The formal Wreaths Across America ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 18 at Riverview Cemetery has been canceled due to pending inclement weather. The wreath-laying portion of the ceremony will still take place at 9 a.m.
Despite the inclement weather, family members of veterans buried at the cemetery and the public are still invited to participate in laying a wreath at the graves of over 320 veterans buried at Riverview Cemetery.
Riverview Cemetery was established on Feb. 23, 1800, on land donated by Valentine Sevier, a Revolutionary War Colonel, when Clarksville was no more than a village. In its beginnings, the cemetery was known as City Cemetery but was renamed on June 7, 1927, by Clarksvillians because it overlooked the Cumberland River.
Today, Riverview Cemetery is the oldest known public burial ground in the area, where men of all American wars are interred, including Revolutionary War soldier Robert Nelson and many pioneers and 19th-century citizens. One plot contains the reinterred remains of 125 Confederate soldiers. To this day, Riverview is still an active cemetery.
National Wreaths Across America Day is held simultaneously across the country in more than 2,700 locations. This year’s theme is “Live up to their legacy,” which encourages everyone to look to the people and the families that have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep this country free. The event is open to the public. The local community, veterans, active-duty military, and their families are encouraged to attend and learn more about the organization’s year-long mission to Remember, Honor, and Teach.
Wreaths Across America is the non-profit organization best known for placing wreaths on the headstones of the nation's fallen at Arlington National Cemetery. The organization places more than 2.2 million sponsored wreaths in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and on foreign soil. For more information on Wreaths Across America, visit https://wreathsacrossamerica.org/.