Archaeologists dig deep to find Battle of Franklin story

FRANKLIN – Tree roots snapped as the backhoe's shovel tugged and scooped up the ground, peeling away yards of dirt, stones and, most importantly, time.

Tucked away behind the Columbia Avenue Domino's Pizza restaurant and a paint-peeling retail strip center, a team of archaeologists began this week a two-week dig to uncover Franklin's past.

Historians already know the details of what happened on what is today a nondescript empty lot.

Nearly 150 years ago, the field was farmland and the site of where Confederate troops and Union forces opened fire on one another on Nov. 30, 1864, eventually claiming 8,500 casualties. The property was owned by the Carter family, and a cotton gin stood on the spot where soldiers fought and died.

Now, less than three months before the battle's sesquicentennial, archaeologists finally have a crack at excavating the land to see what evidence, if any, might be below the surface that could shed more light on the story of that night and the subsequent years since then.

"This is cool stuff," said Eric Jacobson, Battle of Franklin Trust chief executive officer. "This is becoming a reality. It's incredible, but it's happening."

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After two days of digging, there haven't been any historic revelations.

Searchers hope to eventually pinpoint the exact location of the Carter family's cotton gin (which was built between 1850 and 1860) and, nearby, where soldiers' defensive fortifications were dug during the battle.

Historians hope that information will help make the parcel the centerpiece of a nearly 20-acre Civil War park they're in the midst of trying to complete.

"My hope is that we find evidence of exactly where the gin stood," Jacobson said.

The work is being covered by a $20,000 grant through the Tennessee Wars Commission.

Despite 150 years of history under his feet, archaeologist Larry McKee isn't deterred by the task. His team knows where to dig, using a historic map of the property and combining it with modern mapping software to help them get their bearings.

"It's the head-scratching sort of stuff, still," McKee said. "Nothing's jumping out at us. We were hoping to scrape the grass a little bit and there it'd be."

Complicating the task is the fact that the land's history goes beyond the Battle of Franklin.

On Sept. 3, 1889, the property was the site for the school that eventually became Battle Ground Academy. In the spring of 1902, fire destroyed the school and school officials rebuilt further north on property along Columbia Avenue. Eventually a home was built on the site; it was finally moved this summer to make way for the park's completion.

Staring into the pit, the backhoe's shovel revealed a wide swath of charcoal a few feet down in the dirt.

Was the coal left behind where the school's furnace was located, or was it left from the cotton gin's operation?

No one could say.

"If it's school coal, it's not very interesting," Jacobson said. "If it's cotton gin coal, it's very, very interesting."

Excavation work will continue through Sept. 19.

Reach Kevin Walters at 615-771-5472 and on Twitter @thekevinwalters.