Displaying items by tag: Civil War

Tuesday, 08 November 2011 09:38

Battle of Franklin Trust Blue & Gray Days this weekend

Battle of Franklin Trust is proud to announce this year’s Blue & Gray Days, presented by Tennessee Commerce Bank.

Visitors can join Abe Lincoln along with other living history re-enactors on November 12-14. This very successful event is held at both Carnton Plantation and The Carter House and hosts visitors and historians from across the country.

Guests will have the rare opportunity to go back in time to the 1860’s and witness Civil War era artisans demonstrate 1860’s life. Visitors will witness soldier camp life including a blacksmith, flag and soldier presentation, weaver/spinner presentation, a cooking demo, cannon and clothing demos and also period sutlers.

Saturday November 12 - Sunday November 13

Guided house tours continue and will be open to the general public:
Saturday, November 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and
Sunday, November 13th from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Monday, November 14

Blue & Gray Days will be reserved for school field trips from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m on Monday, November 14.

Admission

Grounds Pass only is $5 at Carnton Plantation and $5 at The Carter House and will allow guests to enjoy the artisans and re-enactors.

Tour tickets which include a guided house tour and grounds admission.

$15 for adults.
$12 for seniors over 65.
$8 for children ages 6-12 are $8.
Free for children under 6 are free.

All proceeds fund historic preservation activities for the Battle of Franklin Trust.

Value Ticket

A Value Ticket is also available which includes guided tours of Carnton Plantation, The Carter House and the Lotz House for $30 which is a savings of $10.

Sponsors

Published in Local News

Tuesday, 11 October 2011 10:36

Battle of Franklin re-enactment this weekend

The Civil War comes back to life this weekend for the 147st anniversary of the Battle of Franklin with a re-enactment at Harlinsdale Farm Saturday and Sunday.

As the reputation of this event grows with the Civil War enthusiast, it will also provide an amazing educational experience for thousands of spectators each year. Attendees are encouraged to wear period clothing!

The event will feature: Civil War Soldier Encampments, Living History of Camp Life, Civil War Weapons (rifle & cannon) Demonstrations, Cavalry, Artillery & Infantry Displays, Lecture, Book Signings & Chaplain Service,
Battle Re-enactments on Saturday and Sunday.

The event will be open Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost is $5 per person with chldren under six free.

· Reenactments of the Battle of Franklin both days; 2pm SAT and 130pm on SUN

· Large area on park property for spectator parking, including specialized handi-capped parking area

· Last year’s two day event witnessed over 4000 spectators. Those attending this year encouraged to arrive early to allow for parking, visiting the Union and Confederate soldier camps, and taking in the various Civil War Period sutlers; selling wares available to soldiers of the time period.

· Several modern food vendors on-site

· Encourage spectators to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets to view battle reenactment

· This year’s battlefield to be twice the size and scope of the 2010 event

· Large presence of artillery, cavalry, and infantry, both Union & Confederate

· All Franklin City Park rules apply to include no alcohol sold or brought on-site

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

· 10:00am / Event site opens to the public
· 10:00am / US & CS camps open for the public to view soldier life up close
· 10:30am – 1:45pm / Activities Tent programs. Including presentations by individuals impersonating; General Robert E. Lee, Mrs. Robert E. Lee, Mrs. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and others. Presentation and discussion of Civil War surgical herbs, and, the role of artillery in the war.
· Keynote speaker: Eric Jacobson, Chief Operating Officer and Historian for the Battle of Franklin Trust and author of “For Cause & For Country” and the soon to be released, “Baptism of Fire”.
· 2:00pm – 3:00pm / Battle of Franklin Reenactment
· 3:00pm – 5:00pm / US & CS camps open to the public
· 5:00pm / Event closes to the public

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

· 11:00am / Event site opens to the public
· 11:00am / US & CS Camps open to the public to view soldier life up close
· 11:30am / Civil War period church service open to spectators at activity tent
· 1:30pm – 230pm / Battle of Franklin Reenactment
· 4:00pm / Event closes to the public

Published in Local News

Monday, 03 October 2011 11:35

Battle of Franklin re-enactment set for Oct. 15, 16

The 147th Civil War Re-enactment of the Battle of Franklin will occur Oct. 15-16 at Harlinsdale Farm, 239 Franklin Road, Franklin, TN 37064.

The Battle of Franklin is known as the bloodiest five hours of the American Civil War which is observing its 150th anniversary. This year's re-enactment will be twice the size of the 2010 event.

Civil War re-enactment with soldiers in traditional Civil War dress, encampments, sutlers (a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field), lectures and demonstrations will be held at the Park at Harlinsdale Farm.

