Franklin Battlefield

Infobox_nrhp2 | name =Franklin Battlefield
nhld=yes

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caption = View of the battlefield from atop Winstead Hill, which served as General Hood's headquarters
nearest_city= Franklin, Tennessee
lat_degrees = 35
lat_minutes = 54
lat_seconds = 13
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 86
long_minutes = 51
long_seconds = 58
long_direction = W
locmapin = Tennessee
area =
built =
architect=
architecture= Greek Revival, Federal
designated_nhl= December 19, 1960cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=551&ResourceType=District
title=Franklin Battlefield |accessdate=2008-06-27|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 15, 1966cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=66000734

Franklin Battlefield was the site of the Second Battle of Franklin, which occurred late in the American Civil War. It is located south of Franklin, Tennessee, on U.S. 31. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000734.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Franklin Battlefield] |32 KB|date=November 5, 1982 |author=Cecil N. McKithan |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000734.pdf "Accompanying seven photos, from 1961 and undated"] |32 KB]

The Carter House, which stands today and is open to visitors, was located at the center of the Union position. The site covers about 15 acres. The house and outbuildings still show hundreds of bullet holes. The Carnton Plantation, home to the McGavock family during the battle, also still stands and is likewise open to the public. Confederate soldiers swept past Carnton toward the left wing of the Union army and the house and outbuildings were converted into the largest field hospital present after the battle. Adjacent to Carnton is the McGavock Confederate Cemetery, where 1,481 Southern soldiers killed in the battle are buried.

Adjacent to the 48 acres surrounding Carnton is another convert|110|acre|km2 of battlefield, which is currently being converted to a city park. Much of the rest of the Franklin battlefield has been lost to commercial development. The spot where Gen. Patrick Cleburne fell, for instance, was covered until late 2005 by a Pizza Hut restaurant. Although the restaurant was purchased by a preservation group and demolished, the Civil War Preservation Trust continues to rank the Franklin battlefield as one of the ten most endangered sites. City officials and historic-preservation groups have recently placed a new emphasis on saving what remains of the land over which this terrible battle raged.

References

External links

* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.tn0164 Carter House, 1140 Columbia Avenue, Franklin, Williamson County, TN: 12 photos, 6 drawings, 9 data pages and supplemental material] , at Historic American Building Survey
* [http://www.battleoffranklin.net Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864]