“Walking the Line: The Defenses Around Atlanta” at November Round Table

On Sunday, November 12th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present astronomer and author Dr. Larry Krumenaker, who will speak on “Walking the Line: The Defenses Around Atlanta.”

After the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, the Confederacy knew well that Atlanta would be a target in the future of Union Army attacks. Construction of an extensive ten-mile defensive ring began a month later and was nearly completed by October

Dr. Krumenaker, an accomplished astronomer, will give an illustrated tour of the Atlanta defensive works, showing photographs and describing the thirty-six forts built along that line, if they are extant today, can be visited, and how to find them.  He became fascinated with these massive earthworks after moving to Atlanta a number of years ago.

Receiving his B.S. and M.S. degrees in astronomy from Case Western Reserve University, Krumenaker obtained his Ph.D. in Science from the University of Georgia.  He is credited with the discovery of the only known micro-quasar in the Milky Way.

Krumenaker has worked as an educator in Atlanta and the University of Cologne while writing extensively on astronomy and historical tourism.  He has spoken to round tables in the U.S. and Europe.  His most recent work is the Colonia Tour Book, A Tourist’s Guide to the Ancient Roman City that became Cologne.  He is currently working on a book on the Atlanta Campaign called Traces of War.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

Friends of Fort Negley at September Round Table

On Sunday, September 10th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host the Friends of Fort Negley, who will present a special and informative program concerning the future of the Fort Negley complex in Nashville.

Since the relocation of the Nashville Sounds from their Greer Stadium location, there has been much speculation about the future of the site. Because the baseball stadium literally adjoined the walls of Fort Negley, Civil War historians and green space advocates have lobbied for the property to be made part of the Fort Negley grounds, as it was during the Civil War. Not only was this structure a critical part of the extensive works protecting the city during its federal occupation, it was constructed in large part by impressed black labor. Many of these slaves and freedmen died during the fort’s construction and are interred nearby, perhaps even on the site itself.

There is now a massive proposed commercial development on this important ground that has great significance to Nashville’s Civil War and Reconstruction history. The Friends of Fort Negley will present their vision for the property and the fight by citizens to stop the suggested retail, housing and commercial complex at the Greer Stadium location.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and will meet this month only at the Hiram Masonic Lodge at 115 2nd Ave South, Franklin. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Forrest at Fort Pillow” at August Round Table

On Sunday, August 13th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present historian and author Dr. Brian Steel Wills, who will speak on “Forrest at Fort Pillow.”

On April 12, 1864, an attack by Confederate forces commanded by General Nathan Bedford Forrest left many of the Tennessee Federal troops and black soldiers garrisoned there dead. Wills will speak on this controversial battle, where Forrest was widely accused of allowing a massacre of surrendering federal soldiers, both white and black. His defenders deny Forrest’s guilt.

Dr. Wills is director of the Center for the Study of the Civil War Era at Kennesaw State University. He has written extensively on the Civil War, including “The River was Dyed with Blood: Nathan Bedford Forrest and Fort Pillow,”  "Confederate General William Dorsey Pender:  The Hope of Glory” and “George Henry Thomas: As True as Steel,” which was the recipient of the 2013 Richard Barksdale Harwell Award, presented by the Atlanta Civil War Round Table. His biography of Forrest, “A Battle From the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest,” was a History Book Club selection and a Book of the Month Club Selection. In 2000, Dr. Wills received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He has also contributed to numerous other publications and research on the Civil War.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“The Mexican War: Connections to the Civil War and Tennessee” at July Round Table

On Sunday, July 9th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present historian and author Dr. Timothy D. Johnson, who will speak on “The Mexican War: Connections to the Civil War and Tennessee.”

The U.S. Army mustered in 1846 to fight the Mexican War consisted of a small number of professional soldiers, state militias commanded by self-taught generals (many left over from the War of 1812), and a group of young officers - untested graduates from the recently established Military Academy at West Point. Over 200 future Civil War generals learned their first lessons on war during this conflict. The Mexican War experience of Lieutenants Grant, McClellan, Hooker, Meade, Jackson, Beauregard, Longstreet, Hardee, and Hill, along with Captain Lee and Lt. Colonel Johnston would affect their Civil War generalship.  The tactics they saw work so well in 1846-1848, they would employ on countless Civil War battlefields - for better or worse.

