The Carter House and Grounds i n Frankl i n, TN

Excerpts from: Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill & the Battle
of Franklin (O'More Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Picture credits: Kraig McNutt Civil War Collection

Descri pti on of the Carter House

The Carter House is a red brick building with a front length of fifty-four feet.
Today the house looks almost exactly as it did in 1864. The front of the Carter
home faces east and at its center are white double doors. When these doors are
closed they form an eight-panel colonial pattern. The doors are flanked by
beautiful Doric columns and topped with a fanlight transom. Halfway between
the doorway and each end of the house is a twelve-pane window and these are
also flanked by Doric columns. Perhaps the most distinguishable feature of the
house are the stepped parapet walls that adorn each end of the home. Each wall
is topped off by prominent chimneys.



Directly inside through the double-front door is a twelve by twenty foot hall. On
each side of the hall is a room measuring nineteen by twenty feet. There is a
fireplace and two windows in each room. One of the windows is a large twelve-
pane type, the other is a smaller window near the fireplace. The room on the
south end of the house was a bedroom and family room while the other served
as the parlor. Six-panel colonial doors open from the family room to a back
porch, and a door at the end of the hall leads to the porch as well. The porch
runs north and south, but has a right, or westerly, wing that fronts a frame ell.
This ell contains two small rooms.



The upper section of the house is a half story with two rooms flanking the
landing. Each upstairs room measures twelve by twenty feet. Sadly this upper
portion of the house was the scene of a tragic accident years before the war.
Samuel Carter was only four years old when he fell through the balusters directly
above the hall in 1837. He died almost instantly, one of four Carter sons who
died before the war. 18


Fountain Branch Carter and his wife, Mary Armistead Atkinson Carter, purchased
nineteen acres of land on the west side of the Columbia Turnpike in October
1829. Through the subsequent years the Carters saw their family grow to include
eight sons and daughters who reached maturity. 19



They also saw their farm swell from its modest beginning to eventually
encompass 288 acres. In the 1860 census, Carters total value was estimated at $
62,000, and he owned twenty-eight slaves . Although not as wealthy as others in
the area, Carter had done well for himself. Sadly he lost his beloved Mary, who
was known as Polly, in 1852. Mr. Carter may have been a widower, but he had
much to enjoy and loved the company of his family, especially as he moved into
his later years. Little could he have imagined what those years would bring. His
red brick house on the outskirts of Franklin had been home for nearly four
decades. Now the elder Carter and his family looked to their house for
protection. 20

The stone-walled basement of the Carter House is divided into three sections, or
rough rooms, and there the family and others sought refuge from the battle.


I ni ti al work by Federal s on the breastworks around the Carter House.

All across the farm the work of an army continued. It was a beautiful morning,
and many of the men shed their coats and rolled up their sleeves as they
worked. Within the first hour or two the works southeast of the Carter House had
started to take on an impressive appearance. (Kindle Locations 4390-4392).



Wagner s l i ne i n rel ati on to the Carter House?

The position of Wagners men has been variously stated as being from several
hundred yards south of the main line to as much as a half mile. The latter figure
is far more accurate. While much of the ground in the Harpeth Valley is
effectively flat, there are a number of areas that rise gently and fall away into
shallow swales. Conrad posted his men on such a slight rise. The distance
between it and the Carter House was measured by Moscow Carter after the
battle, and he stated the total equaled 160 rods. A rod is equal to 16.5 feet so
the distance was almost precisely a half mile. Moving north from the crest of the
rise, the terrain slowly drops away until a low point is reached at the base of
Carter Hill. This low-lying area wound west toward the locust grove and was only
a short distance in front of the main defensive line. (Kindle Locations 4774-
4780).


Gen Cox occupi es the Carter House, openi ng moments . . .

