Franklin The Battle of Franklin

James N.

Colonel
Annual Winner
Featured Book Reviewer
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Location
East Texas
Winstead Hill

DSC01548.JPG

When Confederate General John Bell Hood arrived on Winstead Hill and looked out on the scene above, it was very different than it appears today; mercifully, the spring foliage helps conceal the Tractor Supply and shopping mall anchored by Target at its base, in exactly the area Confederate troops formed for their late-afternoon attack over two miles of open ground.

November 30, 1864, is a day that will live in Civil War infamy as the day the offensive capabilities of the Army of Tennessee were largely destroyed along with the lives of a half-dozen of its generals and some 1500 rank-and-file, with a casualty total of around 7,000. And that from a force less than three times that in number!

That morning Hood had awakened at Spring Hill, some twenty miles to the south, expecting to destroy the supposedly "trapped" Union corps of John M. Schofield; unfortunately for Confederate fortunes later that day, Schofield had escaped in the night, marching past the drowsy pursuers to take position with his back to the Harpeth River at Franklin. Hood, said to be "Wrathy as a rattlesnake" at breakfast, blamed several of his generals and quickly sent the army in pursuit. About 2PM the head of his troops arrived at Franklin and began to deploy for an attack few if any of them had any faith in. Remarkably, most of Hood's artillery and about a third of his infantry failed to arrive in time for the battle - his assault was doomed to go in without artillery support against an entrenched Federal line.

DSC01549.JPG

Reproduction cannon on Winstead Hill represents one of the very few present for the Confederates in the battle.

DSC01547PF.JPG


Winstead Hill today is an island amid Franklin's suburban sprawl that was entirely absent when I remember first seeing it in August, 1964. Most of the formerly clear land between the hill and the town proper has been almost completely filled with housing developments, strip malls, and all the other assorted "necessities" of modern life. The small park there has continually experienced its own development, including expanded parking space for an adjoining low-impact recreational area. Monuments to some of the Confederate leaders who fell here are placed on Brigaders' Walk, donated by their respective states. Above, the monument to the memory of Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne was hard to photograph, standing as it does entirely within the shade; below, Texas' monument to Brig. Gen. Hiram Granbury stands at the head of the walk along with those of John Adams, Otho F. Strahl, and States Rights Gist, all of whom were killed outright; and the mortally wounded John Carter.

DSC01546.JPG


The Carter Cotton Gin

One of the recent successes in the ongoing effort to "reclaim" the battlefield, or at least significant parts of it, is this tiny park, only about the size of a Pizza Hut and its parking lot, because until recently that's what it WAS! Located along the Franklin - Columbia Pike, it marks the approximate location of the F. B. Carter cotton gin, scene of fierce fighting during the battle. Just across the street from here, Pat Cleburne fell, shot through the chest. Unfortunately, Domino's still stands nearby, but is supposedly slated to also be demolished soon, hopefully by next year in time for the battle's Sesquicentennial.

DSC01550.JPG


The Carter House

DSC01554.JPG


Central to the battle and its story has always been the home of Fountain Branch Carter, known as the Carter House. The Carters occupied their stout brick house along with several neighboring families during the battle raging outside, sheltering in the rear room of the spacious cellar. This was necessary because the house stood on the very trench line established by the Federals as soon as they arrived. The house and its outbuildings still show the scars of battle there, including where a Federal soldier kicked in a back-door panel in order to enter the house to escape the hail of lead!

DSC01551.JPG


DSC01552.JPG


Outbuildings, above and below, attest to the fury of the battle that raged in the backyard. Confederates broke through the Union lines here in a storm of lead, only to be turned back by the timely arrival of Col. Emerson Opdyke's Federal brigade which had been held in reserve just behind the Carter property. A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued, in which the battle lines were stabilized with Schofield's men on one side of their entrenchments and Hood's on the other. Following the battle, Confederate Captain "Tod" Carter, who had been mortally wounded within sight of his home was brought here where he died two days later.

DSC01553.JPG


The Lotz House

Relatively new as a battlefield attraction is the home of the Albert Lotz family, who abandoned it during the battle to find shelter in the across-the-pike brick Carter House. The red flag hanging above the doorway indicates its use as a Confederate field hospital following Schofield's retreat the night following the battle. Ghastly bloodstains, including a remarkable "buttprint" against one wall, attest to the suffering that occurred here.

DSC01555.JPG


The next day once again witnessed an empty Confederate victory - Schofield had given Hood the slip during the night, retiring into the defenses of Nashville to unite his force with that of George Thomas. Hood could now do no more than follow, to his eventual destruction two weeks later in the decisive Battle of Nashville.

Other related threads are those about Carnton, the splendid McGavock House and its adjoining Confederate Cemetery, out on Hood's right flank during the battle: http://civilwartalk.com/threads/fra...e-and-confederate-cemetery.84598/#post-648728

and Fort Granger, the Federal strongpoint just across the Harpeth River from where Union artillery blasted the Confererate attack with impunity: http://civilwartalk.com/threads/franklins-fort-granger.84935/#post-653017
 
Last edited:
My wife and I will be visiting our daughter who's in Nashville. I plan to take the side trip to Franklin and visit the battlefield sites. Thanks for the primer!

There's a helpful Visitor Center in downtown Franklin just off the main street near the square that has maps and information on all the sites. Be sure to allow for at least an hour at each of the "Big 3" - the Carter House, the Lotz House, and Carnton. There are other period houses you can see from the outside; I wasted too much of the day going to Spring Hill which has little to see, apart from Rippavilla ( below ), scene of Hood's breakfast tirade against Cheatham and Cleburne. As befits what is now merely a Nashville suburb, there are plenty of upscale, pricey eateries, as well as the usual fast-food junk. Watch for my soon-to-be-posted thread on nearby but slightly out-of-the-way Fort Granger.

DSC01545.JPG
 
Thanks, James. We have some threads in the Forrest forum with photos from our trip to present the memorial to Larry--and our subsequent rushing around to see all of Franklin. Folks, this is a must if you haven't been to Franklin. Some of us are hoping to meet up there next June, so get on the bandwagon!
 
Back
Top