History
Carnton was built in 1826 by former Nashville mayor Randal McGavock.
Throughout the nineteenth century it was frequently visited by those
shaping Tennessee and American history, including American Presidents
James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson. Randal's son John inherited Carnton
upon the elder McGavock's death in 1843. John married Carrie Elizabeth
Winder in 1848, who bore him five children, three of whom passed away
before 1863 (Martha (1849-1862); Mary Elizabeth (1851-1858); John Randal
(1854)). The surviving McGavock children, Winder and Hattie are pictured
(left) circa 1865.
Battle of Franklin
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of November 30, 1864, Carnton
was witness to one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil
War. The Confederate Army of Tennessee furiously assaulted Union
troops entrenched along the southern edge of Franklin. The Battle
of Franklin was the bloodiest five hours of combat during the Civil
War, a massive frontal assault larger than Pickett's Charge at
Gettysburg. Although it was short in duration, some 9,500 soldiers
were killed, wounded, captured or missing. Nearly 7,000 of that
number were Confederate. Carnton served as the largest field hospital
in the area for hundreds of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers
who were brought to the site for surgeries and medical care.
One soldier wrote, "the wounded, in hundreds, were brought to
[the house] during the battle, and all the night after. And when the
noble old house could hold no more, the yard was appropriated until
the wounded and dead filled that...."
On the morning of December 1 the bodies of four Confederate generals
killed during the fighting, Patrick Cleburne, Hiram Granbury, John
Adams and Otho Strahl lay on the back porch. The floors of the elegantly
restored home are still stained with the blood of the men who were
treated here.
McGavock
Confederate Cemetery
In 1866, John and Carrie McGavock designated two acres
of land adjacent to their family cemetery as a final burial place
for nearly 1,500 Confederates. John and Carrie McGavock maintained
the cemetery at their personal expense until their respective deaths.
Today, the McGavock Confederate Cemetery is a lasting memorial honoring
those fallen soldiers and is the largest privately owned military cemetery
in the nation.
The McGavock family owned Carnton until 1911 when Susie Lee McGavock,
widow of Winder McGavock sold it. In 1973 Carnton and 30 acres were
listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1977 the
house and ten acres were donated to the Carnton Association, Inc. by
Dr.
W.D. Sugg. By that time the the house had suffered from years of neglect
and disrepair and since then the Association has been vital in restoring
and maintaining the plantation through membership, special events,
donations, tours, admissions, and museum store sales.
