Battle of Franklin Carter Hill Park: New Acquisition to Battle of Franklin Carter Hill Park Acreage

By Gregory L. Wade · Originally published September 2018 · p. 34

FRANKLIN, Tenn.—Another key piece of battle ground from the November 1864 Battle of Franklin landscape will be acquired thanks to the fund raising efforts by of Franklin’s Charge (FC) and its partners. The Tennessee Wars Commission, a state government agency, had previously approved a grant of $637,000 for the purchase of the three-quarter acre site and house if the remaining funds could be acquired thru a matching grant from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). The ABPP is part of the National Park Service. Additional funds for the $1.2 million purchase came from private donations and the American Battlefield Trust. Along with the actual purchase will be costs for removal of the house, archaeological surveys and other expenses. The ABPP funding was recently announced with other grants for sites across the country. The nonprofit Franklin’s Charge was formed over ten years ago and has been instrumental in the development of Carter Hill Park, the center of the clash between John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee and Union forces commanded by General John Schofield. The battle is considered one of the most intense of the war when wave after wave of Confederate soldiers attacked entrenched federals for a five hour slugfest, largely after nightfall, that resulted in nearly 10,000 casualties. Over the years the battle field was considered “lost” to development with suburban homes and small businesses built in this growing community just south of Nashville. Many of these earlier preservation efforts included removing structures and businesses to return the land to its 1864 appearance. Cullen Smith, chairman of the Battle of Franklin Trust (BOFT) and FC board member, noted the “excitement” of the property owners of the property, Helen Spivey and her cousin, Phyllis Eldridge. They have been “very supportive” of the site becoming part of the growing battlefield park, he added. The BOFT manages two of Franklin’s main Civil War home sites, the Carter House and Carnton, while working closely with FC in their reclamation efforts. Smith believes the new acquisition will become part of the city park system which has been the process involving the approximately twenty acres preserved near the Carter House. There are is another 105 acres the group helped save known as the Eastern Flank Battlefield Park that is also part of Franklin’s park system. BOFT Chief Executive Officer Eric Jacobson and one of the leaders in the most recent purchase said, “This ground is some of the most pristine land on this critical section of the battlefield.” He observed the land behind the structure “has never been disturbed.” It was across this land that men from the Confederate brigades of Gordon and Strahl of Browns Division fought just yards south of the Carter House itself. The grant process still has some formalities but Smith believes things will be finalized in a “few months.” FC now has a lot of experience with the removal and restoration process of a Civil War battleground and Smith says this “key piece of the battlefield puzzle should be a bit simpler than some of the others. Some of the already removed structures include a commercial strip center as well as a florist shop and pizza restaurant.”