Cave Johnson

Johnson was a reluctant Confederate who opposed secession. John Quincy Adams called him "the nuisance of the House" for his drive to cut spending, and Johnson ran James K. Polk's 1844 campaign for president. As postmaster general he also pushed urban collection of outgoing mail. He sat out the war, surrendered Clarksville to Union gunboats on February 20, 1862, and in 1866 won a seat in the state senate that Brownlow's men refused to let him take.

What the plaque says

Cave Johnson 1793-1866 Cave Johnson served as a member of the first board of alderman of Clarksville which was incorporated in 1820. As a U.S. Representative from the state's Eighth District, he served in the Congress from 1829 to 1845. In 1845, under President James K. Polk, he became the U.S. Postmaster General. As Postmaster General, Johnson was the first to introduce prepaid postage and adhesive postage stamps in 1846. From 1853 to 1860, he served as President of the Bank of Tennessee. In 1862, Johnson was one of three to surrender Clarksville to the Union forces. His home place located here burned in 1868.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center — 1.7 mi
  An intact earthwork fort above the Cumberland and Red Rivers in Clarksville, begun with forced Black labor and later a contraband camp and recruiting center for Black soldiers.
• Dunbar Cave State Park — 3.1 mi
  A Clarksville cave with 800-year-old Mississippian artwork, later a resort and Roy Acuff's dance stage, now a state park with seasonal guided tours.
• Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge — 25 mi
  An 8,862-acre refuge on the Cumberland River floodplain near Dover, made in 1962 to replace habitat Lake Barkley flooded, wintering tens of thousands of waterfowl.

More markers nearby

• Robert Loftin Newman — 0.4 mi
• Austin Peay State University — 0.5 mi
• Trinity Episcopal Church — 0.6 mi
• Austin Peay — 0.6 mi