Battle of Franklin…The Carter House

We decided to take a little R & R after all the medical test Mike went through this past week.  His visit with the doctor resulted in his going through some “lets eliminate this possibility” tests.  So Wednesday he undertook a Nuclear Stress Test along with an Eco cardiogram.  This along with several vials of blood and an EKG kept us busy.  We are hopeful that these test will show that Mike indeed has a heart!!  We also are hopeful that if anything stood out they would have flagged us back immediately.  With this in mind we are going on the “no news is good news” concept until we hear the exact results.
We headed north.  If only, if only….we could head far enough north to escape the heat that has its tight grip on the south.   A trip of this length is not in the cards for us at this time.  Perhaps next summer we can head for cooler temps.
                             
                             
Saturday we decided to explore The Carter House in Franklin, Tennessee.  The Carter house was owned by Fountain Branch Carter and his wife Mary.  They began their life in this home in 1830 and went on to have 12 children of which only 7 survived.  He farmed his 288 acres producing corn, wheat and hogs.  He also ran a cotton gin and with this he became a very wealthy man with a net worth of over $62,000  ($1.6 million in today’s terms).  Awww….life was good!
                           
                           
Our tour guide wanted to tell the story of the Battle of Franklin through the eyes of how the Civil War impacted this one family.  All was good…. Until the beginning of the Civil War but at that time few thought the war would last more than a few months and it was miles and miles away from the home of Fountain Branch and his family.  But this war transcended those miles when his three sons decided to join the Confederate Army and his four girls and himself stayed loyal to the Federals…..thus dividing the Carter family. 
                              
                           
The war came to Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864 at 4 p.m. and lasted a horrible five hours with the Carter House being in the middle of the battlefield.
                            
                             
When the fighting ended 10,000 were killed, wounded or missing.  One including Tod Carter who was shot nine times and died two days later.  It is hard to say what Fountain Branch’s worth was after the war but he lost everything he owned except for his house and 19 acres.  On that eventful evening of November 30, 1864 the small community of Franklin, Tennessee was changed forever. 
www.carnton.org   This link will take you to information on the entire Battle of Franklin including the Carter House.
                              
History is an awesome thing.  It can teach us of our past and help us shape our future.