Local History

When I move to a new area I like to go to visitor centers and chambers of commerce to get information so I can learn about the area. As you study the history you quickly learn where the names for areas and streets come from. Trish and Jedidiah are out of town this week and they don't like history so I'm doing that on my own.


Picture: Carter house in Franklin. The Battle of Franklin was fought on these grounds.


We have just moved to Spring Hill close to Franklin, TN and is located in Williamson County. Franklin is named after Benjamin Franklin who was friends with another continental congress member whose last name was Williamson. So you can see what I mean about learning where names come from. The Carter house is a National historic site and I visited it on Monday. I had no idea the Battle of Franklin was so important or so bloody. After General Sherman burned Atlanta and started his famous march to the sea towards Savannah, General Hood of the Confederates decided the next best move was to cut Sherman's supply lines coming down from Nashville. Sherman had to leave part of his army behind to protect these supply lines and to make a long story short, the two armies met at Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. The worst battle was at Franklin around the grounds of the Carter house. Approximately 10,000 men died in a two-four hour period on November 30, 1864. The confederate army was slaughtered, losing one-third of their men. One of the confederate soldiers was Todd Carter. He was shot nine times with a bullet lodged above his left eye but still alive. He was carried to the house and lived 36 more hours before dieing in the same room he was born in. What a cool but sad story. The tour guide said if there had been a photographer, this site might have as much attention as Gettysburg or Shiloh. But, The Carter house is a quaint little stop in town and definitely worth the visit. Friday I plan to visit the Carnton Plantation where the confederate cemetery is.