Why Was the FRANKLIN, TN Battlefield NOT Saved??

[larry_cockerham]

Originally Posted by samgrant

Would I be correct in my impression that efforts (and the sucesses) to reclaim/restore the Franklin Battlefield have far surpassed those at other battlefields throughout the country? (or maybe I just have heard more about the Franklin sites that I have the others?)

Gen. Grant, both those notions are pretty much true. A lot of the effort in Franklin comes from folks in Nashville since our own town did a very poor job of preservation. Many new folks have also moved to the area and wander around looking for something to do. Franklin is a physically neat town with some open preservable battlefield space. Yep we have some yankees who moved in with the car plant that help with this effort as well. Thank God, the economy has also been very good for the last few years. The fact that there are a lot of SAR, DAR, SCV, SUV, historical society etc. folks around also contributes to the activity. Nissan is moving their corporate headquarters there and the Saturn plant is in nearby Spring Hill, also an area rich in war heritage.

[formerYank]

Originally Posted by gary

It's my understanding that when folks were exploring which battlefields should become National Battlefield Sites, the memory of Franklin and the War was still too fresh in the minds of the residents who wanted to forget the entire mess.

Thank you for all your replies. Sir, this is exactly the kind of thing that I am looking for! Can you give me a reference, or site your source for this statement? Thank you!
-formeryank

[gary]

Sorry, I can't recall where I read that. You might want to contact the Carter House Museum in Franklin. They will know.

[formerYank]

Originally Posted by gary

contact the Carter House Museum in Franklin. They will know.

This is an excellent idea. I did contact them via email, but they did not respond to my query.

[larry_cockerham]

The actual battle, you proably know, was in a rather restricted already developed area along a drainage ditch which is now prime development property on the south edge of town. The Battleground Acadamy was built on part of the site which now houses a county library. The remainder of the approach areas in the two mile distance between Breezy and Winstead hills and the sites of most of the fighting are still relatively open, though about to be engulfed by comerical ventures. Part of the land east of Columbia Pike adjacent to the railroad is a huge cemetery of fairly recent vintage. I think there is some substance to the notion that this event was so horrible, local survivors just wanted the memory to go away.