Pulaski, Tennessee the vicinity of Pulaski was the site of a number of skirmishes during the Franklin–Nashville Campaign. Union troops occupied the state from 1862. In 1863, Confederate courier Sam Davis was hanged in Pulaski by the Union Army on suspicion of espionage. In late 1865, during the early days of the Reconstruction Era, the city was the site of founding the first Ku Klux Klan (KKK) by six Tennessee veterans of the Confederate Army. John C. Lester, John B. Kennedy, James R. Crowe, Frank O. McCord, Richard R. Reed, and J. Calvin Jones established the KKK in Pulaski on December 25,
Horse industry in Tennessee training Tennessee Walkers specifically for show competition. Trainers who became notable during this period include Winston Wiser, Fred Walker and Steve Hill. Today the Tennessee Walking Horse continues to be highly important to the Middle Basin. The town of Shelbyville is called the Tennessee Walking Horse Capital of the World, and has hosted the Celebration for most of its history; the first few Celebrations were held in Wartrace, but the move was made due to space issues. The Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum was founded in the 1980s and was hosted in several locations before moving to its permanent location