Franklin Battlefield’s Lotz House To
Open As A Museum On October 30
By Gregory L. Wade
(October 2008 Civil War News)

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — When visitors ask for the center of the Battle of Franklin fighting, residents usually point them to the Carter House, a state-owned historic site where they can hear the compelling story of the Carter family during the fighting.

But another home with an equally fascinating story soon will become Franklin’s newest museum. The Lotz House Civil War Museum will open on Oct. 30, a month before the battle anniversary.

In the mid-1800s, German immigrant Johann Albert Lotz purchased five acres across the pike from the home of Fountain Branch Carter. A master carpenter, Lotz worked three years to complete the two-story Greek Revival house in 1858. It features hand-carved acorn finials and millwork done by his own hand.

During the 1864 battle Lotz, his wife and children spent 17 hours in the Carter House cellar. Emerging to find the destruction and death that the fighting brought right up to their front steps, they turned the battle-damaged home to service as a hospital

Battle damage and bloodstains can still be seen in the 3,000-square-foot, 12-room house. It remained a private dwelling until the early 1990s when a battlefield museum was located there.

Since 1998 the house held offices, which often happens to historical homes not permanently preserved. But that wasn’t good enough for the current owners.

Franklin resident J.T. Thompson and his wife Susan Andrews purchased the house and a half-acre in 2002. They now plan to open the nonprofit Lotz House Civil War Museum. 

Thompson, a member of the Carter House board and a preservation activist, said, “This has been a dream of mine for many years to both preserve this beautiful and historic home while using it as a backdrop to showcase our collection of antiques and decorative arts.”

The Civil War artifacts to be displayed include a Confederate slouch hat, a Southern bugle picked up from the Franklin Battlefield and a Union drum.

The museum will also show John Henry Belter and Prudent Mallard furniture from the mid-1860s and a collection of stuffed birds that artist John James Audubon used as models.

Thompson’s parents lived for many years at a historic home in nearby Brentwood where he developed a passion for collecting historic objects. Toy soldiers, books and other collectibles fit right in as he went on to become an appraiser of fine art, among other things.

Thompson’s father was friend of the late Stanley Horn, a writer of many Tennessee and Civil War works. “Mr. Horn was instrumental in helping my father collect some wonderful relics from both Nashville and Franklin,” Thompson said.

As tourism has become more important to the local economy and with land, such as the 110-acre Eastern flank battlefield, being developed into a battle park, Thompson believes this is the time to become part of the city’s growing tourist activity.

Noting its proximity to the Carter House and the new battle museum being set up there in a converted school facility, Thompson said the Lotz House “is only about 110 short steps to the front door of the Carter House.”

Susan Andrews, with a background in working with national tourist attractions, shares her husband’s enthusiasm for the new museum. “I can’t help but be energized by this project,” she said.