Introduction
To the left is a picture of the statue of John Montgomery, Clarksville's founder, which has been placed next to City Hall at the corner of Second and Franklin Streets, downtown.  He was a Revolutionary War hero who came to Middle Tennessee to settle. His partner in the venture was a surveyor named Martin Armstrong. The land at the confluence of the Red and Cumberland rivers was seen by this pair as a prime location for a new town. With an investment of 100 pounds, they established Clarksville, naming it after the general whom Montgomery had served during the war. This is an account of the important events in the life of John Montgomery.

The Ancestry of John Montgomery
John Montgomery was a member of a Scottish family which immigrated to Virginia in the 17th century. A hardy clan, they soon established themselves, and gave there name to a region of that state. John was born around 1750, and grew up hearing stories about famous pioneers who had explored the areas west of the Appalachians. He dreamed of one day seeing these places himself.

The First Expedition
In 1771, Montgomery led an expedition into the basin of the river which had been recently named the Cumberland. This river had been called the Warioto, and the Shawanon by local tribes, but Dr. Walker had given it the new name. While the explorers learned a lot about the region, the mission ended in failure. For their camp was raided by the native people while the explorers were hunting. There was no choice but to return to Virginia.

Revolutionary War Service
When hostilities broke out between American settlers and their British rulers, John Montgomery took a stand against the British. He served under General George Rogers Clark, who defended the western frontier against British attack. After the northern stronghold of Kaskaskia was captured, Montgomery was commissioned to bring an important captive back to Virginia. Also, Clark had discovered a secret plan of the British to unite the western native tribes against the revolting colonies. Upon leaving Virginia, Montgomery and a small band of men were sent to gain control of certain hostile native strongholds which might have been crucial to British efforts. Thus, he greatly hindered the British plan to form alliances with the Indians for their own gain in war. Montgomery spent most of the rest of the Revolutionary War running supplies from New Orleans to Clark's army in the north.

The Establishment of Nashville
While the war was winding down, settlers from North Carolina had already begun to move west into the Tennessee area. A group of men, led by James Robertson, established the settlement that became Nashville along the banks of the Cumberland River in 1779. The next year, John Donelson led the wives and children of these men on a floating voyage along the river, and rejoined them in the new city. Among the settlers that came to Nashville were the wife and children of John Montgomery. Accordingly, when the war ended in 1781, Montgomery returned to Nashville. While he held the office of sheriff in the new settlement, citizens complained that he spent most of his time exploring lands to the northwest.

Establishing Clarksville
Along with the surveyor, Martin Armstrong, John Montgomery ventured further down the Cumberland. With an investment of 100 British pounds, they purchased the land near the Red river confluence from North Carolina authorities. In the fall of 1784, the land was surveyed, and the long history of our city began. They chose the name, Clarksville, to commemorate the brave efforts of General Clark in the war for American independence. The next year, Clarksville was officially recognized by the North Carolina general assembly. Only Nashville was recognized before Clarksville as a town of the region.

Further History of John Montgomery
In 1793, Montgomery participated in the Nickajack Campaign, which was intended to settle resistant Native American tribes. The next year, he went on a hunting trip into the Eddy Creek region of Kentucky. Tragically, he was killed by Indian raiders who ambushed his hunting party on November 27th. He might have survived, had he not stayed to protect a friend, who was lame from an injury suffered in the Nickajack Campaign. He was buried under a fallen tree by the raiders, but his family claimed that his body was later moved to a more honorable location. While no monument stands in that place, two markers have been erected a few miles away along Kentucky state route 60.