Civil War Markers Unveiled (06/04/09)
(06/04/09)

Media Release

June 4, 2009

For More Information— Melissa Woody, 423-472-6587

Civil War markers unveiled Tuesday

Bradley County will be officially added to Tennessee’s collection of sites included in the Civil War Trails Association’s national tour as two gateway markers are unveiled in a public dedication Tuesday, June 9. 

            Two ribbon cutting ceremonies will take place back to back with the first in Charleston’s City Park at 9 a.m. and then in Cleveland at the Museum Center at 5ive Points at 10:30 a.m.

Special guests will include Dr. Carroll Van West, director of the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation and director for Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.  West is consulting with trail applicants regarding the authenticity of the historic site and the information that would be included on the markers. West is also senior editor of Tennessee Historical Quarterly.

Cleveland and Charleston will also welcome Fred Prouty, executive director of the Tennessee Wars Commission, a division of the Tennessee Historical Commission. Prouty is also a member of the Sesquicentennial Commission, which was formed to prepare and plan for Tennessee’s recognition of the 150^th Anniversary of the Civil War.  Prouty is a key partner in the Civil War Trails program.   

Representatives from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TDTD) will also be present. TDTD has been instrumental in managing the applications and promoting the program across Tennessee. The effort to add Tennessee, the state second to Virginia in number of Civil War sites, has been a true interdepartmental effort and an opportunity to include many partners in an important project.

Tennessee is being added to the National Civil War Trails program and has given communities and historic sites the opportunity to apply for a grant that includes a site marker, directional signage and inclusion in a trail guide and website. The matching grant requires that sites cover 20 percent of the $5,500 cost of each marker package ($1,100) and an annual $200 maintenance fee.

Local participation in the National Civil War Trails program has been made possible by initial matching grant dollars from the Bradley County Commission, Cleveland City Council and Charleston City Commission. The commitments to cover the annual maintenance fee came from the Charleston-Calhoun-Hiwassee Historical Society and Bradley County Historical Society.

Within those groups, commitments to help with the annual fee have also been made by the Museum Center at 5ive Points, the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Convention & Visitors Bureau of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce.

“Participation in this program adds another reason for visitors to come to our community,” said Melissa Woody, Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce vice president for Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We will be included in the state’s Civil War trail guide and on the website. This program will help us attract new visitors to our area who may have never thought of us before.”

Both the Cleveland and Charleston markers are gateway markers and tell the story of each community’s role in the Civil War. Each marker site must have parking area or “pull-off” space available for visitors to safely view the information and site. 

Information for the markers must be approved by the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, as well as the Civil War Trails Association. Bryan Reed, professor at Cleveland State Community College and president of the Bradley County Historical Society, researched and compiled the information for both of the markers.

“There is a strict word limit, and Bryan did a phenomenal job distilling the information to fit the requirements,” Woody said. “We have an interesting story to tell involving Gen. William T. Sherman, Col. Eli Long and comments from President Abraham Lincoln among others. It’s difficult to tell a story in less than 300 words.”

The Niota Depot recently unveiled the first marker to be installed in Southeast Tennessee. Other sites in the area with plans to apply for the program include the Henegar House in Charleston and the city of Calhoun in McMinn County.

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