On Sunday, September 9th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Dr. Jerry Wooten, Park Manager at Tennessee’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, who will speak on the Battle of Johnsonville, and its critical role as a key Federal war time supply depot.

It was at the Battle of Johnsonville in the fall of 1864 that Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest captured several Union vessels using them to destroy supplies and arms in one of the largest losses of Union materials during the war. Dr. Wooten, former director of the Johnsonville State Historic Park, will discuss the war era facilities there, including some remains still visible today. Johnsonville, located in West Tennessee, was largely flooded after the construction of a dam in 1944.

Originally from Clarksville, Wooten received a Ph.D. in Public History at Middle Tennessee State, a Masters’ Degree in Public Administration from Murray State and his Bachelor of Arts in American History from Austin Peay State University. His first book, Johnsonville: The End of the Line, will be released next year. Some of Wooten’s prior positions include the Director of State Historic Sites for the Tennessee Historical Commission, Executive Director of the River Heritage Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, and Director of South Union’s Shaker Museum. He has received numerous awards for excellence in Resource Management and Stewardship of Historic Sites.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit https://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.