Protecting Our Historic Resources

Protecting Our Historic Resources. Winstead Hill and The Battle of Franklin. , Winstead Hill is historically rooted to the City of Franklin due to a significant confrontation during the Civil War. The crest of Winstead Hill rises approximately 200 feet above downtown Franklin and is located two miles to the south. Because of its exceptional location and vantage from the south, the hill served as a command and observation post for the Confederate armies during the Battle of Franklin in 1864., It was after General William T. Sherman sacked Atlanta in September of 1864 that Confederate General John Hood Bell led the Army of Tennessee towards the middle Tennessee area with intentions to join Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia. While Hood was camped near this site south of Franklin, Maj. General John M. Schofield slipped Union troops past Confederate forces during the night, joining a well supplied Fort Granger on the north banks of the Harpeth River., In a (fit?) of (rage?) and against the advice of his subordinate generals, Gen. Hood gathered the Army of Tennessee’s 20,000 soldiers for an attack upon the Union camp beginning in mid afternoon. Observing from the vantage point atop Winstead Hill, Gen. Hood witnessed 13 assaults beginning at 4:00pm and finally ending near 1:00am in the morning. Union troops withdrew across the Harpeth River and retreated towards Nashville. Hood found his revenge in victory, but at an extreme price., Although the Union troops retreated in defeat at this battle, the results of this confrontation were anything but a victory for the Confederacy. The Army of Tennessee lost nearly a third of its forces as Gen. Hood (sacrificed?) 6,261 wounded and killed soldiers. Gen. Schofield’s troops sustained only 2,326 fatalities out of 22,000 soldiers. Hood also lost 15 allied generals in the battle of Franklin, including 8 wounded, 6 killed and 1 taken captive. The battle signaled the end of hope for the Confederate Armies to halt Sherman’s march through Georgia. The Battle of Franklin was a turning point in the Civil War, as a substantive threat to the security (of) Washington D.C. vanished in this loss of Confederate manpower. The Battle of Nashville two weeks later culminated (in) the loss of hope for the South., Inset , Carnton Plantation , The Carnton Plantation house was built by Randall McGavock in 1825 and was once referred to as the McGavock House. This Greek revival style house consists of more than 20 rooms and extensive gardens on its adjacent grounds. Mrs. Andrew Jackson helped Randal McGavock’s wife develop and maintain the gardens while exchanging favorite plant species., But during the Battle of Franklin, the Carnation Plantation was occupied by Union troops. Wounded soldiers were often carried to the house and grounds for potential medical care, but many were left there to die as troops advanced and retreated. After the war, Colonel John McGavock, Randall McGavock’s son, donated two acres of the site as a Confederate cemetery, which can still be visited today along with the house and the grounds., Inset , Carter House , The Carter House was built in 1830 as a red brick, two story colonial style home with columns around. During the bloody Battle of Franklin the home was used as a Union command. The Carter house and its grounds saw heavy combat and even hand to hand fighting on November 30, 1864., The Carter House property is now maintained as a historic site open to the public. The site, along with an adjoining museum, displays a wide range of artifacts and information about the Battle of Franklin and the civil war era in Franklin.