Conaway: Eight Tennessee volunteers could save us — but we only need four
Dan Conaway
Dan Conaway was a freelance columnist with The Daily Memphian from 2018 to 2025.
First, a little Tennessee history.
In the War of 1812, the fledgling country needed men to fight the British and called for volunteers. Tennessee sent 2,000, and earned the nickname The Volunteer State. As many as 1,500 Tennesseans joined fellow Tennessean General Andrew Jackson to defeat the British in the Battle of New Orleans.
That was reinforced when Davy Crockett resigned from the United State Congress and led a group of Tennessee volunteers to defend the Alamo against the Mexican army in 1836 during the Texas War of Independence.
And another Tennessean, President James K. Polk, writ Tennessee Volunteers large when he asked the state for 2,600 volunteers to serve in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
Now we need four. Just four.
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