As Gary mentioned most of the Franklin battlefield is developed. But there is still plenty to see dealing with the civil war in and around Middle Tennessee.
Rattle and Snap: Rattle and Snap was the home of one of the Confederacy's well known generals for a short time, General Leonidas Polk, also known as "The Fighting Bishop." During Hood's Tennessee Campaign, many soldiers noted the grandness of this home -- one of Cleburne's men commenting, "the prettiest place I have ever seen in my life."
St. John's Episcopal Church: this is the church that General Cleburne, on his way past it in 1864, commented to his officer, "It is almost worth dying to be buried in such a beautiful spot." Less than a week later his remains should be interred here following the Battle of Franklin. Generals Granbury and Strahl, along with Colonel Beckham (S.D.Lee's Chief of artillery) were buried here as well. Granbury, Strahl and Cleburne were removed in later years.
Zion Presbyterian Cemetery: This is the Cemetery that Sam Watkins is buried in.
Hamilton Place:This was the home of General Lucius J. Polk, brother of the recently deceased Leonidas Polk. It was here, on November 26th and 27th, that the local citizens entertained officers of the Confederate Army, including Hood, Cheatham, Bate, Brown and Walthall. After the Battle of Frankln Gen Manigault (Manigault's Brigade) wounded in the head and Major Thomas C. Prince Jr. of the 22nd Alabama (Deas Brigade) wounded in the foot where here when it was used as a hospital.
The Athenaeum: It was used throughout the Civil War by Union officers who occupied Columbia, as well as serving as General Schofield's HQ in November of 1864.
Off of the town square in Columbia, there stands an old bank building on the corner of Hwy 31 and Columbia Pike. General Earl Van Dorn's body was placed in the vault of this bank building overnight, awaiting funeral services. On the opposite corner, which a flower shop now occupies, is the building in which General Forrest was stabbed by one of his own men.
Elm Springs: This mansion was restored and is now used as the National Headquarters for the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. The home was built in 1837. During the war, it was the home of Abram Looney, who served as the Colonel of Company H, First Tennessee Infantry. He was an outspoken Southerner and this almost resulted in the loss of Elm Springs.
In November, 1864, the Federal Army, which had occupied Maury County for several months, was preparing defensive positions ahead of the oncoming Confederate troops under Gen. John B. Hood. Their line of defense extended from the Mooresville Pike to the Mt. Pleasant Pike. One of the defensive tactics used was the destruction of important buildings along the line. Elm Springs anchored the eastern flank of their line. Many houses were burned during those days and Elm Springs was slated to be destroyed too. Fires were started that might have burned the house except for the opportune arrival of Confederate troops who extinguished the flames. You will still find the scorch marks in the hall closet.
Greenwood Cemetery: If you'll wander among the headstones, you'll see the damage caused to them by Cox's men, who from across the river, fired upon Stephenson's sharpshooters in an attempt to stop S.D. Lee's men from crossing the river. Looking down the steep embankment to the river, behind the cemetery, you'll wonder how Lee managed to get his pontoons into the water to cross the Duck here.
Spring Hill Battlefield:A 110-acre battlefield site, where General Cleburne commanded the last battle he was to survive. It was here that Union General Luther P. Bradley's Brigade was routed and suffered 350 casualties in their attempt to keep Hood's army from capturing the town and the Union's 800 wagons.
Rippavilla Mansion: A restored mansion, formerly the home of Confederate Major Nathaniel Cheairs, which now houses the "Armies of Tennessee Museum." Major Cheairs was taken prisoner during the capture of Fort Donelson, where he personally was ordered to hand the surrender flag to General Grant. Upon his release, Nathaniel Cheairs returned to his plantation in Spring Hill to find General Forrest and his men camped in his fields in 1863.
Martin Cheairs Home: is where Confederate General Earl Van Dorn was murdered by a jealous husband, Dr. George Peters, while he was headquartered there in the spring of 1863.
Oaklawn Mansion: Used as General Hood's headquarters Nov. 29th 1864, and the boyhood home of his Colonel Thompson (Chief Surgeon for The Army of Tennessee
The Ewell Farm: home of General Richard S. Ewell and his wife from 1865 until the general's death.
Spring Hill Cemetery:There is a stone erected here by the local UDC chapter, which is dedicated to ten unknown soldiers of the Battle of Franklin. Recent research indicates that it could also contain some of the unknown casualties of the Battle of Spring Hill.
Homestead Manor: n March 5 1863 during the battle of Thompsons Station young Alice Thompson was watching the Battle from the basement of "Homestead Manor" and saw the the color bearer of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry fall to the ground. Alice sprang from the cellar, caught up the flag and waved it over her head. Colonel Samual G. Earle, of the Third Arkansas Regiment, saw her and shouted, "Boys a woman has your flag". Upon seeing this heroic action from one of their women, the Rebels raised a great battle cry and drove the Yankees back. While Alice held the flag, a bombshell fell within a few feet, throwing dirt all over her. Fortunately, the shell did not explode. One of the soldiers pushed her back into the cellar. The house also served as a hospital during the battle.