Inside the main Union line, at the Carter House, there was both fear and frantic
activity. Soon after Jacob Cox had taken the house as his headquarters Fountain
Branch Carter had asked the general if there was going to be a battle and if so,
should he remove himself and his family from the premises. Cox responded that
the family should not leave unless a battle was imminent and added it did not
appear that Hood was likely to attack. Cox also said as long as the headquarters
of the Twenty-Third Corps was in and around the house no damage would come
to it. However, he warned Carter that if he decided to leave and the
headquarters were moved, the house could easily be ransacked by Federal
troops. Carter took Coxs advice, and he and his family chose to stay. For a short
time it seemed as if the generals counsel had been accurate. But then matters
abruptly changed. When the Confederates began their advance, Moscow Carter
used a heavy cedar ladder to climb to the roof of the house and watch the
martial sight. No sooner had some Federal troops made him come down than
the battle erupted to the south. Events unfolded so quickly there was no time
for the Carters to evacuate their home. Panic and dread spread quickly. Like a
violent and unforseen gale the battle that no one thought was coming was
doing exactly that, and it was heading toward the Carter home. (Kindle
Locations 5578-5588).






Gordon s Tennesseans advance toward the Carter House

South of this bedlam, John Brown pushed his advantage. While Gordons
Tennesseans fragmented the Union line west of Columbia Pike and pushed
toward the Carter House, Gists Brigade plowed into the locust grove. Gists
horse was shot through the neck and began rearing on its hind legs and
thrashing violently. Forced to dismount under fire near a sugar maple tree, the
general sprinted forward with the right of his brigade. Already the Georgians
and South Carolinians had enveloped the right flank of John Lanes advanced
Federal brigade. Now they pushed the advance force of the enemy pell-mell
into the locust abatis strung along the front of the Yankee works. Many fleeing
Northerners were captured and sent to the rear and others where shot down
by their own men when the main line convulsed to life with volleys of fire. Col.
Ellison Capers, who commanded the 24th South Carolina in Gists Brigade, was
caught in the storm and recalled how the locust trees arrested the forward
movement. He said it was a formidable and fearful obstruction... But Capers
also said the Federal fire slackened to let their advance troops in, and so the
Rebel troops took advantage of the opportunity and worked through the locust
tangle. Then this one great human mass, which was already absorbing galling
casualties, surged up the slope toward the main line of defense, which again
exploded with fire. (Kindle Locations 6385-6396).


Opdycke s Bri gade posted behi nd the Carter House

About 200 yards north of the Carter House, Opdyckes Brigade had been enjoying
its first rest in almost twenty -four hours. The men had stacked their arms and torn
boards from a nearby fence to start fires. Soon they were boiling coffee and frying
bacon and side pork, readying what one soldier described as an afternoon
breakfast long overdue. Yet the respite was short-lived. A sudden loud clamor was
followed by the roar of battle on the other side of Carter Hill. Moments later a most
horrible stampede of frightened recruits and panic-stricken men came pouring
over the hill. The mob of men streamed past Opdyckes troops, the quickest of foot
soon disappearing in the direction of town. Meanwhile, more and more troops
continued to spill rearward. The veterans in Opdyckes Brigade could almost sense
the brewing disaster. The men quickly gathered their rifles and began to form their
respective regiments. Meanwhile, Opdycke rode forward far enough to see that the
soldiers fleeing to the rear were not just Wagners men as he had first thought. It
was quite clear that Federal troops were abandoning the center of the main line,
and Opdycke knew at once he had to get his brigade up to help. 141 Opdycke was
alive to the situation and immediately decided to align his brigade and push
forward. In the heat of the moment, however, there was a communication
breakdown. One unit, Lt. Col. George W. Smiths consolidated 74th/88th Illinois,
shifted to the east side of the road as part of the planned advance, but before
anything else could be completed, Maj. Thomas W. Motherspaws 73rd Illinois
lurched forward. Motherspaw, who was astride his horse, could see the chaos near
the front, and it is unclear what caused his regiment to move so suddenly. Either he
believed that Opdycke had issued orders to charge or he simply acted on his own.
Whatever the case, Motherspaw called out to his men, Forward, 73d, to the
works! His troops raised a yell and charged. (Kindle Locations 6510-6524).