· Event open to public; SAT – 10am to 5pm, and, SUN – 11am to 4pm

· Reenactments of the Battle of Franklin both days; 2pm SAT and 130pm on SUN

· Admission is $5 person per day with children age 6 and under admitted for free

· Large area on park property for spectator parking, including specialized handicapped parking area

· Last year’s two-day event witnessed over 4,000 spectators. Those attending this year encouraged to arrive early to allow for parking, visiting the Union and Confederate soldier camps, and taking in the various Civil War Period sutlers; selling wares available to soldiers of the time period.

· Several modern food vendors on-site

· Encourage spectators to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets to view battle reenactment

· This year’s battlefield to be twice the size and scope of the 2010 event

· Large presence of artillery, cavalry, and infantry, both Union & Confederate

· All Franklin City Park rules apply to include no alcohol sold or brought on-site

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

· 10:00am / Event site opens to the public
· 10:00am / US & CS camps open for the public to view soldier life up close
· 10:30am – 1:45pm / Activities Tent programs. Including presentations by individuals impersonating; General Robert E. Lee, Mrs. Robert E. Lee, Mrs. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and others. Presentation and discussion of Civil War surgical herbs, and, the role of artillery in the war.
· Keynote speaker: Eric Jacobson, Chief Operating Officer and Historian for the Battle of Franklin Trust and author of “For Cause & For Country” and the soon to be released, “Baptism of Fire”.
· 2:00pm – 3:00pm / Battle of Franklin Reenactment
· 3:00pm – 5:00pm / US & CS camps open to the public
· 5:00pm / Event closes to the public

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

· 11:00am / Event site opens to the public
· 11:00am / US & CS Camps open to the public to view soldier life up close
· 11:30am / Civil War period church service open to spectators at activity tent
· 1:30pm – 230pm / Battle of Franklin Reenactment
· 4:00pm / Event closes to the public

Published in Local News

Monday, 08 August 2011 10:07

Historical state newspaper digitalized, online

KNOXVILLE—Tennessee has now made its first contribution to a national electronic database of historical newspapers, thanks to a federal grant.

The Tennessee Digital Newspaper Project (TDNP) is a joint effort between the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), to digitize more than 100,000 pages of Tennessee’s microfilmed newspapers dating from 1836 to 1922. The NEH has funded similar projects in other states as it builds the national database.

A panel of historians, scholars, librarians, and genealogists has selected a range of newspaper titles from across Tennessee for inclusion in the project. The initial phase of the project focuses on the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

Issues of the Memphis Daily Appeal from 1857 to 1872 were scanned and added to the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America website. To view the paper, visit http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Access is free to the public.

Pages from the newspaper include:

Frontline dispatches from Civil War correspondents such as “SHADOW” and “DIXIE;”
News reports from the cotton industry, railroads, and riverboats; and
Advertisements for farm equipment, clothing, guns, real estate, or cure-all medicines such as “Braggs Arctic Liniment” and “Dr. Mott’s Chalybeate Pills.”

Additional historical Tennessee newspapers scheduled to be digitized include Brownlow’s Knoxville Whig, the Nashville Union and American, the Chattanooga Daily Rebel, the Athens Post, and the Clarksville Weekly Chronicle.

TSLA collects and preserves books and records of historical, documentary, and reference value and promotes library and archival development throughout the state. The NEH is an independent federal agency which supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities.

Published in Local News

Thursday, 02 June 2011 08:38

'Who built Fort Granger?' lecture at library

A noted Civil War historian will address one of the enduring questions for the great American conflict Wednesday, June 8, 6:30 p.m. at the Williamson County Public Library main office in Franklin.

Fort Granger is one of the best-preserved earthen fortifications in all of Tennessee. It was built during the Civil War, and was strategically used by the Federals from 1863 onward.

Due to the recent surfacing of a soldier's authentic letter, information, which was before only speculated or not known, is now verified.

Kraig McNutt is Director of the Center for the Study of the American Civil War and has been studying this seminal period for over 25 years. McNutt will entertain questions at the lecture.

Published in Local News

Friday, 01 April 2011 10:37

Census History: Civil War Sesquicentennial

Written by: Census Bureau History Staff

This month begins the sesquicentennial – the 150th anniversary – of the Civil War. The war began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter, near Charleston, SC.

Data collected by the US Census Bureau help paint a portrait of our nation during 1861. For example:

• The censuses of 1850 and 1860 asked questions about freed and escaped slaves, and revealed that more slaves were freed in 1860 than in 1850. In addition, the number of slaves who escaped from Mississippi, Missouri, and Virginia increased in 1860, compared to 1850.

• The 1860 Census, taken before the start of the Civil War, recorded nearly 4 million slaves in the nation.

• The 1890 Census counted over 1 million surviving Union soldiers, sailors, and marines, and 432,000 surviving Confederate soldiers and sailors.

Based on data from the 1860 census, this map was the Census Bureau's first attempt to map population density. It is a precursor to population density maps that have been produced since the 1870 census and in the Statistical Atlas, first published in 1874.