Laurel Hill Hood's officers stopped here briefly on their way to Franklin on November 30, 1864.
Harrison Home: is home served as Hood's headquarters during the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. Here is where Hood held council with his subordinates; officers Forrest, Cleburne and Cheatham argued against the attack. General John C. Carter was brought here after suffering a mortal wound at Franklin, where he lingered for three days before his death.
Winstead Hill: This is where Hood studied the Union lines and their fortifications with his field glasses. With the bareness of the trees from the season, the Carter house was plainly visible, and the late afternoon sun glinted off the weapons of the entrenched Federals. Turning to Generals Cleburne, Brown and other officers present, he then outlined his battle plan, instructing them where to place their divisions.
Carnton Plantation McGavock Home It is said three of the five Confederate generals killed in battle, Cleburne, Adams and Granbury, were brought here to the rear gallery at Carnton and laid out side by side.
Caught up in the path of Gen. A. P. Stewart's advancing columns during the battle, Elizabeth (Carrie) McGavock opened her home to hundreds of wounded and dying Rebels. They filled every room and closet of the home then spilling out into the yard, while surgeons worked feverishly in one of the upstairs bedrooms. The Confederate
Confederate Cemetery at Carnton:
This is the largest private Confederate cemetery in the country. In 1866, the McGavocks designated two acres of their land for the reinterment of 1,500 Southern soldiers killed at Franklin.
Carter House: The Carter House served as a Federal Command Post while the family hid in the cellar during the hours of battle. Some of the bloodiest hand-to-hand fighting took place in the garden and yard of the home. A smoke house and the small building used as an office by Mr. Carter, are riddled with bullet holes and still stand today -- a testament to what took place there on November 30th, 1864.
Scarcely had the terrible din of battle subsided when the sad tidings were that Capt. "Tod" Carter lay wounded on the field. By the light of a lantern, he was found mortally wounded by his father and sisters only a few hundred yards from the house. He was then carried gently to his home, his sisters whispering: "Brother's come home at last."
Though receiving medical attention, young "Tod" died 36 hours after he was brought home."It is something which is not always given a soldier," wrote Rev. Henry M. Field, "to draw his last breath under his father's roof, and to be laid in his last sleep beside the dust of his kindred.
Fort Granger: built shortly after middle Tennessee was captured from the Confederacy in early 1862. Named for Gen. Gordon Granger, Union commander in Franklin in 1863, the fort was constructed in March-May of that year by laborers working 24 hours a day. By April 1863, Fort Granger held 18 field guns and two 30-pound siege cannons. The artillery fired through embrasures (openings in the parapet walls). At full capacity, the fort housed 5,194 infantry, 2,728 cavalry, and 24 artillery pieces.
During the battle on November 30th, 1864, the fort served as a headquarters for General Schofield and held 8,500 soldiers along with 24 guns. Some of the shells from the fort landed on the houses in the town during the battle.
The Town of Franklin Several Homes & Churches that were used as Hopitals. the Mosonic lodge has cannon damage and was also used as a hopital.
And If you continue on to Nashville you can vist.
Shy’s Hill during the Battle of Nashville that Federal troops finally broke the Confederate line on the left flank, resulting in a massive Rebel retreat and a decisive Union victory.
Today the hill sits in residential suburban Nashville, marked with a state historical marker. Steps lead up the steep incline to the crest of the heavily wooded hill. The Confederate defensive fortifications, still visible, were placed too far up the hill, allowing the Federals to climb the hill out of harm’s way.
Traveller's Rest: General John Bell Hood used Traveller's Rest as his headquarters from the 1st-16th of December, 1864. During the Battle of Nashville, the kitchen was so severly damaged that it had to be torn down.
Fort Negley was part of a chain of fortifications built by occupying Union forces in 1862. The guns of Fort Negley opened the Battle of Nashville on December 14,1864.
Belmont Mansion Union scouts used the 105-foot-tall brick water tower, which still exists, as a lookout point and to relay signals. The mansion served as the headquarters for Union Gen. T.J. Wood during the battle of Nashville.
Belle Meade Mansion During The Battle of Nashville, Brig. Gen. James Chalmers of Forrest's Cavalry located his headquarters here. During a skirmish on the front lawn, the mistress of the house was said to come out and rally Confederates by waving her hankerchief amidst the flying bullets. The columns still bear the scars of the bullets.
Nashville Old City Cemetery ivil War casualties buried here: The bloody battles of Shiloh in April 1862 and Stones River in early 1863 filled Nashville's makeshift hospitals to overflowing. Undertaker W.R. Cornelius, who had the Federal contract for burials, buried Federal and Confederate dead separately at the City Cemetery. More than 15,000 were interred in the open field to the southwest of the cemetery. Blacks who fought for the Union were buried at a distance. In 1867, when the Nashville National Cemetery was dedicated, all of the Union dead were relocated and buried together there.
