving in the Union Army during the Civil War.

The monument is a life size bronze casting and Georgian Granite monument, with the monument and the statue standing nine feet high. It is the fourth and final edition to be created by Tennessee artist and sculptor, Roy W. Butler, with similar statues in Nashville, Missouri, and Arkansas.

The model for the sculpture was Bill Radcliffe, a Navy veteran, firefighter, and U.S. Colored Troops Reenactor who lives in Nashville.

Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society President, Nick Nicholson, thanked both the City of Clarksville, Montgomery County and the many businesses, organizations, and individuals who helped to make the monument a reality, saying it could not have been done without their support.

Nicholson talked about how in 1863, the U.S. Army started recruiting African American men to serve in the Civil War and during the war approximately 200,000 men answered the call, and the U.S. Colored Troops was formed which consisted of 135 regiments.

“Over all the U.S. Colored Troops made up about ten percent of the U.S. Army at that time. Tennessee’s contribution was approximately 20,133 colored troops which ranked third behind Louisiana and Kentucky. This monument will honor those Tennesseans who served as colored troops in the Civil War,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson added that U.S. colored troops serving in the Union Army suffered 2,751 combat casualties and 68,178 total loses during the war.

William Parker, Historical Interpreter at Fort Defiance talked about the importance the U.S. Colored Troops Monument brings to Clarksville and Montgomery County.

“Of course, it’s going to commemorate the United States Colored Troops that fought, not only here around Clarksville, but across the entire south during the Civil War. Over 20,000 United States Colored Troops enlisted here in Clarksville alone, and a lot of them right up here on this hilltop. So, in addition to commemorating that, it’s going to help us with our interpretation of the role they played in the Civil War,” Parker said.