Franklin, Tennessee

The town of Franklin was the scene of a bloody Civil War battle on November 30, 1864.  On a walking tour of the area it was discovered that cannon balls fell on top of houses, went through the roof, sometimes through the flooring on the second floor, and landed on the first floor creating a large dent in the wooden flooring which still exists today.  Many private homes, as well as the Episcopal church and the Masonic Temple, were used as field hospitals.  The house of Fountain Branch Carter, a wealthy Franklin citizen, was located just inside the Federal (Union) defensive perimeter.  The fighting in his yard was bloody and savage, with bodies piled like cord wood in the end.  The battle lasted only five hours but resulted in some 9500 casualties: 2000 dead, 6500 wounded and some 1000 missing.  This is the back of two outbuildings on the Carter premises, showing bullet damage:

Across the street from the Carters, a family named Lotz (rhymes with "moats") had nowhere to hide in their home, so they went to the Carter house and stayed in their basement along with the Carters and several others for the duration of the siege.  The Lotz house was heavily damaged and it took more than four years to repair until the family could live in it again.  Eventually the Lotz family moved to California, Mr. Lotz being unable to build his furniture making business back to the point where it could support his family.

After the