It should be noted that most of the Confederate soldiers killed during the Battle of Nashville were buried at Confederate Circle in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Gen. Bushrod Johnson:
An Ohio native and West Point graduate, Bushrod Johnson served as head of the military department at the University of Nashville before the Civil War. He purchased a lot for $20 in 1858 and buried his wife Martha there. An able commander during the war, he died in 1880 in Ohio and was buried there. In 1975, he was returned to Nashville to lie beside his wife at the City Cemetery, following an impressive military service.
Gen. Felix Zollicoffer:
A newspaper editor and politician in Nashville, Zollicoffer led Confederate troops in East Tennessee at the beginning of the war and was shot and killed at the Battle of Mill Springs (Fishing Creek), Ky. on Jan. 19, 1862. He is buried with his wife at the City Cemetery.
Gen. Richard Ewell:
Known as "Old Baldy," Ewell commanded Confederate troops in the Eastern Theater, including the Battle of Gettysburg. During the war, he married Lizinka Campbell Brown of Nashville, and after the war they retired to Spring Hill, Tenn. They both died in January 1872 and are buried together at City Cemetery on the lot of her parents, George Washington and Harriet Stoddart Campbell.
Lt. Andrew Willis Gould:
Lt. Gould was stabbed to death June 26, 2863 in Columbia, Tenn. by his commanding officer, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, during an altercation. Forrest was shot and wounded.
National Military Cemetery was established as a U.S. Military Cemetery on Jan. 28, 1867. The Roll of Honor, No. XXII, dated July 31, 1869, submitted to Quartermaster General’s Office, U.S.A., Washington, D.C., recorded the graves of 16,485 Union soldiers interred in the national cemetery at Nashville, Tennessee and remains as a part of the cemetery’s historical records.
Originally there were 16,489 interments (burials) of known soldiers and employees: 38 were officers, 10,300 were white soldiers, 1,447 were colored soldiers, and 703 were employees.
Among the unknown, there were 3,098 white soldiers, 463 colored soldiers and 29 employees. The deceased had been gathered from an extensive region of Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky. The number of distinct burial places from which these bodies were taken is 251.
A very large proportion of the dead in the cemetery, however, were transferred from the hospital burial grounds in and around the city of Nashville and from temporary burial grounds around general hospitals in Nashville and nearby battlefields of Franklin and Gallatin, Tenn. Reinterments were also made from Bowling Green and Cave City, Ky.
During the Civil War, if marked at all, wooden headboards with the names and identifying data painted thereon marked graves of those who died in general hospitals, on the battlefields, or as prisoners of war. Many of these headboards deteriorated through exposure to the elements. The result was that when the remains were later removed for burial to a national cemetery, identifications could not be established, and the gravesites were marked as unknown.
NOTABLE MONUMENTS, MARKERS:
One of the oldest private markers in the cemetery is a spire located in Section M, Grave 16234, which was dedicated to the memory of James A. Leonard of the 1st Kansas Battery. He was killed by guerillas on Jan. 23, 1864 and interred on Jan. 27, 1864.
In 1920, the State of Minnesota erected a monument in Section MM inscribed, “In memory of her soliders here buried who lost their lives in the service of the United States in war for Preservation of the Union--AD 1861-1865.”
Chaplain Erastus M. Cravath, 101st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was interred in Section MM, Grave 16694, in 1900. Chaplain Cravath was one of the founders of Fisk University in Nashville, and served for 25 years as its president.
Colonel James W. Lawless, 5th Kentucky Cavalry, was buried in Section MM, Grave 10662, on June 25, 1899. Col. Lawless was born in Ireland and came to the United States at the age of 16.
Colonel Edward S. Jones, Commander of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, was also the founder of the Department of Tennessee and Georgia Grand Army of the Republic and served as Commander for many years. He was interred in Section MM, Grave 16520, in Nov. 1866.
"Confederate Circle" at Mount Olivet Cemetery After the War Between the States, the women of Nashville bought land at Mount Olivet, and formed Confederate Circle. The remains of about 1,500 Confederate soldiers were moved here from area battlefields.
Seven Confederate generals are buried in or around the circle.
They are William B. Bate, William N.R, Bealle, Benjamin Franklin Cheatham, William H. Jackson, George E. Maney, James E. Rains, and Thomas Benton Smith. Other prominent Nashville Confederates, Colonels Adolphus Heiman and Randall McGavock, lie nearby. A 45-foot granite monument marks the center of the circle.
"Heroine of the South": Mary Kate Patterson Davis Hill Kyle (1844-1931) worked with Coleman's scouts and Sam Davis during the Civil War to spy in the Lavergne-Nolensville-Nashville area. When a teenager, she smuggled vital information and supplies through Union lines. Mrs. Kyle was buried in the Confederate Circle at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, the first woman so honored.
Other Sites nearby:
Same Davis Home , Stones River National Battlefield and National Cemetery, Battle of Hartsville sight, Tullahoma Campaign sights and many more things that i cant think of right now. Let me know if anyones is coming this way. I will see well else i can find.
__________________ Steven Noel Cone Living Historian and Battlefield Preservationest "Silver Spring Mess" ; "Citizens of the Bonnie Blue" ; "46th Tn Inf. Co. K" SCV Camp 723 General Robert H. Hatton |
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