The Battle of Collierville
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- Patrick J. Carmody Remembrance of battle
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- Unpublished Civil War Map of Collierville
- Location of origional Fort Stockade
- Herald News Article about the Battle
- Commercial Appeal Article about Battle
- Excerpt: "History of Collierville" book
- Union units in Battle of Collierville
- Confederate Units Battle of Collierville
- Confederate General Chalmers
- Union Col. Edward Hatch- 3rd Cavalry
- General Sherman's Memoirs
- Death of Willie- Sherman's son
- General Grant almost captured in Collierville
- References to Battle of Collierville
- Letter to the Mayor
- Interpretive Center Ideas
- The White Church
- Oct 21, 22.23- 2011 Reenactment of the Battle
- Battlefield Preservation in Collierville
- Civil War Trail in Collierville
- Various Historical Markers in Collierville
Oct 23, 2009 Reenactment of the Battle of Collierville
| Battle of Collierville Reenactment | |||
148th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Collierville | |||
Location: Piperton Hills, the former Twin Hills Ranch 2.5 miles south-east of Collierville on Hwy. 72
October 21, 22, and 23, 2011
http://www.colliervillebattle.org/home
Come see hundreds of Civil War reenactors recreate the 1863 Battle of Collierville on 1200 acres of rolling hills not far from the original site.
Visit the camps, hear guest lecturers, see the battles.
Battles are at 2:00 pm both days.
Gates open at 9:00 a.m. and activities, programs, demonstrations, etc, begin at 10:00 a.m.
Admission each day is only $6.00 per day (or $5.00 in advance).
Children under 12 years old are admitted free.
Parking is only $5 per vehicle.
Tickets are on sale at these places:
Main Street Collierville Train Depot
John Green Realty
Collierville Chamber of Commerce
or mail your check (including $1 for postage) to :
Battle of Collierville
PO Box 562
Collierville, TN 38027-0562
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Civil War Battle
What: Civil War re-enactors will re-create the Battle of Collierville, clashes between Confederate and Union forces that occurred in 1863.
Where: Piperton Hills, the former Twin Hills Ranch, off U.S. 72 south of Collierville.
For more: Contact Lee Millar at 545-3364 or e-mail cvillebattle@yahoo.com.
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For information about the Reenactment please refer to the following links:
http://www.colliervillebattle.org/home
http://www.mainstreetcollierville.org/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=239138315647
Articles from last years reenactment:
August 8 2009 Article in The Collierville Herald:
When war raged
‘Eye-opening’ look at town’s past
Michael Ward, michael@colliervilleherald.net
Twin Hills Ranch will turn back the clock 146 years this fall to 1863, the year Collierville was a battleground.
Located approximately 2 ½ miles south of Collierville on Highway 72, Twin Hills will be the site of reenactments hosted by the 51st Tennessee Infantry; the Wigfall Greys, Forrest and Robert E. Lee camps of the Sons of Confederate Veterans; and Bankhead’s Battery, in partnership with Main Street Collierville.
Reenactments on Oct. 24 and 25 will focus on the battles of Oct. 11 and Nov. 3, 1863. Information from the National Park Service website notes that after Confederate Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers’ attack on Union troops in Collierville on Oct. 11, the Nov. 3 clash was intended to be a Confederate cavalry raid to break up the Memphis & Charleston Railroad behind Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and his Union troops.
Chalmers decided to attack after hearing only two Union regiments were defending Collierville. Union Col. Edward Hatch had more troops than Chalmers was expecting and after receiving word of the attack from scouts, thwarted Chalmers and forced his retreat to Mississippi.
Lee Millar, Battle of Collierville Association president, said after the Town of Collierville did not have the funds to support a grant request from the association for a reenactment last October, “We started immediately working for this year” and acquired corporate sponsors for the event.
Originally scheduled to be held at Schilling Farms in Collierville, Millar said “more and more people wanted to attend” and “more and more reenactors wanted to attend.” The response necessitated the move to the 3,000-acre Twin Hills location.
