“Rising from the Ashes: William Holland and the Cemetery Community” at July Round Table

On Sunday, July 8th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host Stones River National Battlefield Park ranger Jim Lewis, who will present, “Rising from the Ashes: William Holland and the Cemetery Community.”

At the end of the Civil War, battlefield landscapes were often changed forever, especially when cemeteries were created. In the year following the war, William Holland and his comrades from the 111th United States Colored Troops helped establish Stones River National Cemetery, while also rebuilding their own lives on the very blood-stained fields they had fought across. Ranger Lewis will explore the evolution and impact to the community of this iconic cemetery.

Born in Burlington, Vermont and raised in New Jersey, Lewis is a graduate of Cornell University and resides in Murfreesboro. He has served in the National Park Service since 1991 and has been at Stones River since 1997, now as the park’s Chief of Interpretation & Cultural Resource Management. He serves on the advisory board of the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association and is a founding member of the Middle Tennessee Civil War Round Table.

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's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit https://www.franklinscharge.org/round-table.

“General Grant: The War Years” at June Round Table

On Sunday, June 10th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will present Dr. E. C. (Curt) Fields, who will speak on “General Grant: The War Years.”

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's Fleming Center, 1345 Eastern Flank Circle. For more information, email fcwrt@yahoo.com, or visit http://www.franklinscharge.com/round-table.

“The Retreat Across Williamson County” Civil War Tour

There will be no May lecture meeting. Instead the Franklin Civil War Round Table will conduct a Civil War tour on Saturday, May 12th. The tour will trace the December 17th retreat of the Army of Tennessee following the Battle of Nashville across Williamson County.

The tour participants will meet at Brentwood Baptist Church on Concord Road and begin the tour at 8:30 A.M. sharp. This is the location where General James Wilson realized the Confederates were still a dangerous enemy, where one of the largest cavalry charges in American history occurred, and where two soldiers’ actions would earn Medals of Honor.

The tour should be finished about 11:30 A.M. and there is a possible group lunch to follow.  Please reserve your spot by emailing:  gregwade55@yahoo.com. In the event the tour is cancelled due to weather, registrants will be notified by email.

This tour is free to Round Table members. Donations will be requested from non-members with proceeds going to the Wilder Flag Fund.

“The Campaigns and Battles of Forrest: 1861-1863” at April Round Table

On Sunday, April 8th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host retired Special Forces Brigadier General John Scales, who will speak on his new book, The Campaigns and Battles of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest: Kentucky to Chickamauga 1861-1863.

General Scales, using the lens of his decades of professional service, will analyze Forrest’s wartime actions and how these decisions and didn’t effect the war in the Wester Theater.

Scales has a Ph.D. in Engineering and spent thirty years in the military, which included service in Vietnam and Afghanistan. He has two previous books:  Sherman Invades Georgia (Naval Institute Press, 2006) and A Reluctant Hero’s Footsteps (Westbow Press, 2012). 
 
A resident of Huntsville, Scales is past president of the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table and leads campaign tours in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

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.

"General John Wilder" at March Round Table

On Sunday, March 11th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host author, archivist and historian Myers Brown who will present a program on Union General John Wilder

Federal General John Wilder and his “Lightning Brigade” of mounted infantry equipped with Spencer repeating rifles had a great impact on the war in Middle Tennessee. At the Battle of Hoovers Gap near Tullahoma, the effect of the “repeaters” forced a rethinking by both armies on how to arm their troops. Wilder played a key role at the battle of Chickamauga and his troops also made a brief appearance in Franklin.

After the war Wilder served as the mayor of Chattanooga and was known as a leader of the “reconciliation movement” promoting peace and unity.  He also played a large role in the establishment of the Chickamauga National Park.

A native of Old Hickory, Tennessee, 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 and has served on several boards related to historic preservation in Tennessee.
 
Prior to joining the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Brown served as curator with the Tennessee State Museum, the Alabama Historical Commission and as Curator of Military History at the Atlanta History Center.  He has authored several books and served as editor of the Best of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Volume 5.
 
Brown is an adjunct professor at Goodpasture Christian School and has taught at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Cumberland University and Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin

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.

“Confederates Once, Americans Twice” at February Round Table

On Sunday, February 11th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host author and historian Stephen “Sam” Hood who will present “Confederates Once, Americans Twice: Former Confederates and the Building of Post-War America.”

In the years following the Civil War, a large number of Confederates veterans both recovered from physical, mental, moral, and economic devastation and attained accomplishments important to moving the United States past the war.  Many major universities, churches and businesses were founded or greatly assisted by the talents of former Confederate soldiers. Contributions were made by men like Josiah Gorgas, who became vice-chancellor of the University of the South and later served as president of the University of Alabama.

Hood resides in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and grew up in West Virginia.  A graduate of Marshall University, he was later instrumental in building that school’s soccer program, elected to the West Virginia Soccer Hall of Fame and known by many in West Virginia for his contributions to that university. A retired building contractor and Marine Corps veteran, he has served on various boards including Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans and the Blue and Gray Educational Society.

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

“The Freedmen’s Bureau in Williamson County” at January Round Table

On Sunday, January 14th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host noted Williamson County historian Rick Warwick who will present “The Freedmen’s Bureau in Williamson County.”

The U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, popularly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established in 1865 by Congress to assist former slaves in the aftermath of the Civil War. The Bureau was intended to provide food, housing, medical help, schools and legal assistance to the newly freed population in the South. Rick Warwick has researched the original labor contracts signed by 476 former slaves in Williamson County and will be discussing the difficult “negotiations” experienced by these men, usually with their previous owners.  Oftentimes these contracts were turned against the men giving the landowners great advantage.

Warwick is the historian for the Heritage Foundation and a retired Williamson County school teacher who has led in preservation efforts for decades in the Franklin area. His numerous books about Williamson County have been critically important in the documentation of the area’s history. He is also the editor of the Williamson County Historical Society Journal.

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.

“Forbidden, Hidden and Forgotten: Women in the Ranks” at December Round Table

On Sunday, December 10th at 3 P.M., the Franklin Civil War Round Table will host Shelby Harriel who will present “Forbidden, Hidden and Forgotten: Women in the Ranks.”

There are many documented cases of women actually serving in the military during the Civil War. Their wartime experiences and sacrifices were often similar to their male counterparts.  Women served on picket duty along the snowy banks of the Rappahannock, languished in Andersonville Prison, suffered horrible wounds during the battle of the Wilderness and lost their lives during Pickett’s Charge.

Harriel received her B.A. in History and later her M. Ed from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is currently an instructor of Mathematics at Pearl River Community College. Harriel has written numerous Civil War articles and has spoken for groups such as the Louisiana Civil War Round Table and the Louisiana Historical Association.

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.

“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.