Walking the Ground for the Franklin 160th

Trace Adkins is a mountain of a man, and as stoic as a mountain. He’s low-key and friendly, but when he stands by the cannons near the Carter Cotton Gin, he surveys the ground with eyes that seem to look across 160 years.

Trace has joined us at Franklin for a short series of videos for the American Battlefield Trust to commemorate the battle of Franklin’s 160th anniversary. Garry Adelman and I are there as hosts, joined by Eric Jacobson and Joe Ricci from the Battle of Franklin Trust. BOFT’s curator, Bailey Kuyat, has brought out a few artifacts from the battle to show off. Trace, a huge proponent of battlefield preservation—“huge” in both senses of the word—has come by to hang out and share his deep gravel-voiced observations.

Trace had an ancestor, Thomas D. Williams, who fought in the 15th Mississippi. After leaving the site of the Cotton Gin, Eric and Joe take us to a hidden patch of ground tucked off Meadowlawn Drive where the 15th Mississippi fought. Adams Street runs perpendicular to Meadowlawn, on the far side of some houses, and it was in this crook of ground between the streets that Confederate Brig. Gen. John Adams was killed as his men—the Mississippians among them—tried to assault the Federal lines. Legend had it that Adams, on horseback, died atop the works themselves, although Eric tells us that it was more likely Adams was shot as his horse approached the line and the forward momentum carried him and the general’s dead body to the works.

A Civil War Trails sign, alone in the middle of the field, tells the story. The plot of ground is a hidden gem in the BOFT’s holdings. Garry and I are both amazed, and Trace­ is visibly moved by the chance to walk for the first time in his ancestor’s footsteps on this ground. (See the American Battlefield Trust video here.)

We visit Carnton on the eastern flank of the battlefield. We visit the spot where Wagner’s brigade deployed in front of the Federal line as advanced eyes and ears—but didn’t pull out in time to avoid getting overrun by the Confederate frontal assault. We visit the grounds of the Carter House. Among the cool stuff Bailey shares is a Henry Repeating Rifle used near the Carter Cotton Gin and a model replica of the Cotton Gin made of wood from the gin itself.

Franklin is such a storied battlefield that the tragic romance of the battle often overshadows the history. I asked Trace how we might all reconcile that, but he said he didn’t think it needed reconciled. The story could be a tragedy and a history at the same time—terms that only add to the Shakespearean nature of the battle, really. The stakes are so high, yet the story is so human.

Eric has a special talent for articulating those sweeping themes and stakes. He’s an incredibly talented interpreter who always tethers answers back to the “why.” He rattles off the who, what, where, when, and how with ease, but it’s those deeper whys that always bring out his most powerful insights. He reminds us why the Civil War, and the story of Franklin specifically, still matter to us today. (I don’t want to spoil the videos for you, so I’ll wait until the Trust releases them so you can listen for yourself.)

The battlefield reclamation the BOFT and its allies have done at Franklin is nothing short of incredible. I almost use the word “miraculous,” but really, it’s just the hard work, dedication, and passion of people all across the country who’ve come together to scratch back a piece of history that had been paved over and turned into trip malls and pizza shops. The miracle is you.

For those reasons, I have loved every chance I’ve had to visit Franklin. It’s a chance to see history come back to life. I get to walk the ground with some incredible historians who inspire me with their work and words. And on this trip, it was the chance to be reminded that—celebrities and Civil War soldiers alike—we can discover much in common through our shared explorations of the past.