Franklin stood along the Nashville & Decatur Railroad, linking Middle Tennessee to points north and south, and this made the region a major objective for Union and Confederate forces. By spring 1863, Franklin had changed hands several times, and in an effort to hold it permanently, Federals committed 10,000 troops to the immediate area and fortified nearly every major hill. One of their strongest positions was Roper's Knob, 350 feet above Spencer's Creek, which by May 1863 had become a primary stronghold for Union soldiers and a key signaling station between Nashville and Murfreesboro, using wig wag flags by day and colored torches by night. Roper's Knob and nearby Shute's Knob provided commanding views of the railroad and Nashville Turnpike. In the spring of 1863, Union soldiers built at the apex of Roper's Knob a large octagonal log blockhouse capable of holding 60 troops, surrounded by an earthen redoubt with four artillery platforms and two water cisterns. Nearly halfway down the hill, rifle pits and a wide crown of abates, made from felled trees with sharpened branches, ringed the entire hill, and Federals deforested the hill and much of the surrounding area to provide a clear line of fire and allow gunners to see for miles. The defenses were considered so strong that a Union engineer reported that 50 men could hold the position against 5,000, but Confederates never attacked it, and Federals abandoned the hill by the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.