Home | Mission | Preservation | Newsletter | Events | Contact

STFB Monthly Board Meeting

The monthly STFB Board Meeting is held the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Heritage Foundation Offices, 112 Bridge Street Franklin Tennessee.   This is a working Board Meeting to discuss the business and projects of STFB.  All members, prospective members, and interested parties are welcome to attend.  For information, call 615-500-6612.

For more recent events, visit us on Facebook

Loring's Advance Tour

March 17, 2012

Eric Jacobson addresses

the crowd at Loring's Advance

Watch a Video with maps and photos

After threats of early morning showers, a beautiful sunny day greeted 33 visitors to Franklin for a tour of Loring's Advance – a 5-acre portion of the close-in Franklin battlefield purchased last fall by the Civil War Trust and STFB.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Annual Meeting

November 17, 2011

Alderman Michael Skinner receives the

2011 Tenny Pinkerton Dozier Award.

Twenty nine STFB members and their guests met at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Franklin on November 17 for the STFB Annual Meeting and dinner.

Click for the full article and photos

Loring's Advance Tour

November 5, 2011

A large crowd listens to tour

leaders Thomas Cartwright

and Eric Jacobson.

STFB conducted the first ever public tour of the Loring's Advance property on November 5, just a few days after its purchase closed.

Click for the full article and photos

Old Harpeth River Bridge Marker Dedication

August 27, 2011

Rick Warwick speaks at the

Marker Dedication

On August 27, Save The Franklin Battlefield and the Williamson County Historical Society dedicated a historical marker near the site of the Old Harpeth River Bridge on First Avenue, North in Franklin.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Annual Meeting

December 2, 2010

Mary Pearce receives the

2010 Tenny Pinkertron Dozier Award.

On December 2, 2010, Save The Franklin Battlefield, Inc., Board members and guests met at Otey Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, for the Annual STFB Dinner and Membership Meeting.

Click for the full article and photos

Battle of Franklin 146th Anniversary

November 2010

10,000 luminaries at the McGavock Confederate Cemetery

November 20, 2010 Commemorative Illumination

November was the 146th Anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. To mark the event, a 10,000 candle Illumination Ceremony was staged on the grounds of Carnton Plantation near the Confederate Cemetery in Franklin.

Click for the full article and photos

Civil War Days

October 16-17, 2010

   Photograph by Chris Cuomo, Scene Through The Lens

The 2010 Civil War Days event was held at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Fort Granger Tour

April 17, 2010

Sam Gant leads a tour of

Fort Granger

As part of the City of Franklin Arbor/Earth Day, STFB Board member Dr. Sam Gant led a tour of Fort Granger. 

Click for the full article and photos

Battle of Franklin 145th Anniversary

November 27-30, 2009

10,000 luminaries at the McGavock Confederate Cemetery

Commemorative Illumination

A ten thousand candle Illumination was staged near the Confederate Cemetery to commemorate the nearly 10,000 casualties suffered by both sides during the Battle of Franklin November 30, 1864.

Click for the full article and photos

Civil War Days

On Friday November 27th, the Union army began arriving at the Carter House on Columbia Pike in Franklin. Taking possession of the Carter’s home and farm, the army set up camp, posted sentinels, and began cooking supper.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Annual Meeting

November 19, 2009

St. Paul's Episcopal Church,

 site of the 2009 STFB Annual

 Membership meeting..

Save The Franklin Battlefield, Inc., held the 2009 Annual Membership Meeting on November 19, 2009, at Otey Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Thompson's Station Battlefield Tour

November 7, 2009

Thomas Cartwright leads tour

 of the Thompson's Station Battlefield

 at Homestead Manor.

On a beautiful fall morning we welcomed approximately 30 STFB members and guests to Homestead Manor for a tour of the Thompson’s Station Battlefield. 

Click for the full article and photos

Franklin's Unknown Soldier Funeral

October 10, 2009

Grave of the Unknown Soldier

 at Rest Haven Cemetery

All who attended the funeral of Franklin’s Unknown Soldier will agree it was a truly memorable and dignified tribute to a fallen American soldier - one man who represents all those who lost their lives in the Battle of Franklin.
Click for the full article and photos

Battle of Franklin 144th Anniversary

November 30, 2008

November 30 saw the largest Illumination project in recent Franklin history. The 10,000 luminaries were a commemoration of the roughly 10,000 American casualties at Franklin. Each luminary represented an American soldier killed, wounded, captured, or missing during the battle.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Annual Meeting

November 13, 2008

White Hall, Spring Hill Tennessee, headquarters of General Earl Van Dorn.

The STFB annual membership meeting at Historic White Hall in Spring Hill was an enjoyable and motivating evening with 38 members and guests in attendance. 

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Ropers Knob Tour

October 25, 2008

On October 25, a group of approximately 45 intrepid STFB members and guests gathered to scale Roper’s Knob on a tour led by Tennessee State Archeologist Ben Nance.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Harlinsdale Tour

September 20, 2008

On September 20, David Fraley led an STFB tour of Harlinsdale Farm.  He addressed a crowd of 28 interested spectators and very effectively discussed events that had occurred on this site 144 years ago.

Click for the full article and photos

Battle of Franklin 143rd Anniversary

November 30, 2007

Click for photos

STFB Annual Meeting

November 8, 2007

Ferguson Hall, Spring Hill Tennessee

where Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, Confederate cavalry commander was murdered by a jealous husband.

