For several years, I have we wanted to tour the historic Carter House in Franklin, Tennessee, located about 20 minutes south of Nashville, and we finally go around to visiting for my birthday. It’s an incredible place, not because of the size or grandeur of the home, but because of what happened there almost 160 years ago.
The house was built by a man named Fountain Branch Carter, who was born in 1797. He and his wife, who passed away in 1852 at the age of 46, grew the farm from 19 acres to nearly 300 acres. They had 12 children, although only eight survived until adulthood. By the time the Civil War broke out, most of the kids had a moved away to start their own families.
On November 30, 1864, the Battle of Franklin (technically the Second Battle of Franklin) took place on the Carter Farm. By that point, the house was bursting at the seams, as some of the daughters whose husbands were fighting in the war had returned to the farm with their children temporarily. The Carter family, as well as their slaves and a family from across the street (whose house, the Lotz House, still stands today) took refuge in the Carters’ cellar for 17 hours, as the battle raged around them.
The battle that took place around Carter Farm resulted in nearly 9,000 casualties. The hand-to-hand fighting was some of the worst in the war and occurred right next to the house, within earshot of the civilians huddled in the cellar.
On the tour, you can see bullet holes in the sides of the house and other buildings on the property. There is also bullet damage to some of the furniture inside the house. One might wonder why the family didn’t repair the bullet holes after the war. The tour guide explained that when slavery ended, the Carters were nearly broke.
My favorite part of the tour was the view from inside the farm office. How incredible is it that this wooden building has survived 157 years?
My second favorite part of the tour may seem small and insignificant, but it really helped bring the story to life. These contraptions, which sit outside the house and all the outbuildings, were used to clean the mud off one’s boots before going inside. Through pictures, historians were able to confirm that they were there on the day of the battle. These tiny pieces of metal sure have been through a lot!
Your commentary didn’t say if this farm belonged to a family who fought for the north or the south. I suspect south, if they had slaves. Tennessee was a divided state and part was sympathetic with the south, part with the north. Who won the Carter Farm battle? If the north had won, wouldn’t they have seized the property or burnt it? This battle happened near the end of the war so maybe that made a difference. BTW, that’s not a “contraption” that’s a boot scraper, quite common outside older homes even into the 20th century. Hadn’t you seen one before that tour?
The battle was won by the North, although the tour guide mentioned that if a few small factors had been different, the South could have be victorious. The battle was a major turning point in the war because it made it quite clear that the North was ahead. The Carters were Confederates, as were most people in Middle Tennessee. Although Tennessee was a Confederate State, and West and Middle Tennessee residents were generally sympathetic with the South, there were a lot of Union supporters in East Tennessee. The guide said that not everyone who fought for the Confederacy was a die-hard Confederate. A lot of men living in the South were torn because they felt a pull between their love for America and the duty they felt to fight alongside their neighbors. The tour guide was phenomenal and very pro-America. He did a great job not just explaining the battle, but sharing the deeper aspects of what was going on at the time.
This reply and the whole blog entry are so interesting. The pictures of the bullet holes are so moving. I knew nothing about the Carter house. You have made the history come alive. Thank you.
What does that mean to you, “pro-America”? Does it mean that all men are equal and slavery was wrong, or that the original colonists who thought slaves were less than human were correct? Because to me, it seems that there are a great many different places that are less sympathetic to the confederacy that would be more historically accurate to visit. Especially in these times when it’s more important than ever to understand the tragedy that slavery was and how much it impacted the black culture of today.
To me, pro-America in reference to the Civil War era means pro-Union, anti-slavery, pro-unification of the states, and pro-patriotism. All the plantation tours we have been on in Nashville seek to expose the evils of slavery, and they do a phenomenal job at telling the stories and perspectives of ALL the people who lived there, both slaves and free. I completely agree with you on how important it is to understand the tragedy that slavery was and how much it impacted the black culture of today. After all, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps you should do a plantation tour in Nashville sometime. I think you would be pleasantly surprised. 🙂
I did want to clear something up though, because it sounds like you might be a tad confused on the status of the state of Tennessee. We are once again part of the United States of America. Have been for almost 160 years. The end of the Civil War brought about the end of the confederacy, so I’m not sure why you think Tennessee is somehow still “sympathetic to the confederacy.” Our historic homes and plantations here in Nashville are world-renowned. They would not stay in business if they were anti-America.
