"F" is for Franklin

My husband, Jim, and I traveled this great country of ours for SEVEN years in our RV. We saw many wonderful sights, visited famous and not so famous cities, and wandered through many a National Park. I have blogged through all our travels. I've stumbled upon the "Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013". I decided to jump on board this crazy train and share with all of you places I have seen in my travels.

Day Six of the "Blogging from A-Z Challenge"!

 is for Franklin, Tennessee

The town of Franklin might not ring a bell with you, but it was the site of one of the bloodiest battles during the Civil War. The Battle of Franklin happened at 4 pm on November 30, 1864. The Confederate army quietly sneaked in the darkness of the night and attacked the Federal army that was entrenched around the southern edge of Franklin. A mere five hours later, over 9,000 solders were killed, wounded, captured or missing, the majority being Confederate soldiers.

The Carnton Plantation was very near to the battlefield and was used as a Confederate hospital.  It was built in 1826 by Randal McGavock, who had been the Mayor of Nashville at one time. Carnton was a prestigious plantation in the area. When Randal died, he left the house to his son, John. John married Carrie Elizabeth Winder and they had five children, three of whom died young.

Carrie Elizabeth Winder

photo courtesy of www.carnton.org

front of the home

back of the home

"A staff officer later wrote that 'the wounded, in hundreds, were brought to [the house] during the battle, and all the night after. And when the noble old house could hold no more, the yard was appropriated until the wounded and dead filled that....'"

courtesy of www.carnton.org

The dead soldiers were buried right on the battlefield. When the war ended, the Union soldiers were dug up and buried in the National Cemetery in Nashville. The Confederate soldiers were left in the field. 

Carrie McGavock had grown close to the soldiers during their care and stay at her house. She did not want them to stay in the field with unmarked graves. So she and her husband decided to bring the boys back home and bury the soldiers (almost 1,500) on their land. In 1886 they designated two acres of land for a Confederate Cemetery, which is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation.

House is seen off to the right.

Each state who fought in the battle is represented with a memorial stone;
 the number of dead listed.

For a tour of the house, watch this video.



Also, to read a fiction book based on this story, pick up "A Widow of the South" by Robert Hicks. I thought it was an excellent story.