The ki l l i ng zone around the Carter House

The peaceful Carter yard was transformed into a killing zone. After the war a
Confederate soldier wrote that at Franklin it seemed as if the devil had full
possession of the earth, and those who survived the carnage around the Carter
House likely would not have disagreed. (Kindle Locations 6568-6570).



40
th
I ndi ana acti on around the Carter House

Pvt. James ORiley of the 40th Indiana was among those from Wagners Division
who had rallied along the secondary line. He confronted a Confederate flag
bearer near the Carter House and plunged his bayonet through the man. ORiley
then carried off his flag in triumph. (Kindle Locations 6644-6647).

Near the Carter gi n

. . . . east of Columbia Pike. Between the cotton gin and the road Confederate
soldiers, predominantly from Cleburnes Division, forced the 100th Ohio and a
some of the 104th Ohio to flee from the main line of breastworks. The hasty
withdrawal by the Ohioans also put the guns of the 1st Kentucky Battery in a
terrible fix. A Kentucky artillerist recalled how one moment he was firing his
piece and the next he saw a Rebel officer shooting a fellow gunner dead. All of a
sudden there were Confederates everywhere, capturing some of the
Kentuckians and forcing others to turn and run. In what seemed like the blink of
an eye the Union line in this sector, commanded by James Reilly, was in just as
much trouble as the stretch west of the road. Fortunately for Reilly he had
reserves in exactly the right place. (Kindle Locations 6653-6660).




Beam from the original cotton gin


Yankee dead i n the Carter yard

The men in the burial parties identified the bodies of the dead as best they
could. Crude wooden headboards were erected for most providing basic
information such as a name, a rank, and a unit. Yet there were not only
Confederate dead to deal with, but also the bodies of Federal soldiers. Moscow
Carter counted fifty-seven dead Yankees in the yard between the smokehouse
and a spot some thirty yards north of the house. Pvt. Robert Holman, 49th
Tennessee, said he counted forty-three dead Federals lying near the Carter
House porch. At least some of the Northern dead, and perhaps all, were buried
by fellow Federal soldiers who had been captured in the battle. One of them,
Pvt. Matthew Lehnhoff of the 183rd Ohio, wrote that he along with other
prisoners was ordered on December 1 to bury the federal dead. The sights
were sickening and heartbreaking. Lehnhoff said he found his friend, Pvt.
Christian Wolf, shot through the head and clinging to what life remained in him.
A bullet had torn into Wolfs right temple and exited on the left side of his head.
Lehnhoff said both of Wolfs eyes were protruding a fingers length from the
sockets. He guessed Wolf could not have lived another hour in such a
condition, but Lehnhoff had to move on and continue digging graves. Some of
the Northern dead were stripped naked before being buried, and their clothing
and boots confiscated by Confederate troops who were dressed in tattered
uniforms that were nearly falling off. (Kindle Locations 8647-8658).
















The Smoke House

Cox intended the retrenchment to serve only as a mechanism by which to block the
pike. Men from the 44th Missouri, however, began to throw up earthworks west of the
Carter smokehouse. One of the 44th Missouri officers wrote of the men erecting
defenses so it is clear they constructed their own line of works.

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 4502-4504). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.



Back in rear of the center Bridges posted his own battery of the Illinois Light Artillery
and Battery A, 1st Ohio Light Artillery near Columbia Pike. The four guns of the 20th
Ohio Light Battery were also rolled into place west of the Carter smokehouse. The 20th
Ohio guns, 12-pounder brass Napoleons commanded by Lt. John S. Burdick, offered
superb infantry support. Because the guns were placed higher up the Carter Hill slope ,
they would be able to fire directly over the heads of the men on the main line and
sweep the ground in their front. Finally, Capt. Bridges directed the four guns of Battery
B, Pennsylvania Light Artillery to form up on a slight knoll immediately east of Carters
Creek Pike, almost directly in rear of the 80th Indiana. 59

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 4527-4533). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.



