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Franklin in Williamson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Civil War Franklin

Women's Experience

 
 
Civil War Franklin Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, July 18, 2018
1. Civil War Franklin Marker
Inscription. According to a Nashville newspaper, by 1863 the ravages of war had made once-prosperous Franklin "but the ruin of its former greatness. Desolation and decay have passed over it." The Union occupation in the spring of 1863 was followed by a devastating battle on November 30, 1864. The women of Franklin kept family and community together as best they could during these desperate times.

Sarah Ewing Sims Carter Gaut, who lived on 3rd Avenue North, was a devoted secessionist and spy despite being a widow with five children. Teenager Fannie Courtney supported the Union occupiers, and her pro-Confederate neighbors ostracized her.

Mariah Reddick, a McGavock family slave, was sent south with other slaves to prevent their escaping to approaching Federal soldiers. She returned after the war, lived downtown, and remained close to the McGavocks. She died in 1922 and is buried at Toussaint L'Ouverture Cemetery.

Matilda Lotz took refuge in the Fountain Branch Carter house basement with her parents and siblings as the Battle of Franklin raged outside. The emerged afterward to find thousands of dead and wounded soldiers lying thick across the landscape. After the Lotz family moved to California in 1870, Matilda Lotz became a noted artist and traveled to Europe.

Carrie Winder McGavock cared for hundreds of Confederate wounded

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after the battle, as her plantation home, Carnton became a field hospital. In 1855 she and her husband John McGavock established the private Confederate cemetery adjacent to their family plot. McGavock cared for the cemetery until her death in 1905.

(photo captions, left to right:)
Sarah Ewing Sims Carter Gaut
Courtesy Tennessee Portrait Projects

Fannie Courtney
Heritage Foundation at Franklin and Williamson County

Unidentified African American woman
Library of Congress

Carrie Winder McGavock
Courtesy Carnton Plantation

 
Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansWar, US CivilWomen. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 30, 1864.
 
Location. 35° 54.244′ N, 86° 51.495′ W. Marker is in Franklin, Tennessee, in Williamson County. Marker is on 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Franklin TN 37064, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A different marker also named Civil War Franklin (here, next to this marker); The McGavock Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Maj. Gen. William W. Loring's Division

Civil War Franklin Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, July 18, 2018
2. Civil War Franklin Marker
(within shouting distance of this marker); The Final Campaign 1864 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Battle of Franklin (about 300 feet away); Hood's Retreat (about 300 feet away); Becoming the Front Line 1862 (about 300 feet away); A Crucial War Zone 1863 (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Franklin.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 19, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 19, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 410 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on July 19, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024