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

Fort Granger

Franklin Stronghold

— Hood's Campaign —

 
 
Fort Granger Marker image. Click for full size.
May 11, 2020
1. Fort Granger Marker
Inscription. In September 1864, after Union Gen. William T. Sherman defeated Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood at Atlanta, Hood led the Army of Tennessee northwest against Sherman’s supply lines. Rather than contest Sherman’s “March to the Sea,” Hood moved north into Tennessee. Gen. John M. Schofield, detached from Sherman’s army, delayed hood at Columbia and Spring Hill before falling back to Franklin. The bloodbath here on November 30 crippled the Confederates, but they followed Schofield to the outskirts of Nashville and Union Gen. George H. Thomas’s strong defenses. Hood’s campaign ended when Thomas crushed his army on December 15-16.

Capt. Giles J. Cockerill, Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, commanded four 3-inch rifled cannon in Fort Granger on the hill in front of your during the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. Cockerill’s guns fired 163 rounds and inflicted serious losses among the Confederates behind you and across the Harpeth River. Most of the shells fell on Gen. A. P. Stewart’s Corps, which formed the right wing of the attacking Confederate line, as it marched toward the Union defenses. Many Confederates later recounted the awful fire that poured into them from the fort across the river.

Fort Granger, named for Union Gen. Gordon Granger, was an impressive post. After United States forces captured
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Nashville early in 1862, they occupied Franklin within a few weeks. The planning and construction of a new fort north of the Harpeth River atop Figuers Bluff, adjacent to the railroad to Nashville, began a few months later. When completed, its interior encompassed almost 275,000 square feet. By early in 1863, it bristled with artillery, and several thousand troops were stationed there. Within a month, however, most of the Federal troops posted at Fort Granger were ordered east to join Gen. William S. Rosecrans’s army as it moved south. From that time until the Battle of Franklin, only a small garrison occupied the fort. The Federals hanged two Confederate spies there on June 9, 1863.

Picture captions:
Execution of Confederate spies, Fort Granger, Courtesy Williamson County Historical Society
Gen. Gordon Granger, Courtesy Library of Congress
Schematic of Fort Granger, Courtesy The Heritage Foundation
 
Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and CastlesWar, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1942.
 
Location. 35° 55.321′ N, 86° 51.743′ W. Marker is in Franklin, Tennessee, in Williamson
Fort Granger Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Dover, September 26, 2010
2. Fort Granger Marker
County. Marker can be reached from Murfreesboro Road. Marker is in Pinkerton Park, near the foot bridge. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 405 Murfreesboro Rd, 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. General Granger and Emancipation (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Fort Granger (here, next to this marker); Ewingville / Alexander Ewing (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Franklin Railroad Depot (about 700 feet away); The Rainey House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Railroad Section Foreman's House / Pioneers' Corner (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Fort Granger (approx. ¼ mile away); Andrew C. Vaughn House (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Franklin.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2011, by Michael Dover of Ellerslie, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,519 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on May 11, 2020.   2. submitted on February 6, 2011, by Michael Dover of Ellerslie, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024