Dr. Johnson is professor of history at Lipscomb University, where he received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 2001. He grew up in Chattanooga where visits to Lookout Mountain and Chickamauga Battlefield along with drives along Missionary Ridge fostered an interest in the Civil War.

Johnson has written five books on the Mexican and Civil Wars, and numerous other articles, papers and books on 18th to mid-19th century American politics, diplomacy, army professionalization, and Constitutional history. He has been featured on C-SPAN’s BookTV and The History Channel.

Joining Johnson will be Dr. Derek Frisby, Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University, who will give an update on the forensic research being done at MTSU on the bodies of Mexican War soldiers unearthed in Monterrey, Mexico.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Tennesseans at Chimborazo” at June Round Table

On Sunday, June 11th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Virginia historian Art Wingo, who will be speak on Richmond’s Chimborazo Hospital and the Tennesseans treated there.

Chimborazo was one of the most famous and efficient of Confederate hospitals and treated almost 80,000 troops from Tennessee and five other Southern states.  Located in Richmond, Virginia, it had a mortality rate of about 9%, one of the lowest of any period hospital. Wingo will display a detailed model of the hospital, and speak about the Confederate hospital system in general.

Art Wingo is a long time member of the Richmond (VA) Civil War Round Table and a Master Volunteer with the National Park Service. He has worked at the Chimborazo Civil War Medical Museum of Richmond Battlefield National Park. 

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

The Life of General Joe Wheeler at April Round Table

On Sunday, April 9th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) Archivist Myers Brown, who will be speak on Confederate General Joe Wheeler.

General Joe Wheeler had a fascinating military life, serving in virtually every major theater of the Civil War, including at Franklin. He was also decades later a general in the Spanish-American War. Brown will give a synopsis of this great American military leader along with fascinating anecdotes and stories of the general’s exploits.

A Tennessee native, Brown received his B.A. in history from Oglethorpe University and his M.A. in Public History from Middle Tennessee State University.  He is a Fellow and a former Governor of the Company of Military Historians.   He also serves on the advisory boards of the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association and the Tennessee Great War Commission.

Prior to joining the TSLA, he served as a curator with the Tennessee State Museum, the Alabama Historical Commission and as Curator of Military History at the Atlanta History Center.  He has authored  Images of Tennessee’s Union Cavalrymen and Images of Tennessee Confederates.  He also has served as editor of Best of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly.

Along with his duties at TSLA, Brown is an adjunct professor at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. He resides with wife Angie and daughter Morgan in Old Hickory, Tennessee.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table

Confederate Flag Preservation at March Round Table

On Sunday, March 12th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Franklin native Ronny Mangrum, who will speak on state-wide efforts to preserve Confederate flags housed at the Tennessee State Museum.

Two of the flags first preserved by his efforts are the First National Flag of the 20th Tennessee Infantry and most recently the Second National flag of the 11th Tennessee Infantry. Both units saw intense action at Franklin. Mangrum will share a presentation about the numerous flags preserved, as well as replica banners to be handled by the audience. He will discuss the tremendous costs associated with conserving these fragile artifacts while noting upcoming projects with the Tennessee State Museum. 

Mangrum was raised in the Peytonsville area of Williamson County in an antebellum home where his grandmother inspired his passion of Civil War history. She introduced him to Sgt. Vachel I.Barnhill, her grandfather, who fought in Franklin during the war. He has been a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for thirty years, where he helped start the flag adoption program assisting the Tennessee State Museum conserve their most fragile and endangered flags. Mangrum notes the Tennessee museum has a large collection of these priceless flags, “second only to Virginia.”

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“African American Soldiers from Williamson County” at February Round Table

On Sunday, February 12th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Tina Calahan Jones, who will speak on “African American Civil War Soldiers from Williamson County.”

It has long been known locally that a few dozen African American Civil War soldiers had Williamson County ties, most of them serving in the U.S. Navy. Information about the service of African Americans is often scarce, hard to trace, and making their stories difficult to tell. In recent years, however, Franklin resident Tina Calahan Jones has researched at least 284 slaves who entered the federal military during the war, all from Williamson County. Along with these men, she has identified thirty-eight who served as “body servants” with the Confederate Army during the war, also from Williamson County.

