FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Archaeologists are hoping to uncover evidence from the Battle of Franklin ahead of the clash’s 150th anniversary this November.
Preservationists have worked for years to purchase the property behind a pizza restaurant and strip mall where Confederates made a fateful charge toward a well-fortified federal line and were repelled. Soldiers fought with shovels, bayonets, sabers, and pistols in a garden during the bloody battle in the town south of Nashville.
Some historians consider it the last major battle of the Civil War.
Archaeologist Larry McKee told The Tennessean his team is using a historic map of the property in combination with modern mapping software to determine where to dig.
They know the Nov. 30, 1864, battle that killed 8,500 took place near a cotton gin. They hope to find evidence of the gin as well as the defensive fortifications dug by the soldiers.
“My hope is that we find evidence of exactly where the gin stood,” said Eric Jacobson, Battle of Franklin Trust chief executive officer.
Preservationists hope the excavated site will eventually become the centerpiece of a nearly 20-acre Civil War park. Some of the most vicious fighting in the Civil War took place during the Battle of Franklin, which is considered to be one of the last gasps of the Confederacy.
So far, the archaeologists have found a swath of charcoal, but they aren’t sure whether it was from the cotton gin.
The land has previously been the site of Battle Ground Academy, which was destroyed by fire in 1902 and moved to a different location. It also was the site of a home that was moved this summer to make way for the park.
Of the charcoal, Jacobson said, “If it’s school coal, it’s not very interesting. If it’s cotton gin coal, it’s very, very interesting.”
Excavation work will continue through Sept. 19.
“This is cool stuff,” Jacobson said. “This is becoming a reality. It’s incredible, but it’s happening.”