When we celebrated our 60,000th acre saved last month, I told you our work was far from over. Much of our nation’s hallowed ground remains threatened by development, which is why today’s announcement brings me appreciation and inspiration to continue our fight.
Thanks to your generosity and support, we’re declaring victory on two crucial properties totaling one and a half acres on the Franklin Battlefield. A small parcel of land, yes. But also a critical one: this was the “warehouse tract” surrounded by land that the Trust and its partners have protected piece by piece over the years. Now, Franklin’s Charge will own, steward and restore this land to augment and unify the site.
As with other expensive Franklin projects, this work would not have been possible without the availability of matching grants from the federal American Battlefield Protection Program and the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Fund (TCWSPF), administered by the Tennessee Wars Commission, a division of the Tennessee Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Office, as well as support from local preservation groups and local government investment.
Less than 20 years ago, the Franklin battlefield was almost entirely swallowed by development. An article in National Geographic showed the world neon Pizza Hut signs looming over its monuments to demonstrate the plight of America’s historic battlefields. How things have changed! Today, Franklin is a major Nashville suburb with a thriving downtown that’s embraced its historic past. All this happening in parallel to the Trust and its partners preserving nearly 200 acres to better tell the heart-wrenching story of this battle.
Franklin was once considered to be among the most threatened Civil War battlefields in America, but incredible preservation efforts in recent decades have saved and restored a significant portion of the battlefield. Thanks to your support, this land will be acquired by Franklin’s Charge to be interpreted for generations to come.
The Battle of Franklin
On November 30, 1864, Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood, determined to defeat Union Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield’s Army of the Ohio before they could reach Union reinforcements Nashville, launched a massive frontal assault of around 20,000 men across open ground in Franklin.
From late afternoon into dusk, Confederate troops stormed the Union breastworks but were met with devastating artillery and musket fire. The attack resulted in more than 8,500 casualties, nearly 75 percent of them Confederate. The six Southern generals killed, with many more wounded or captured, made it greatest loss of such senior officers in any Civil War battle. As the fighting slowed, Schofield was able to withdraw and reach Nashville, setting the stage for Hood’s final defeat at the subsequent Battle of Nashville, effectively ending the war in Tennessee.
The newly saved tracts are located just a few hundred feet south of the historic Carter House in Franklin and saw heavy casualties during the fighting. Scores of Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded on the property, and dozens of soldiers were buried there, before being exhumed and moved to the McGavock Confederate Cemetery.
This hallowed ground would be lost forever without your support. Battlefield preservation is truly a team effort, and you have our sincerest thanks. Our victories are your victories.
‘Til the battle is won,
David N. Duncan
President
American Battlefield Trust