STFB Triune Earthworks Tour

November 3, 2007

On a beautiful Fall morning, a crowd of more than 50 gathered for a tour of the Triune Earthworks. 

Click for the full article and photos

"Why Franklin Matters" Symposium

June 21-23, 2007

A recent symposium titled “Why Franklin Matters” was sponsored by several local preservation groups including Save the Franklin Battlefield (STFB).  The weekend event included lectures from several local historians and experts on the November 1864 battle with a central theme being heritage tourism and Franklin’s overall significance in the war. 

Click for the full article and photos

Battle of Franklin 142nd Anniversary

 November 30, 2006

Color guards led "Confederate" and "Union" bands to the Confederate monument for the 142nd Battle of Franklin Anniversary Ceremony. 

On November 30, the Battle of Franklin's 142nd anniversary, STFB volunteers and many others worked with one eye on the weather while placing 10,000 candle luminaries around the town square in honor of the dead, wounded, and missing resulting from the 1864 carnage.  Wind, cold, and rain were forecasted, but Franklin residents were determined the event would take place regardless.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Annual Meeting

November 14, 2006

White Hall, Spring Hill Tennessee, headquarters of General Earl Van Dorn.

Forty-one intrepid souls braved a cold drizzle the evening of November 14 to assemble at White Hall in Spring Hill for the STFB Annual Meeting. This historic home was the headquarters of General Earl Van Dorn the spring of 1863. As is well known, Van Dorn was requested to move his offices elsewhere after he was visited in his quarters by Jessie Peters, wife of then absent Dr. Peters, who later returned to town to confront and murder Van Dorn.  But that’s another story, more later.

STFB Eastern Flank Battlefield Tour

 August 19, 2006

The photo above documents most of the crowd of 185 gathered for the Eastern Flank Battlefield Park Tour on August 19, 2006 sponsored by STFB.

Click for the full article and photos

STFB Triune Earthworks Tour

 April 1, 2006

Director of Programs for the Tennessee Wars Commission, Fred Prouty explains the significance of the Triune Earthworks during the tour on Saturday April 1, 2006.

April 1 in Triune, Tennessee saw 50 brave souls tramping the low ridge north-east of the town's crossroad. They were following and listening to Fred Prouty, Director of Programs for the Tennessee Wars Commission explain the construction and Civil War events related to these extensive earthworks.

Eastern Flank Park Celebration

 February 7, 2006

On February 7th, the City of Franklin hosted an event on the Eastern Flank property to celebrate the acquisition of 112 acres of core Franklin battlefield, and to publicly thank the many individuals and organizations that brought the project from dream to reality.

Battle of Franklin 141st Anniversary

 November 30, 2005

Mayor Miller begins the demolition of the Pizza Hut located near where General Patrick Cleburne fell.

At 10:30 Wednesday morning, November 30, 2005, Franklin Mayor Tom Miller hosted a special event to demolish the Pizza Hut on Columbia Avenue in Franklin near the Carter House.  The City had recently purchased the corner lot for $300,000 which is near the main Federal trench line and near the place where Patrick Cleburne fell during the 1864 battle.

Click for the full article and photos

Mayor Miller and Rod Heller at the signing of the contract for the purchase of the former Country Club of Franklin.

As November 30 approached, it appeared the contract between the seller and the City of Franklin was bogged in details and wordsmithing that might delay the signing until late December.  But early Wednesday morning, prior to the Pizza Hut celebration, Rod Heller, the seller from Washington DC, and the city officials got all the final contract details settled, after much hard work, and both parties signed the contract in presence of the Pizza Hut crowd.  What a stunning surprise... truly unbelievable. 

At the close of his comments, Mayor Tom Miller said that this day marked just the beginning of battlefield reclamation efforts in Franklin.  He gave no details - but stay tuned - watch this space. 

Much of the crowed gathered at 6:30 Wednesday evening at Carnton Plantation for a candlelight reception to thank and recognize Rod Heller, the many private donors, CWPT guests, and city officials.  Carnton Plantation Executive Director Angela Calhoun, Jim Lighthizer, Ed Bearss, and 'Widow of the South' author Robert Hicks all spoke briefly with their observations of the day's events, and the hard work leading up to this day.  It was truly a day to remember.  Everyone there understood that we weren't just preserving history, together we were making preservation history.

STFB Annual Meeting

 November 13, 2005

Historian Rick Warwick spoke on "The Eastern Flank of the Battle of Franklin" at the 2005 STFB Annual Meeting.

fast, Arbor Day Federal encampment at Pinkerton Park-Ft. Granger, Carnton/Franklin's Charge celebration, the October 21 Preservation March, Collins' Farm winterization, monthly Newsletter publication, an average of one group workday per month with many individuals working additional days, and the November 30 Pizza Hut and Country Club transfer.

Click for the full article and photos

2005 STFB Preservation March for Franklin

 October 22, 2005

In the predawn darkness of Saturday Oct 22, a small group of dedicated volunteer re-enactors huddled around a truck tailgate for donuts and hot coffee.  They were preparing for the 15 mile march from Spring Hill into Franklin retracing the steps of both armies just before the bloody Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. Their goal was to raise funds from their per-mile sponsors for the repair of the Collins Farm house located on the Franklin battlefield on Lewisburg Pike at the CSX railroad crossing.

Click for the full article and photos