Born in Indianapolis and raised in Connecticut, Jones attended Vassar College earning a degree in International Studies. From there she earned her master’s degree in Health Care Policy and later a law degree from the University of Virginia. She has worked as a health care attorney in a Nashville private practice and later served as associate general counsel at Vanderbilt University.  Now living in Franklin with her husband and daughters, she is active in several community groups including the Spring Street Seniors at St Paul’s Episcopal Church and the African American Heritage Society of Williamson County. Her experiences in these groups led to her interest in what had been a largely untold story about the experiences of black soldiers from Williamson County.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets this month only at the historic Franklin Masonic Lodge located at 115 Second Ave South. Parking is located in the free public garage across the street. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Fighting and Dying in a Frozen Hell” at January Round Table

On Sunday, December 11th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Dr. Phillip Kemmerly, who will speak on “Fighting and Dying in a Frozen Hell: The Impact of Weather, Geology, and Soils on the Battle of Nashville.”

Dr. Kemmerly is Professor Emeritus of Geology at Austin Peay State University where he taught geology for thirty-nine years. He has been a geological consultant for numerous corporations, law firms and various governmental entities. Since retirement, Kemmerly has applied hydrology, geology, meteorology, physics, soil mechanics, statistics and mathematics to problems of Civil War combat in Tennessee.

Dr. Kemmerly has written numerous articles including “The Impact of Flooding on the Battle of Shiloh” in the Journal of Military History and “Lew Wallace’s Controversial March to Shiloh: A Time-Distance-Rate Analysis” in the Summer 2016 issue of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Grant: The Man Behind the Uniform” at December Round Table

On Sunday, December 11th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Dr. E. C. (Curt) Fields, who will speak on “Grant: The Man Behind the Uniform.”

Fields’ life-long interest in the American Civil War and his admiration for General Ulysses S. Grant is the background for his dramatic portrayal of the famous general to groups all over the United States as well as foreign audiences.  Fields is the same height and build as General Grant and his presentation is given in the first person, quoting from Grant’s memoirs and letters.

Fields holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Education from the University of Memphis and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Curriculum from Michigan State University.  He has spoken on leadership to various corporations including Caterpillar and International Paper. Fields has also served as a Memphis police officer and received a Life Saving Medal for action in the line of duty. He has appeared at numerous Civil War events including the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, and is featured in a Discovery Channel documentary about Grant and several National Park Service visitor center productions.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“The Lotz Family in the Battle of Franklin” at November Round Table

On Sunday, November 13th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Robert Blythe, who will speak on “The Lotz Family and the Battle of Franklin.”

In 1858, when German emigrants Johann and Margaretha Lotz arrived in Franklin and built their family home, there was no imagining what would transpire six years later.  As Federal forces flowed into Franklin on November 30th 1864 having escaped Confederate General John Bell Hood’s forces at Spring Hill, the family found their home just yards north of the Union lines.   Since no one anticipated a Confederate attack across two miles of open ground, the family elected to stay at their home, mere yards away from the soon-to-be more famousCarter House farm. Their decision put them squarely into harm’s way and the history books.

Robert Blythe is a guide and historian at the beautifully preserved Lotz House He is a sixth generation Williamson County resident, whose interest in history began as a child when he observed a relic hunter find a Civil War bullet in his yard.  Blythe graduated from Battle Ground Academy and later earned his degree in history for the University of Mississippi. He is an officer in the Franklin Elks Lodge and an accomplished pianist.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“The Union Signal Corps” at September Round Table

On Sunday, September 11th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present historian and living historian Rhea Cole, who will present “The Union Signal Corps.”

In the Western Theatre of the Civil War, Union General William S. Rosecrans’ innovative use of signaling across long distances resulted in a huge tactical advantage for Federal forces in Middle Tennessee in 1863. All army command, control, intelligence, and logistics were enhanced by the newly organized Signal Corps, which created a radical change in the way the Civil War would be fought from that point forward. Cole will share years of research in his program on the beginnings of what became the U.S. Signal Corps.

Besides his historical research, Cole holds certification as a National Park gunner for Civil War artillery, and a period blacksmith, store worker and carpenter. In 1996, he was a crewman on the trans-Atlantic voyage of the Tall Ship Rose, a reproduction of a British twenty-eight-gun frigate. Cole has been a Stones River National Battlefield volunteer for over twenty years.

At 2:00 P.M., before the presentation, Cole will hold a hands-on session for attendees to experience first-hand the techniques of signaling, using reproduction flags and signaling protocols of the day.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email gregwade55@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Forward My Brave Boys: A History of the 11th Tennessee Infantry” at August Round Table

On Sunday, August 14th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present local author and Round Table member Gary Waddey, who will speak on “Forward My Brave Boys: A History of the 11th Tennessee Infantry.”

