Battlefield of Franklin Land Preservation Purchase
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Civil War News Vol. 42, No. 3 $3.00 48 Pages, April 2016 Battlefield Of Franklin Land Preservation Purchase BY GREGORY L. WADE that were turned over to the City FRANKLIN, Tenn. — What is of Franklin Parks Department by considered the bloodiest acreage in Franklin’s Charge and the Battle of the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin Franklin’s Trust (BOFT), managers is now being reclaimed as part of the of the Carter House the nearby Carn- evolving Carter Hill Battlefield Park. ton Plantation. The structures will be Local preservation leaders recently removed in coming months, possibly closed on a $2.8 million purchase relocated for other use. from owners Reid and Brenda The purchase is only the latest step Lovell after a months-long process in a long and arduous effort to re- of coordinating various funding build the Franklin battlefield. sources for the critical 1.6 acres that “It had to be a miracle,” quipped adjoin the Carter House, a major Civil War Trust (CWT) President battle landmark. James Lighthizer, referring to the Details were recently provided at most recent acquisition. Local res- a press conference led by Franklin’s ident Michael Grainger, long time Charge board member Julian Bibb, Trust board member and former who praised the “remarkable tran- chairman, said, “Local leadership sition” of the Franklin battlefield. has been incredible and will contin- Franklin’s Charge is a coalition of ue to be a partner [with the CWT].” civic and preservation groups who In 2005, after years of frustration joined together more than ten years attempting to preserve Franklin bat- ago to purchase local battleground. tleground, local preservationists de- Over 150 years ago the Army of cided it would have to be done the Tennessee stepped off in a series hard way, by buying properties, of- of charges to be virtually destroyed ten with buildings on them. by Federals under John Schofield in The largest parcel of land was hopes of taking Franklin and later originally a local golf course slated Nashville. to be sold to a developer to build At that time, most of the terrain houses on what was the right flank was open farmland on the outskirts of the Confederate attack north to- of what was once a small Middle ward the Federal lines just south of Tennessee farming community. Over the town. Battle of Franklin. 1891 print by Kurz and Allison. Restoration by Adam Cuerden. (Library of Congress) time development covered much of It was then that Franklin’s Charge the battlefield with houses, light in- came into existence. Funds have lin Parks Department, according to dustry, and small businesses. been raised for the $5 million pur- Bibb. All that remained of the critical chase from private donors, the CWT, But it was the land just south of the area where the Confederates tem- the City of Franklin and others. That Carter House, long considered the porarily broke the Federal line was 110-acre segment, now fully inter- most bloodied ground in Franklin, the small farmhouse and a few acres preted and known as the Eastern and some say in America, that was known as the Carter House farm. Flank Battlefield, is what got the the most coveted. The 1.6 acres purchased, which preservation ball rolling in Franklin. BOFT Chief Executive Officer adjoin the southern boundary of the Since that time nine other parcels Eric Jacobson noted, “to not have Carter House property, is comprised in proximity to the Carter House this ground reclaimed and preserved, of two lots. Today, they are occupied have been purchased and have been, would be like having Omaha Beach by a flower shop and other structures or will be, turned over to the Frank- cut out of Normandy.” The most recent acquisition evolved when Franklin’s Charge and the BOFT began discussions with the Lovells, who have a strong sense of the history of the land, having grown up in Franklin. “I was born and raised in Frank- lin on ground many believe should have been a national park,” said Reid Lovell. He recalled when visitors came to town and had to envision what happened, not walk on ground where it transpired. “My great-grandfather, who fought here, and my parents would be proud of what we are doing here today,” he said at the press conference. Franklin Alderman Michael Skinner, left, and Franklin Charge Board The Franklin Board of Mayor member Ernie Bacon attended the Franklin press conference. and Aldermen voted unanimously in February to fund part of the funding and the most complex, preservation group in Franklin who remaining debt on the Lovell according to Bibb. for years advocated the possibility property purchase. The previously “With help from city officials, the of a battleground park, attended the saved plots, valued at $6.8 million, Civil War Trust and others at the signing of official documents and are being transferred to the city in ABPP, we got it done,” Bibb noted. “have been with us every step,” said exchange for $1.08 million to be Other funding came from private do- Bibb. paid by the city on a non-interest nors including local Civil War Trust The site interpretation work will basis over seven years. board member Grainger, who has be led by representatives of the Ten- These funds will cover the balance been involved with other national nessee Civil War National Heritage now bridged by a local bank and will preservation efforts. Franklin Charge leader Julian Bibb speaks at the Lovell purchase be derived from the city’s hotel-mo- Representatives of Save the Frank- H Franklin closing. (Gregory L. Wade photos) tel tax. Local banker Chuck Isaacs lin Battlefield, the oldest battlefield . see page 4 was instrumental in working out the loans. All the city funds are allotted as well as a donation of $25,000 Inside this issue: by his employer, First Farmers and Merchants Bank. 23 – Black Powder, White Smoke 11 – The Source A $1.3 million grant from the 24 – Book Reviews 8 – Through The Lens National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program 33 – Critics Corner 10 – Treasures From The Museum (ABPP) was a major piece of the 36 – Events Section 14 – The Watchdog 24 Civil War News April 2016 – REVIEWS OF CIVIL WAR BOOKS – Guelzo On Emancipation, Its Relevance Kansas Frontier Guard Was First To Defend Washington Redeeming the Great Emanci- as the “Great Emancipator” has been committed to ending slavery. Care- pator. By Allen G. Guelzo. Illus- under attack by historians and others fully choosing his words, Guelzo The 116: The True Story of trated, photos, notes, index, 208 pp., who view his proclamations as contextualizes Lincoln’s statements Abraham Lincoln’s Lost Guard. 2016, Harvard, www.hup.harvard. political gamesmanship. and character. By James P. Muehlberger. Illustrat- even more on the relationship of Lin- edu, $22.95. Allen Guelzo effectively refutes He adds that the “problem with ed, photos, map, timeline, bibliog- coln and Lane. Lane was quite influ- these allegations and places them our apprehension of Lincoln’s anti- raphy, appendices, notes, index, 446 ential in Lincoln’s political life. in a contemporary framework. slavery is that he seems to have gone pp., Ankerwycke, www.shopaba.org, The remaining 200-plus pages con- He revives the importance of the about it in what we would regard as $24.95. tain detailed and interesting biogra- Emancipation Proclamation and a bafflingly obtuse fashion.” This phies of the unit members and their Lincoln’s reputation as an anti- is because Lincoln did not initially Just when you think that everything fates before, during and after the war. slavery advocate. view slavery as primarily a racial is- has been written about Abraham Lin- This is a well-written and informa- While noting Lincoln’s flaws, sue – but one that was political and coln, another obscure subject comes tive history of an obscure unit and a including his belief that recently economic. to light. This is the history of first relatively unknown aspect of the war. freed blacks were unprepared for Second, Guelzo argues that Lin- responders, The Frontier Guards, a It provides much information on Lin- full citizenship, Guelzo explores the coln lacked racial empathy because group of Kansas veterans who came coln’s early-war political aspirations. myths surrounding his proclama- he was “the wrong man for expres- to the aid of Abraham Lincoln and I thoroughly enjoyed this book and tion. He discusses the relevance of sions of empathy on almost any sub- defended the capital from Confeder- believe it deserves a spot on your self-emancipation and congressional ject.” Many, including myself, will ate attack in the earliest stages of the book shelf. I highly recommend it. attempts to take the lead on emanci- disagree with this. Civil War. pation away from Lincoln. Addressing the controversy sur- This book lucidly describes the Reviewer Joseph A. Truglio is Guelzo even explores the issue of rounding demands for reparations unit’s history and the activities of president and business agent for reparations for slavery. After reading for slaves’ descendants, Guelzo its leader, James Lane of Kansas. It a motion picture film technicians this book (and Holzer’s Emancipat- states that “reparations” were in fact details their performance in “Bleed- local union and a lifelong student ing Lincoln), no one will be able to paid by the gigantic cost of the Civil ing Kansas” and the efforts made to of the Civil War. His memberships rationally deny Lincoln’s anti-slav- War in death, suffering and dollars. deceive the Confederacy into not at- include the Lincoln Group of New ery sincerity.