Field Hospitals

After the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, the aftermath almost overwhelmed the town’s population of fewer than 1,000 as residents adapted many buildings to care for about 4,000 Union and Confederate wounded. Private residences such as Carnton became field hospitals even before the battle ended, and soon many other dwellings, along with businesses, stables, barns, and churches, took in thousands of injured men. St. Paul's Church, already used as a Union barracks, sheltered Federal wounded abandoned when the army marched to Nashville, and the Presbyterian church nearby also received many of them. Other buildings used as hospitals included the Williamson County Courthouse, Clouston Hall, the Sally Carter house, the Old Factory Store, the John B. McEwen house, and the Marshall house. Hardin Figuers later recalled with pride that Franklin civilians took charge of the wounded and shared with them their last morsel. Agents of the U.S. Christian Commission arrived soon after the battle and helped residents care for the wounded. As late as March 1865, forty-four buildings in and around town still served as hospitals, patients remained until mid-1865, Confederate surgeon Fielding Sloan died on June 19, 1865, and Union Col. Robert Bradshaw, wounded seven times, was among the last to leave in July 1865.

Franklin, Tennessee · United States