Visited The Carter House At Franklin

Old post but my stomping grounds Just rember a small town of close to 750 had to deal with the wounded and the dead... 10000 casualties sadly forgotten 5 bloodiest hrs. of the war and tossed away Pickettes charge lol has a fence line a and a stone way try two line of breast works some with head logs , units with repeating rifles , enfilading fire from canons unseen ... no real artillery support, it was a mess and most 4 hrs after dark … My 3rd great Grandfather and his brother in law went in with torches as his only source of light … stumbling over the dead and before him … 22nd Alabama Deas Brigade S.D. Lee Corp 3rd Great Grand Uncle 28th Alabama Manigault Brigade same corp. So much reclaimed part to be apart of it I got folks talking about the night attack with tourches it was wasn't done when I first visited … that was 20 yrs ago … great strides have been made . and its amazing ineed to visit myself its been ages …. blessings and visit the 5 bloodiest hrs of a war
questions ask supper historian but will try to answer
 
We visited both Carnton AND the Carter House. Eric Jacobson is doing some great work at both, but especially at the Carter House. The Carter family garden has been restored. Other land is being opened up and structures torn down. It looks very different there from my last visit in 2010. Kudos to Eric for doing a fabulous job.

For the next few months--until after the 150th--quite a few pieces of original furniture have been returned to the Carter house by the family on loan. VERY cool stuff to see. There's also a very nice exhibit on display at the visitor center at Carnton that's also temporary until after the 150th, but also well worth seeing.

The old golf course adjacent to Carnton is in the process of being interpreted. There are 25 markers on it now, and Eric is working on providing guides on that part of the battlefield.

Eric then took us on a tour of cavalry sites associated with the Tennessee Campaign, including my first-ever visit to the Spring Hill battle site.


Lot in works befor eric but yes hes done great and great to see know him , Thomas Y. Cartwright, David Fraley others, lot of work I my myself put in in on marches etc. been years … Glad folks are finally seeing it as it should they earned the right to remembered and all Americans ... blessings
 
There is a famous story from the Carter house where the son was in the confederate army and was shot near his home and then died in it soon after.
 
There is a famous story from the Carter house where the son was in the confederate army and was shot near his home and then died in it soon after.
Very true Sir ..

Capt. Tod Carter received special permission on Nov. 28 to go ahead of the regiment, now encamped in Spring Hill under Gen. Hood’s command.

At 24 years of age, Capt. Carter prepared his steed, Rosencrantz, for the journey back home to his family in Franklin.

He made the arduous ride, reaching Winstead Hill on the evening of Nov. 29, and decided to stay the night at the home of family friend Green Neeley.

Nov. 30, 1864

While Gen. Hood’s army retired for the night in Spring Hill, Gen. Schofield’s army managed to maneuver past the enemy encampment without being spotted.

The army of 24,000 federal soldiers successfully arrived in Franklin as the sun reached for the horizon on Nov. 30.

Schofield’s plans to move onward to Nashville were stymied when troops found that the swollen Harpeth River’s main bridge through town had been destroyed.

While Schofield’s troops attempted to rebuild the river crossing, Gen. Jacob Cox’s Union troops prepared for a stand in Franklin.

Gen. Cox, believing that the Carter family farm and the Carter Hill, “was the key to a strong defense,” took command of Fountain Carter’s home at 4:30 a.m.

The troops dug a 60-foot trench just south of the family’s home, destroying four barns and part of the Carter cotton gin to create head logs for the trenches.

That same morning Capt. Carter prepared to finish his journey toward home.

Slipping through the Union lines, he made it to the edge of the Carter garden, where he began to enter through the gate. As he lifted the latch, one of his relatives motioned for him “to go back.”

After a stretch of frosts and snow, the late autumn day was warm and sunny, but the weather did nothing to lift the spirits of the Carter family or the young Captain who could not reunite with his family.

Angered by the sight of breastworks across his father’s farm and soldiers in his home, Tod headed back to Winstead Hill ready to wage battle while his family prepared for the inevitable conflict.

Although Capt. Carter’s duties as assistant quartermaster and aide to Gen. Thomas Benton Smith exempted him from engaging in battle, he vowed, “No power on earth could keep him out of the fight.”

