Epic Struggle in the Carter Garden

Before the Civil War, this area was part of a roughly two-acre tract used by the Carter family as a garden, where crops included potatoes, okra, raspberries, apples, and peaches. On November 30, 1864, the garden was destroyed when Federal troops dug part of their main defensive line through it and later fought viciously across it. The 72nd Illinois Infantry held the main line directly ahead, and those troops, along with the rest of Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Ruger’s Division, were assaulted by elements of Maj. Gen. John C. Brown’s Confederate Division. This part of the main line collapsed under the attack and fell back to a reserve line manned by the 44th Missouri Infantry. From sunset until well into the night, the combat was desperate and often hand-to-hand before the Confederates finally withdrew.

Franklin, Tennessee · United States