Residents and members of the business community Millar said he has spoken with “just can’t wait for it to happen.” Approximately 600 reenactors are on board, but “that could likely grow even more,” he added.
School Day will provide students and teachers the opportunity to view civilian camps and see period hospital and craft demonstrations, among other activities. The $3 entry fee per student or teacher will allow access to the entire weekend’s events, including both battles.
Demonstrations, guest speakers and crafts will continue through the weekend with battle reenactments at 2 p.m. A Ladies’ Tea & Soiree and Military Ball are also planned for Oct. 24 with Sunday church services being held the morning of Oct. 25. Additionally, Millar said an exact replica of a union Fort will be constructed and on display.
“It’ll be a very eye-opening experience into life in the 1860s,” Millar said.
Admission to the battles is $5 in advance and $6 at the gate. For more information, visit colliervillebattle.org, mainstreetcollierville.org or 51stenn.org.
September 6 2009 Article in the Commercial Appeal:
600 to re-enact 1863 Battle of Collierville
Thousands of spectators expected to generate $300,000 for economy
By Kevin McKenzie (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Four men softened by time sweated under a hazy sun last week erecting a Union Army fort using old railroad ties on a vast ranch near Collierville.
As Civil War re-enactors, history provides their guide for re-creating examples of the soldiers, the citizens and the battles of the War Between the States.
In this case, an estimated 600 re-enactors drawn from several states and perhaps 10,000 spectators are expected Oct. 23-25 for the Battle of Collierville, organizers said.
Lee Millar, a veteran re-enactor and Collierville resident, said that while helping research the location of the former Union fort in town he realized the 1863 Battle of Collierville had never been re-enacted.
Millar said history would have changed if Confederate calvary led by Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers had succeeded in capturing Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman during an Oct. 11, 1863, raid on the the Memphis & Charleston Railroad guarded by Union forts in Collierville and nearby Germantown.
Sherman was aboard a train that happened to pull in with reinforcements during the Collierville battle. Confederate soldiers captured his favorite horse, Dolly, but not the general.
"If he had been captured here in Collierville, there never would have been a burning of Atlanta, or the March to the Sea would not have occurred," Millar said.
The Battle of Collierville actually will reflect two military confrontations that took place in October and November 1863.
Volunteer re-enactors plan to bring the history back to life among rolling fields in Piperton Hills, the former Twin Hills Ranch that stretches from Piperton in Fayette County across the state border into Marshall County, Miss.
The history replay originally was planned for vacant land in the Schilling Farms development last year, along the Norfolk Southern rail tracks in Collierville.
However, word of the event attracted re-enactment groups from seven states and the larger site became necessary, Millar said.
The Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau figures the gathering will generate about $300,000 for the economy, he said.
The first day is reserved for students from Collierville, DeSoto County and other schools.
Youths can tour camps, see demonstrations and interact with re-enactors who strive to look and act authentic, right down to hand-sewn button holes and portraying real people from the past.
"We read the diaries and the books and the letters from the actual soldiers just to see how they lived," Millar said.
On days two and three -- a weekend -- infantry, calvary, cannon and perhaps even railroad tracks made for a movie will join the fort to re-enact Collierville's 146-year-old Civil War battles.
-- Kevin McKenzie: 529-2348
Civil War Battle
What: Civil War re-enactors will re-create the Battle of Collierville, clashes between Confederate and Union forces that occurred in 1863.
When: Oct. 23 for students, Oct. 24-25 for the public.
Where: Piperton Hills, the former Twin Hills Ranch, off U.S. 72 south of Collierville.
Cost: $3 for students on school day; $5 in advance for the public and $6 at the gate. Tickets can be purchased in downtown Collierville at the Biblical Resource Center & Museum, John Green & Co. Realtors and Main Street Collierville, and at a Delta Fair booth.
For more: Contact Lee Millar at 545-3364 or e-mail cvillebattle@yahoo.com.
Preserving our past while growing our future
