Field Trip to the Old South

posted by mlx

1 decade 7 years 3 weeks ago • 4,244 views

Below are some pictures I took on a recent field trip with my daughter's high school literature class to Franklin, Tennessee. A local newspaper reporter tagged along and wrote a very nice piece:

In 1866, John and Carrie McGavock created a monument to the soldiers who died at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee. They moved to a cemetery on their plantation nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers who died during the five-hour battle on Nov. 30, 1864 . Today, rows of limestone-marked graves rest within sight of the Carnton home where many of those soldiers died.

The Confederate army took over the Carnton Plantation as a hospital, and Carrie McGavock helped nurse the soldiers. That story and the McGavocks are real, but "The Widow of the South," set at Carnton, is a novel that a group of Hazel Green High School students have read in their Literary Explorations course.

It was an awesome trip. We had all read the book, a best-selling historical fiction title about the Battle of Franklin and Carrie McGavock. The author did the tour - he wrote the book to help fund the restoration of the house...and it is definitely immaculately restored. It's also (supposedly) one of the ten most haunted places in the country. If you're into Southern architecture or history it's defintely a trip to make. Read the book first...and watch out for the Confederate general who can sometimes be seen pacing the back upper porch!

Carnton Plantation

Carnton Back Porch

McGavock Living Room, done in the Greek Revival style of the period.

McGavock Military Cemetary. We were there the week of Veteran's day, very touching.

Widow of the South Author Robert Hicks on the Back Porch at Carnton

These are bullet holes made during the Battle of Franklin in an outbuilding behind Carter House, the Union headquarters in Franklin. It was on the north Side of the battle, Carnton on the South.

Many original family items are preserved at both Carnton and Carter House. The tour guides told the stories of the families that lived there during and after the battle. Chilling stuff.