 T h e B at t l e o f 

Franklin
W i l l i a m s o n C o u n t y, T e n n e s s e e
 
Home
T h e b at t l e
At the Battle of Franklin,
Nov. 30, 1864, The Carter

of the
House stood in the vortex
of some of the bloodiest
fighting of the Civil War.
Those who lived to tell the

Brave
tale likened the scene to the
depths of hell.
In just five hours of
close-range cannon blasts,
bone-shattering musket
 fire and ferocious hand-to-
hand combat, Union and
Confederate troops suffered
combined casualties
exceeding 9,000.
Thick smoke hung in the
air, and the dead and dying
covered the blood-soaked
ground.
“Follow me boy
I’m almost ho
Meanwhile, 23 members of
the Fountain Branch Carter
family huddled in the basement
of their home, while cannon fire
shook the earth around them and
bullets whistled through the air
overhead.
Capt. Tod Carter, one of
Fountain Branch Carter’s sons,
led his men into the battle with
the now famous rallying cry,
“Follow me boys, I’m almost
home!”
Mortally wounded within yards
of the beloved home he hadn’t seen
in three years, Tod Carter died two
days later in his birth room.
Before the last drifts of smoke
disappeared over the battlefield,
–
concerned and curious onlookers
began gathering in Franklin,
where 19,000 Confederates
had just attacked the occupying
Union Army.
“It was a significant battle
here,” says Stacey Watson, an
organizer with the preservation
group, Franklin’s Charge. “If the
Confederates had won, America
would be very different today.”
The famous battle still draws
thousands of visitors to Franklin
each year. Some are military
buffs seeking details about the
pivotal conflict, while others
simply want to know more
about the area’s amazing
history and culture.
oys,
ome!”
Capt. Tod Carter
 1826
Year Carnton
Plantation was built

1830
Year Carter
House was built

1,000+
Bullet holes remaining
at the Carter House,
including the farm
office – known as the
most bullet-damaged
building that remains
standing from the
entire Civil War
The carter house
Today, The Carter House
remains a treasured historic
landmark in Williamson
County. Artifacts and
exhibits at The Carter
House museum include
photographs, letters and
effects that convey the
human, personal side
of the battle.
“So many individuals
fought here,” says former
Executive Director Thomas
Cartwright. “They all had
a story. They had plans
and dreams and families,
and many of them gave
everything at this battle.
“One of the goals of this
museum is to honor their
memory – not to glorify
their deaths, but to glorify
their lives,” he adds.
Each November‚ the
anniversary of the battle is
marked with ceremonies‚
a solemn march across the
battlefield to The Carter
House and much more.
The Carnton
plantation
The home to John and
Histor
Carrie McGavock served hour
as a Confederate field
hospital with an operating
room upstairs during the
bloody Battle of Franklin
on November 30, 1864.
In 1866, the McGavocks
donated two acres near
their home as a final
resting place for 1,481
Southern soldiers.
Visitors come from
all over to stand on the
Carnton Plantation porch,
where the bodies of four
Confederate generals
were laid.
Carnton Plantation has
enjoyed renewed fame
with the publication of
Williamson County author
Robert Hicks’ novel, The
Widow of the South, set at
Carnton and based on the
life of Carrie McGavock
during those historic days.
ry records the Nov. 30, 1864, clash as the bloodiest five
rs of the Civil War, with more than 9,000 casualties.
 The Carter House
1140 Columbia Avenue
 Franklin, TN 37064-3617
(615) 791-1861

Plan
Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 12-5 p.m.

your
Admission Prices:
Adults: $12
Seniors (over 65): $10

visit Children 6-12: $6

Children under 6: Free
Grounds tour only: $5
 The Carnton Plantation
1345 Carnton Lane
Franklin, TN 37064-3259
(615) 794-0903
Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 1-5 p.m.
Admission Prices:

williamson Adults: $12

Seniors (over 65): $10

county
tennessee
Children 6-12: $6
Children under 5: Free
© 2010 Journal communications inc. Grounds tour only: $5