Pltilt2tms0n Countg ^tstorical PuMtcatton ^0. 21 i—■« >d N :v \ L?' <1 \ Xm V I r^A wKum ^1 w L s H i 0*^ \ - V^ \\ \ cioa^ V .• -• * ...' ^ ^ >0 r o i^z> cr<? spring 1990 "Miamson Goiinty Historical Sodety^ 1^ PublicaUmSpring Number 1990 21 Published by Williamson County HistoricalSociety Franklin, Tennessee 1990 Williamson County Historical Society Publication Number 21 Spring 1990 Published by Williamson County Historical Society Editors Richard Warwick Ed Manning i Officers President Robert Hicks 1 First Vice President Gert Uthman Second Vice President Rebehca Clark Recording Secretary Evelyn Lester Corresponding Secretary Marjorie Hales Treasurer Herman Major The Williamson County Historical Society Journal is sent to all members of the Williamson County Historical Society. The annual membership dues are twelve dollars for an individual and fifteen dollars for a family. This includes this publication and a frequent NEWSLETTER to all members. Table of Contents i Statement from the Editors a Dedication Hi The Carter House Dr. Rosalie Carter iv Tod Carter, Home AtLast Dr. Rosalie Carter V Photographs: Hood's Headquarters Carter House ^951) James A. Britt 1 Mary Virginia Nichols Britt James A Britt Newspaper Articles from the Scrapbook of Mary Nichols Britt: 3 Brave Sam Davis 5 Confederate Cemetery 7 Franklin Battlefield 13 Gea Otho F. Strahl 16 Just Before The Battle, Mother! 18 The Death of Cheatham 20 Speech by T. Patton Adams 32 Battle of Franklin Cletus Sickler Excerpts from Bright Skies and Dark Shadows Henry M. Field, D. D. Excerpts from Battles and Sketches ofthe Army ofTennessee Bromfield L Ridley Contributors Statementfr om the Editors If you ate a Civil War enthusiast, this issue of Journal should be a welcome addition to your collectioa With the Battle of Franklin re-enactment and Tod Carter's 150th birthday celebration, I thought it appropriate to include as much information on the "Great Unpleasantness" as I could gather. I would like to recognize the following society members for sharing their family papers and personal libraries: Jim Britt, a Carter descendant, for making available an 1890's saapbook kept by his mother, Mrs. Mary Nichols Britt, and photographs he took in the 1950's. Dr.Rosalie Carter for providing her Grandfather Carter's copy of Br^ht Skies and Dark Shadows, by Dr. H. M. Fidds. Dr.aiod Mis.William Daii>y for allowing the rare Batdes and Sketches ofthe Arrny of Tennessee, by Bromfidd Ridley, to be copied Cldus Sidder, writer for The Tennessean, and Chuck Issacs, president of the re- enactment, for documenting the tremendous amount of work necessary for a successful re-enactmenL Many thanks to the contributors for taking the time to share thdr knowledge and love of Williamson County. I would personaJly See to thank Ed Manning for his computer skills. Hunter Kay for proofreading, and Vance Little for his guidance and encouragement —Richard Warwick Although a complete novice in the editing business, I was recruited by Rick Warwick to try to spmce up this publication a bit I hope I have been somewhat successful, but I fear many of you find errors herein If so, the blame rests with yours truly. The credit for the beautiful type and layout goes to Ellen Gibbons, who gradously donated her time and considerable talent with a Macintosh computer. —Ed Manning,Jr. -I- f Dedication The 1990Journal is dedicated to the Fountain Branch Carter family. Their suffering and endurance exemplifies the loss and strength of many Williamson County families during 1861-1865. Fountain Branch Carter gave three sons to the Confederate Army: Lt. Col. Moscow Branch Carter, Capt. Tod Carter, Pvt. Francis Watkins Carter, all of whom served in the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment, C.S.A. Fountain Branch Carter's descendants are still active in Williamson County. We would like to honor Dr. Rosalie Carter, Mrs. Alma Short, and Mr. Jim Britt, fellow society members, with this dedication. Non-society members include Corine Carter Ward, Carter Conway, Nan Conway, and Jesse Short, III. mk Moscow Carter Theodrlck Carter Francis Carter -It- in m ■- .Ai til ill ■ The Carter House The Caiter House remembers yet The tragic day none can foige^ Hiat day when all the fields around Became a blood-stained battle ground It spends long hours in reverie, Recalling scenes that used to be; In sighing winds it often hears The ebbing life of yesteryears. November twilights gather fast; Ghost-soldiers then go marching past, Some clad in Blue, some wearing Gray, As if to fi^t another day. At this old house which once could tell Of minie ball and Rebel yell. We pause to pray - because we should. For peace, and love, and brotherhood. © Rosalie Caiter -MZ- ■ ■ a March 24,1840-December2,1864 Tod Carter - Home At Last "I am almost home! Come with me, boys!" They could hear Tod shout above the noise Of the cannons' boom, and shrieking shells. The exploding bombs, and Rebel yells! The Battle raged until near midnight; The women prayed. By the dawn's faint light They found him lying among the dead; He was wounded in the charge he led. He was carried through the garden gate. While they sobbed in words, compassionate, "Our sad hearts ached as the long years passed. Now our brother has come home at last!" © Rosalie Carter -tu- s ^ v.. ^•^:Tvts w iiiJ 11 m m *■ 'S iss ii »i.