In early 1861, men from Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Humphreys and Robertson counties were recruited to Confederate service, prior to the vote for Tennessee to leave the Union.  The 11thTennessee saw action early in Kentucky and was among the first to see heavy fighting at Stone’s River. They later served in the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns where they suffered heavy losses. On November 30th, 1864, the 11th Tennessee was among those Confederate troops breaking the Union defenses at Franklin in hand to hand combat around the Carter House.

A lifelong resident of Nashville, Tennessee, Waddey received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Business Administration from Vanderbilt University in 1978. Shortly afterwards, he joined Northwestern Mutual, remaining with the company 32 years until his retirement in 2011.

A longtime member of the Hillsboro-West End Neighborhood Association, Waddey currently serves on the Investment Advisory Committee for the City of Oak Hill, Tennessee. Writing on a regular basis, he publishes historical articles for the Williamson County Historical Society Journal and is a regular contributor to the Hickman County Historical Society Newsletter. His recently released history of the 11th Tennessee Infantry (CSA), Forward My Brave Boys, is published by the Mercer University Press. 

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Cleburne’s Last Campaign” at July Round Table

On Sunday, July 10th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present author and historian Lee White of the National Park Service who will speak on “Cleburne’s Last Campaign.”

Western Theater experts contend General Pat Cleburne is one of the most underrated and perhaps significant general officers of the Confederacy. White will recount Cleburne’s role in Hood’s Tennessee Campaign of 1864, and the final compelling story of his death at Franklin. 

White is Park Ranger serving at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park where he leads tours and other programs.  He is the author of several articles and essays on topics related to the Western Theater and is the editor of Great Things are Expected of Us: The Letters of Colonel C. Irvine Walker, 10th South Carolina Infantry CSA.  In 2013 he released Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, as part of the Emerging Civil War Series.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and will meet for this month only at the historic Franklin Masonic Lodge, 115 2nd Ave South, in Franklin. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com.

“The Legacy of Arthur MacArthur” at June Round Table

On Sunday, June 12th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present author and historian Dr. Chris Kolakowski, who will speak on “The Legacy of Arthur MacArthur.”

Kolakowski, currently the Executive Director of the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia, will recount the experiences of Arthur MacArthur, who fought and was injured at the Battle of Franklin. He will also recount the many other notable ties the MacArthur family had to Tennessee.

Kolakowski received his BA in History and Mass Communications from Emory & Henry College and his MA in Public History from the State University of New York. He has served as a historian and interpreter with the National Park Service, the State of New York, and the Kentucky State Park system. He has written extensively and spoken on military leadership, the Civil War, the American Revolution and both World Wars. Kolakowski has authored The Civil War at Perryville: Battling for the Bluegrass and The Stones River & Tullahoma Campaigns: This Army Does Not Retreat.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Bite The Bullet” at April Round Table

On Sunday, April 10th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Dr. Anthony Hodges, who will present his unique program on Civil War medicine, entitled, “Bite The Bullet.”

Dr. Hodges will give an overview of the techniques used by the military physicians of the 19th century to treat battlefield wounds and disease during the war years. Authentic Civil War medical instruments will be shown to help illustrate the medical and surgical treatments used by Federal and Confederate doctors. Hodges will describe the results of those treatments, and how they contrast with the techniques of our modern military medical system.

Dr. Hodges attended the University of Alabama, graduated from UT Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences in Memphis with a D.D.S. (Doctor of Dental Surgery) degree in 1981. He has lectured on the topic of Civil War medicine for nearly forty years. Dr. Hodges assisted Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson of Virginia Tech and Broadfoot Publishing in the re-printing of the U.S. Army's official twelve volume medical account of the Civil War, The Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War. He now serves as president of the Friends of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park and also as Vice President of the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association. He is Vice President of East Tennessee Historical Society and the Museum of East Tennessee History in Knoxville and on the Advisory Board of the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga.

Dr. Hodges became interested in early American and Civil War history as a young child due to family history passed down to him by elderly relatives in North Alabama. He began to collect Civil War artifacts as a young boy, and items from his collection have been displayed in national parks and museums across the South. He has served as a National Park Service living history interpreter for over thirty years. Married with three grown children, Dr. Hodges resides on Elder Mountain, just outside Chattanooga.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

“Conduct Unbecoming an Officer” at March Round Table

On Sunday, March 13th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present author and historian Dr. Steve Davis, who will speak on “Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.”

