Williamson County: Battle of Franklin

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T h e B at t l e o f î ž

Franklin

W i l l i a m s o n C o u n t y, T e n n e s s e e

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T h e b at t l e At the Battle of Franklin, Nov. 30, 1864, The Carter House stood in the vortex of some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War. Those who lived to tell the tale likened the scene to the depths of hell.

In just five hours of close-range cannon blasts, bone-shattering musket fire and ferocious hand-tohand combat, Union and Confederate troops suffered combined casualties exceeding 9,000.

Thick smoke hung in the air, and the dead and dying covered the blood-soaked ground.

“Follow me boy

I’m almost ho –

Meanwhile, 23 members of the Fountain Branch Carter family huddled in the basement of their home, while cannon fire shook the earth around them and bullets whistled through the air overhead.

Capt. Tod Carter, one of Fountain Branch Carter’s sons, led his men into the battle with the now famous rallying cry, “Follow me boys, I’m almost home!”

Mortally wounded within yards of the beloved home he hadn’t seen in three years, Tod Carter died two days later in his birth room.

Before the last drifts of smoke disappeared over the battlefield,

concerned and curious onlookers began gathering in Franklin, where 19,000 Confederates had just attacked the occupying Union Army.

“It was a significant battle here,” says Stacey Watson, an organizer with the preservation group, Franklin’s Charge. “If the Confederates had won, America would be very different today.”

The famous battle still draws thousands of visitors to Franklin each year. Some are military buffs seeking details about the pivotal conflict, while others simply want to know more about the area’s amazing history and culture.

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Capt. Tod Carter

1826

Year Carnton Plantation was built

1830

Year Carter House was built

1,000+

Bullet holes remaining at the Carter House, including the farm office – known as the most bullet-damaged building that remains standing from the entire Civil War

The carter house Today, The Carter House remains a treasured historic landmark in Williamson County. Artifacts and exhibits at The Carter House museum include photographs, letters and effects that convey the human, personal side of the battle.

“So many individuals fought here,” says former Executive Director Thomas Cartwright. “They all had a story. They had plans and dreams and families, and many of them gave everything at this battle.

“One of the goals of this museum is to honor their memory – not to glorify their deaths, but to glorify their lives,” he adds.

Each November‚ the anniversary of the battle is marked with ceremonies‚ a solemn march across the battlefield to The Carter House and much more.

The Carnton plantation The home to John and Carrie McGavock served as a Confederate field hospital with an operating room upstairs during the bloody Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.

In 1866, the McGavocks donated two acres near their home as a final resting place for 1,481 Southern soldiers.

Visitors come from all over to stand on the Carnton Plantation porch, where the bodies of four Confederate generals were laid.

Carnton Plantation has enjoyed renewed fame with the publication of Williamson County author Robert Hicks’ novel, The Widow of the South, set at Carnton and based on the life of Carrie McGavock during those historic days.

Histor hour

ry records the Nov. 30, 1864, clash as the bloodiest five rs of the Civil War, with more than 9,000 casualties.

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Plan your visit 

The Carter House 1140 Columbia Avenue Franklin, TN 37064-3617 (615) 791-1861 Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday 12-5 p.m.

Admission Prices: Adults: $12 Seniors (over 65): $10 Children 6-12: $6 Children under 6: Free Grounds tour only: $5 The Carnton Plantation 1345 Carnton Lane Franklin, TN 37064-3259 (615) 794-0903 Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday 1-5 p.m.

williamson county tennessee

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Admission Prices: Adults: $12 Seniors (over 65): $10 Children 6-12: $6 Children under 5: Free Grounds tour only: $5