^ m iwisiiSi^siaiiii^iSi«iiiiiiiii • " s ^■' ■V ^:,V:':K''7S«S m General Hood's Headquarters on Winstead Hill taken by Jim Britt in 1951. ■ Si® .• .-Fi > W Carter House with porch and dormers that were added by Mrs. Robbie Hunter UUathome around 1915. Photograph taken by Jim Britt in 1951. -V- Mary Virginia Nichols Britt (1872-1954) by James A. Britt At the request of the society, I am pleased to offer a brief biography of my mother, Mary Virginia Nichols Britt, and an account of her involvement in the preservation of the Carter House. A great-granddaughter of Fountain Branch Carter, Mother was born in Franklin on Carter property in 1872. Mary Carter, one of F. B.'s daughters, married Daniel McPhail, and their daughter, Alice Adelaide, was my grandmother. In 1870, Alice Adelaide married George Searight Nichols. Nichols had been a member of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry. Nichol's jaw was shattered and an eye was shot out in battle, and he wore an eye patch and beard for the rest of his life. As a boy dressed in little Confederate "uniform", I went with him to many Confederate reunions. He taught Mother and me a great deal of history.... Mother graduated from the Franklin Female Academy, where she studied art. The pastel portrait of her which stands in the Carter Museum was done by her art teacher. The replica of the Seal of the Confederacy also hangs in the museum, given in honor of her by a grateful viewer. In 1898, she married my father, James A. Britt, who became a successful businessman with homes in Franklin and Nashville. In 1912, when he was 36 and I was five, he died suddenly. We then moved permanently to Franklin. Over the years. Mother collected so much historical and genealogical data that people constantly sought her for information on their families. Mother's knowledge of history came of family tradition. Her mother Alice often told how, as a small child, she hid in the Carter House cellar with the family during the Battle of Franklin. She told of her mother Mary's going out in the dark to help find Tod Carter (Grandmother's uncle). His horse was lying on top of him, and had to be pried off before Tod could be brought inside, unconscious and soon to die. We heard many other stories from grandparents Alice and G. S. Nichols during their long lives. The Carter heirs sold the Carter House around the turn of the century and it deteriorated through later use as rental property. But when Mother saw visitors looking it over, she'd tell them all about it. She usually gave them a minie ball as a souvenir from the bushel basket full my brother and I had -1- picked up off our lawn! The Carter House was in danger of demolition in the 1930's and '40's. As other family members weren't interested in saving it, Mother took on the project singlehandedly. Thanks to her tireless efforts, and the help of Senator Tyson, Representative Courtney, and others, the house was deeded to the state in 1951. The Franklin chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy equipped a room in the Carter House with chairs to hold their meetings and named it "The Mary Nichols Britt" in honor of her. Later the Carter House Association was organized. In 1961, the National Register of Historic Landmarks cited the Carter House as one of only four places of "major importance in American history" in the State of Tennessee. If she had lived to know of that honor, Mary Nichols Britt would have surely been pleased - but probably not surprised. -2- Brave Sam Danis His Execution in Pulaski by the Federals in 1863 Where He Got the Papers That Convicted Him Mr. Henry White, a prominent farmer of Giles County, living near Pulaski, is in the city visiting relatives, the families of the Hollins and the Benys, In a conversation with a Banner man, the subject of the hanging of brave Sam Davis in Pulaski, in 1863, by the federals was mentioned. Mr. White said: "You will remember that Sam Davis was quite a young confederate soldier and belonged to the First Tennessee Infantry, and when captured he was hanged as a spy because he had on his person important papers and accurate maps of the location of the federal army in this part of the country.