This Month in Census History

The U.S. Census Bureau conducted the 1930 Census on April 1, 1930. Until 1830, Census Day was in August. In 1920, the Census Bureau conducted the census on January 1 to more efficiently collect agricultural data. However, the 1929 Act authorizing the fifteenth census moved Census Day to April 1, where it remains today.

Did You Know?

Public Law 94-171, signed into law by President Ford in 1975, requires the U.S. Census Bureau to provide redistricting data to the states by April 1 of the year following the decennial census. The Census Bureau provides population counts for racial and ethnic groups and individuals of voting age. These data help states realign legislative districts to achieve equal representation in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

2010 Census redistricting data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were released before April 1 this year.

Published in Local News

Wednesday, 16 February 2011 08:47

Franklin needs grant for cell phone tour of Civil War sites

FRANKLIN — Franklin wants to put its Civil War sites as close as your cell phone.

City and Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau officials are pursuing a $72,500 federal grant that would help pay to create a self-guided cell phone-based tour of the city's Civil War sites, including historical parks, historic city cemeteries, McLemore house, Lotz House, Carter House, Carnton Plantation and the McGavock Confederate Cemetery.

"It is another way to reach people who may or may not get a printed brochure," said Mark Shore, bureau director. "They may not be able to do it from
9 to 5."

The city is submitting a grant application to the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program. Franklin is willing to spend $5,000 while the visitors bureau has committed $2,500.

If this project wins financial support from the American Battlefield Protection Program, this would be the second step Franklin officials have taken in recent months to weave its past into current technology.

Bureau officials have recently helped support the creation of a Battle of Franklin "app" that works with iPhone and Droid smart phones. The app, which uses "augmented reality" technology, piles layers of historic information over the images captured through the phone's camera viewer.

With the cell phone tour, visitors would be able to get a 30-second history lesson on a particular site by calling the number on one of the signs outside the attraction.

City hopes to shave some of the cost

The project would cost $80,000 total. The city and visitors bureau money would be paired with grant funds to install the program, put up signs at each site, as well as for designing and printing brochures.

City officials already are exploring ways to cut down on the costs. Some money could be saved on the project by doing some of the work in house, including voice work on the phone greetings with city staffers, said Milissa Reierson, city spokeswoman.

This isn't the first time for Franklin to try to launch a Civil War cell phone tour program. In 2007, Franklin sought $50,000 from the Preserve America program to start a similar cell phone project, but that grant was not approved.

The project would also help educate residents as well as visitors.

"This is a way for our visitors (and) our citizens to learn more about their history and understand our history," Shore said.

Civil War Days at Harlinsdale again

Meantime, Franklin aldermen recently gave clearance for organizers to hold the second Battle of Franklin Civil War Days at the city's Park at Harlinsdale Farm.

Scheduled for Oct. 15-16, the event is expected to draw hundreds of re-enactors staging the Battle of Franklin at the park, which will again include tents, horses and cannon fire.

Estimates from last year's event put attendance between 1,200 and 1,500 each day.

In preparation of the event, organizers at the Battle of Franklin Trust are sending letters to homeowners near the park in advance of the event.

Alderman Mike Skinner wants to work on improving access to parking at the farm but was pleased with last year's turnout and the event.

"This was an extremely successful event last year," Skinner said. "This looks like this will be a viable event."

source-tennessean.com

Published in Tech Talk

Saturday, 12 February 2011 11:00

Civil War Round Table meets Sunday at Williamson Co. Library

FRANKLIN — Middle Tennessee and the African American Civil War Experience will be the focus of the Franklin Civil War Round Table at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Williamson County Library.

Franklin author and historian Thelma Battle will speak on families and individuals and their experiences during the war period. Battle has written for numerous historical publications and is considered one of Williamson County’s premier historians. She was the inspiration for the Thelma Battle Collection at the Williamson County Library, and her essay is featured in the recently released “Historic Franklin,” published by the Heritage Foundation. Her book, “Rainy in The House and Leaking Outdoors,” features the lives of 100 of Franklin’s most influential women of color over the last several generations.

Also participating will be Bill Ratcliff, a Nashville fireman by trade, who been a Civil War re-enactor for 25 years. As a member of Company “B,” 54th Massachusetts, and Company “A,” 13th United States Colored Infantry, Ratcliff has participated in Civil War events across the United States. In 2006, he served as the model for the statue honoring United States Colored Troops buried at Nashville’s National Cemetery. He served his country in Vietnam in 1969-70, and his father fought in Europe in World War II. Ratcliff is also a descendant of a Medal of Honor recipient from the Civil War.

Pearl Bransford will serve as moderator for the event. Bransford is vice president of training and development at Claiborne and Hughes. She is currently serving as a Franklin alderman and is active in historic preservation, especially with the Historic Natchez District.

The event is free and open to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge and meets on the second Sunday of each month at the Williamson County Library. For more information, contact Greg Wade at or visit http://www.franklinscharge.com/round-table.