Davis will present his controversial assessment of General John Bell Hood’s performance after the Tennessee campaign. Davis has researched the Army of Tennessee, especially the Atlanta campaign, and was one of the first to dispel the notion that General Hood was under the influence of any type of drugs during the Spring Hill affair before the Battle of Franklin. Davis will delve into the many fascinating and debated details of Hood’s life and military career.

Davis earned a Ph.D. in American Studies, his M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. from Emory University. He has written more than one hundred articles on the Civil War and served as the book review editor for Blue and Gray Magazine. His books include Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, Joe Johnston and the Yankee Heavy Battalions, (2001), What the Yankees Did to Us: Sherman’s Bombardment and Wrecking of Atlanta (2012), and A Long and Bloody Task: The Atlanta Campaign from Dalton through Kennesaw to the Chattahoochee (2016). He has also been a consultant and speaker for various documentaries including broadcasts from Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

The Natchez Area During and After the War at February Round Table

On Sunday, February 14th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present City of Franklin alderman and preservation activist Pearl Bransford, who will speak on “The Natchez Area During and After the War.”

The Natchez area west of the Carter House is an often overlooked part of the Franklin Battlefield.  The area, now known as the Natchez Historical District, is rich in African American history not only during the Civil War, but post-war as well. This unique presentation will explore the slave and landowner relationships in the area, where military activity took place and the settling of the area during Reconstruction. Bransford will lead the discussion along with local author and historian Thelma Battle. Heritage Foundation historian Rick Warwick will assist in the presentation with his extensive knowledge of Franklin’s richly diverse communities.

Bransford is a graduate of Tennessee State University and earned her M.S. degree from Vanderbilt. She has served in the health care industry and has been a Franklin alderman for several years. She has served on the Franklin Special School District board and in other community leadership roles. Bransford has been active in historic preservation especially in support of recent efforts to reclaim key parts of the Franklin battlefield.

Thelma Battle is a well-known Williamson County author and historian and was the inspiration for the Thelma Battle Collection at the Williamson County Library. She has been published in several history related journals and her book, Rainy in the House and Leaking Outdoors, spotlights the lives of one hundred of Franklin’s most influential women of color over the last several generations.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

Order Out of Chaos: Retreat Through the Gap at Nashville at January Round Table

On Sunday, January 10th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present author and historian Joe Johnson, who will speak on “Order Out of Chaos: Retreat Through the Gap at Nashville.”

On the second day of the Battle of Nashville, with Confederate troops arrayed in a line stretched too long and too thin to hold, the federal attack sent the once-proud Army of Tennessee into a chaotic, running retreat. While the main body withdrew southward down Franklin Pike, a little known drama was unfolding among the men of the Confederate left, who had been cut off by the Union swarm. Johnston will tell the story of the Arkansas brigadier with a cool head, who led a textbook fighting retreat through a gap in the Brentwood hills that saved thousands of Confederate soldiers.

Johnston is a regular contributor to numerous history publications including America’s Civil War, the Wild West and U.S. Naval History.  He has recently published through the Missouri History Museum details of Wild West vigilantism which played a major role during the Civil War in Missouri.

The event is free to the public. The Franklin Civil War Round Table is an educational program of Franklin’s Charge, and meets each month at Carnton Plantation's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.org/the-round-table.

The Founders, the Evolution of America, and the Road to Civil War

On Sunday, December 13th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present historian and author Eric Jacobson, who will speak on “The Founders, the Evolution of America, and the Road to Civil War.”

The question and key issues on how a new country found itself on the path to a bloody civil war only eighty-four years after achieving independence are found in the complex maze of compromises, personalities and economic pressures facing young America. Jacobson, with an assist from Round Table founder Greg Wade, will discuss the issues and events that led to this Civil War.

Jacobson is the CEO of the Battle of Franklin Trust and author of For Cause and For Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin, considered a contemporary classic on the 1864 Tennessee campaign. His latest book, Baptism of Fire, presents three Federal regiments who had not seen combat but played a critical role in the outcome of the Battle of Franklin. A Minnesota native, Jacobson has been studying the Civil War for twenty five years and resided in Arizona before coming to Middle Tennessee in 2005.