So it would be. At 5 p.m., he mounted Rosencrantz, drew his sword, extended his arm and led the charge shouting, “I am almost home! Come with me boys!”

Just 525 feet from his home, his horse went down and a volley of nine bullets fell the young captain.

Meanwhile, his father, Fountain, his brother, Moscow, and his four young children, as well as the four Carter sisters, numerous other family members, two African American servants, a boy named Oscar and five members of the Lotz family were huddled in the basement listening to the chaos and carnage unfolding above them and worrying about the fate of Tod.

Around midnight, the family emerged and thanked God for keeping them safe. Moments later a Confederate soldier appeared with the news that Tod was wounded.

Moscow was searching for his brother when Gen. Thomas Benton Smith arrived at the Carter home informing Fountain of Tod’s exact location.

Smith then led Tod’s father and three of his sisters through the smoke filled darkness, as the torches of townspeople looking for wounded cast a hazy light across the dreary night.

When they found the young captain, he was “delirious” and kept calling out to Sgt. Cooper, the man, who had tried to warn Tod not to go forward too soon just moments before he was shot.

Capt. Carter was carried to his boyhood home and taken inside to a room, littered with the debris left behind by occupying federal soldiers.

His sisters stayed by his side whispering; “Brother’s come home at last,” with hope he would awaken.

Dr. Deering Roberts, the regimental surgeon, extracted the fatal bullet that had struck him in the head, while his two young nieces assisted.

On December 2, 1864, 24-year old Capt. Tod Carter, the “brilliant young lawyer” died in the room just across from the one where he was born.
 
IIRC most of the artillery was still coming up with Lee's corps and wouldn't get there before night. Only a couple of Confederate batteries were available to support the 18,000 men of the Army of Tennessee who made the charge at Franklin.
Very true Sir!! There were two confederate batteries … If I recall correct . Even if more men from Lees corps and the other Batteries would they have shelled the town? Doubtful. but No clue
 
After reading "Widow of the South", I became very interested the Battle of Franklin. I hadn't heard of it before and have read quite a bit about it since. I would like to go and visit Tennessee some day, if I can only find some one who will go with me. My usual ACW traveling partner prefers to stay in Gettysburg, Virginia, and Maryland!

Just remember.....no other state had more battles and skirmishes than Tennessee except for Virginia.
 
After reading "Widow of the South", I became very interested the Battle of Franklin. I hadn't heard of it before and have read quite a bit about it since. I would like to go and visit Tennessee some day, if I can only find some one who will go with me. My usual ACW traveling partner prefers to stay in Gettysburg, Virginia, and Maryland!
Come on down... Franklin was forgotten about … Why ? no clue 10000 casualties in 5 hrs or so … a town of about 750 had to deal with that burring the dead and helping the wounded best they could as well recover and rebuild … lot of battle the but not the number of wounded and dead in that time frame ..
 
A well-preserved remnant of Civil War history. I visited the battlefield while researching for my book, Trapped in the Crossfire, a story of my Great-great Grandfather who fought there.

Gladys at Carter House.JPG
 
Fourteen Confederate generals (six killed, seven wounded, and one captured) and 55 regimental commanders were casualties. Five generals killed in action at Franklin were Cleburne, John Adams, Hiram B. Granbury, States Rights Gist, and Otho F. Strahl. A sixth general, John C. Carter, was mortally wounded and died later on December 10. The wounded generals were John C. Brown, Francis M. Cockrell, Zachariah C. Deas, Arthur M. Manigault, Thomas M. Scott, and Jacob H. Sharp. One general, Brig. Gen. George W. Gordon, was captured. (Wikipedia)
 
According to Eric A. Jacobson's For Cause & for County, p. 512, the six bodies laid out on the back porch of Carnton were generals Cleburne, Granbury, Strahl, Lt. Col. Robert B. Young of Granbury's staff, Lt. John Marsh of Strahl's staff, and one other officer. The sixth was either Gen. John Adams or Capt. James W. Johnston, an adjutant on Strahl's staff, though it's possible both were placed there.

Carter was taken to the Harrison House and Gist was brought by his body servant to the residence of William White.
 
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