The author previously believed the retrenchment extended across the south side of the
Carter office and smokehouse. Subsequent research has shown that to be false. The
retrenchment was only meant to block the pike and the earthworks constructed on both
sides of the pike by reserve troops, and especially by the 44th Missouri west of the
smokehouse, were distinct and separate from the retrenchment. Throughout the text
the terms retrenchment and retrenched line have been, where appropriate,
replaced with the more accurate secondary line. For a detailed discussion of this see
Baptism of Fire, by Eric A. Jacobson and Richard A. Rupp, p. 131-135.

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 5000-5005). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Just before the fighting began, Lt. Charles Scovill had been ordered to take command
of the 20th Ohios guns west of the Carter smokehouse because the batterys
commander, Lt. John Burdick, was a junior officer. Scovill, the commander of Battery A,
1st Ohio, stepped in and quickly went to work. As the battle raged the cannons added
their thunder to the tempest. Unlucky Confederates who surged around the west side
of the smokehouse found themselves facing off against the 20th Ohio Napoleons. The
explosions from the guns ripped men to pieces and sent body parts flying in all
directions. Yet some of Browns men pushed nearly to the muzzles.

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 6583-6587). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.

The bloody struggle on the Carter property drew men like a magnet. Hundreds of
Wagners troops from the advanced line joined the fight as did some from Silas
Stricklands command who earlier had fled the main line. One soldier from the 50th
Ohio got inside the Carter smokehouse and began shooting his rifle out a window on
the buildings west side. In places the Federal troops were from four to six men deep
and the fire they produced was extraordinary. 153

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 6596-6600). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.



The fighting in and around the Carter garden was some of the most vicious of the entire
war. The garden occupied about two square acres and lay just south and southeast of
the smokehouse and office building. It was heavily occupied by Confederate soldiers,
largely from Browns Division. After pulling back following the collision with the 44th
Missouri and Emerson Opdyckes men, the Rebels hunkered down where they could
and continued a ferocious close quarters battle.

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 7076-7079). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.



It still displays its scars from the battle, but the smokehouse and office building are the
most vivid reminders of what happened there. The southern faces of both buildings are
covered with hundreds of holes and pockmarks caused by the impact of bullets. The
east wall of the smokehouse is scattered with a variety of whitish ricochet marks, the
lead residue from bullets literally seared into the brick. To gaze upon those exposed
walls is to look at history and have it stare back at you. As you walk between the
buildings, treading the same ground as did both Federal and Confederate soldiers
during a few frantic moments, the emotions can run high. To

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 9276-9280). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.




















The Carter Of f i ce

Across the road what was left of the 50th Ohio largely fell back to the area of the
retrenchment, which crossed the pike and ran up to the Carter office. When the
Confederates cracked the center, forcing the 50th Ohio from its position, that regiment
lost significant numbers. Over 100 men were killed, wounded, captured, or missing, and
more than half of them fell into the latter two categories. In fact, more than half the
regiment, which was already much reduced by hard fighting, was wiped out at Franklin.
Among those captured were Pvts. Michael Gilmore, Henry Jordan, Lawrence King, and
George W. Shearer. All had enlisted around the same time in mid-1862 and had fought
together for two years. They would spend the rest of the war as prisoners and survived
their confinement. But in cruel twist of fate all four would die together aboard the
steamer Sultana when it sank in April 1865. 135

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 6466-6473). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.



The author previously believed the retrenchment extended across the south side of the
Carter office and smokehouse. Subsequent research has shown that to be false. The
retrenchment was only meant to block the pike and the earthworks constructed on both
sides of the pike by reserve troops, and especially by the 44th Missouri west of the
smokehouse, were distinct and separate from the retrenchment. Throughout the text
the terms retrenchment and retrenched line have been, where appropriate,
replaced with the more accurate secondary line. For a detailed discussion of this see
Baptism of Fire, by Eric A. Jacobson and Richard A. Rupp, p. 131-135.

Jacobson, Eric A. (2013-11-01). For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at
Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin (Kindle Locations 5000-5005). O'More
Publishing. Kindle Edition.