It’s pretty easy to see that there are still those who are sympathetic to the confederacy, and not just in Tennessee. Not saying your tour guide was, but haven’t you seen that flag? I recall seeing it on a certain TV show you’re quite familiar with.
When I was a kid, I had the privilege of meeting a woman (over 100 years old) who had been born into slavery. Talk about a history lesson. I wish she were still here to talk to us all today.
Wow, that would be an incredible history lesson for sure! When we visited Memphis, we toured some of the Civil Rights sites and met Vera Harris, who had lived a few doors down from the MLK parsonage since MLK resided there. Her husband was a Tuskegee airman, and they housed freedom riders in their home. It was an amazing experience just to talk to her.
To reply to your comment about assumptions about TN, no, I a, aware that many people there are against slavery/confederacy. I just worry about romanticizing plantations in today’s era and not truly understanding the detrimental effect of slavery, for instance focusing on the plantation owners’ experience during the battle and not the slaves’. I am glad to hear it was a comprehensive experience, and I hope that you may also be able to experience a part of the civil rights history’s past to write about as well, for example.
https://anashvillewife.com/our-encounter-with-mlk/
I hadn’t seen your MLK post from 2017, thank you for highlighting it! I am glad to see that you value all kinds of history. Sorry about asking the pro-America question, but that is a hot button recently in this country and it is clear not all those with ‘Christian values’ have their morals in the right place. ; )
No worries. 🙂 We really enjoyed our time in Montgomery and would love to visit other Civil Rights sites in the future. 🙂
Ellie said the “contraptions” were for scraping mud off boots.
This is so cool, Thanks for sharing the pictures and the history about this house! I’ve wanted to go to Nashville, Tn before and know I have a reason to go tour this house too!! And then stop by and meet you 😊 Thanks for sharing ❤
Gabrielle
Sounds great, Gabrielle! 🙂
Thanks for the tour! Seeing all those bullet holes is overwhelming to imagine what went on there that fateful day. Did you get to see the cellar where they huddled in? I was looking for a pic of that…If I was there that day I would’ve been so scared in there during the battle that some men could open the door and shoot in there or try to hide in there. Maybe they had a way they could bolt it from the inside. Did they address that on your tour?
Hi Candi! Sadly, we were not allowed to take photos inside the house, but we did go into the cellar. They had chairs with names of all the people who were huddled inside on that day, and the tour guide shared some of their quotes about the experience. At some point during the battle, soldiers did try to enter the cellar, but Fountain Branch was armed and was able to keep them at bay. Apparently they used rope to cover the windows and prevent bullets from coming inside. I agree, it must have been terrifying!
Thanks for sharing the pictures. I have never heard of the Carter House tell know.
Thank you so much for sharing – so interesting
Thank you Ellie for sharing these pictures. I had never heard of The Carter House before. Thank you for the explaining what that contraption was. I’ve never seen one of those before. I think I could use one of those outside my house!😀
Especially on those days when monsoons hit and we have to walk in the mud. We are rural so our little country roads get quite muddy.
LOL! I wonder if you could find one at an antique shop?
You could always just buy one on Amazon.
I never saw a old boot scraper like this one, thank you for the pic. I think they still make boot scrapers,but they look different.🙂
Ellie, you did a wonderful job of explaining the historical significance of the battle. We hear about Bull Run and Gettysburg. I picture battlefields, but never imagined how close to home these battles could be. We do need historical stories like this one to understand how brutal the Civil War was. We need to learn from the hugely unjust mistakes that were made. To erase that past and not face the reality of it, would help nothing. Thank you for bringing it alive for all of us. Thank you as well for your stance on unity and the great examples you used to back that up!