Clarksville, Tennessee
Friday, August 13, 1975
Page 1

Army, Ancestors Dedicate Grave of Revolutionary War Soldier
By Richard Wordon
City Editor

	Say what you will about the Army.  The federal government.  Our sometimes 
plastic Bicentennial celebration.  The undergrowth has been cleared, and Samuel 
Smith's headstone feels the sun.
	Samuel Smith was a revolutionary War soldier.  He came to Montgomery 
County in 1833, at the age of 71, after the young government awarded him 1,000 
acres of land for his service in the war.
	He died four years later, on Jan. 16, 1837, but not before he convinced 
his wife to move from her beloved North Carolina to a wilderness where the only 
familiar aspect was the North Carolina pine trees her husband had planted.
	Of the seven pine seedlings he brought in his saddlebag to the area that 
is now Ft. Campbell, some have flourished.  One - believed to be the largest on 
the military reservation - is within a few feet of Smith's grave, close enough 
to blanket it with pine needles.
	Until last May, Smith's headstone - along with those of five relatives - 
as obscured by undergrowth miles from the Post Headquarters.  Only the thud of 
artillary fire disturbed the overgrown spot, which was part of an impact for 
military training.
	With the approach of the Bicentennial celebration, however, funds became 
available to the Army to use on an appropriate project.
	John Klose, then a colonel in charge of the post's public information 
office, and Ursula Beach, Montgomery County's historian, got their heads 
together.
	With the help of the Girl Scouts of America and the 20th Engineer 
Battalion at Ft. Campbell, the gravesite was cleared.  Work began May 11, 
according to Capt. Jack Morrison of "A" Co., 20th Engineers, and ended Wednesday 
of this week.  It took 3,500 man-hours, 500 equipment-hours, and about $5,000 
worth of materials, he said.
	The result was "unveiled" Thursday before more than 100 onlookers.  The 
original granite headstones have all been propped up again, all the undergrowth 
has been cleared away, and the area has been landscaped, including a long 
gravelled pathway to the area from Engineers Road.
	On hand Thursday were Mrs. Rosalie Coppedge, Pvt. Samuel Smith's great-
great-granddaughter, and Mrs. Hattie Wooten, her mother and great-granddaughter 
of Smith.
	Her ancestor, who fought in the Battle of Briar Creek in Georgia, was a 
"courageous, rugged 
individual," Mrs. Coppedge, a teacher who is taking a year's leave, told the 
gathering, which included her husband, Erle Coppedge, of the Austin Peay State 
University business office.
	Mrs. Coppedge voiced her appreciation to the Army, and to the Girl Scouts 
who had helped clear the land, and who researched information used on the 
historical marker, adding, "I really thank you from the bottom of my heart."
	Mrs. Beach called it "a most glorious occasion."  The park, she said, was 
symbolic of "God's world, enhanced by man."
	Brig. Gen. Charles Bagnal described it as "one of the most beautiful and 
peaceful spots at Ft. Campbell."  He said Smith was "a veteran, a pioneer and a 
man who gave of himself" for his country.