Carter House

05/16/2026

Join Eric Jacobson on newly reclaimed battlefield at Franklin! Learn about the collapse of Wagner's advance line and how it impacted the action here. Follow Gen. John Brown's Division as it slams into Gen. Thomas Ruger's Division on the main line, an effort that cost him all four of his brigade commanders. Look east toward the movements of A. P. Stewart's Corps. Feel darkness fall around you as the fighting rages on. And celebrate the reclamation effort that has made it possible for us to stand upon this sacred ground. To those of you who have supported this worthy endeavor with your money and your time: Thank You!!

Join BOFT CEO Eric Jacobson on the battlefield at Franklin as he discusses the newly installed interpretive signs and the recently preserved battlefield. Thi...

01/27/2026

Carter House will be open tomorrow at 9:00. Come see us!!

01/26/2026

The ice has been treacherous here in Franklin, and like many of our neighbors, we have limbs down. But the frozen landscape is also beautiful. So, while we can’t safely welcome you to our sites today, here are a few photos of Carter House dressed in diamonds.

01/25/2026

We will be closed on Monday, Jan 26, and very likely Tuesday, Jan 27, too. The ice and cold temperatures are a real problem.

01/24/2026

Due to the snow we are closed today and Sunday. It is likely we will be closed on Monday, too.

12/31/2025

Welcome inside the new Harper Center at the Carter House State Historic Site!! You are standing in the museum looking across the open area where guests will first arrive toward the gift shop. The new center, a State of Tennessee and Tennessee Historical Commission capital project, will open to guests this spring.

12/30/2025

Check out this superb new video from our friends at the American Battlefield Trust and Wide Awake Films about the Battles of Spring Hill and Franklin in the context of the Tennessee Campaign. Animated maps along with dramatic portrayals vividly bring the story to life. Outstanding!!

After the fall of Atlanta on September 1, 1864, John Bell Hood and his 30,000 men raced to Tennessee, hoping to divert William T. Sherman’s attention by thre...

12/24/2025

We all took Christmas dinner here together. Christmas night we all went to our church where we had a Christmas tree, all of the children received many nice presents. The tree was beautiful & was the first I ever saw. Mr. Carter & Lena professed religion & joined the Methodist church more than a year ago. So you see we all attend church together. The society here is good and I have kind neighbors…Mr. Carter sends his kindest regards to you all. Give love to the Dr. and tell him to write to us. And you write too, soon.

Your devoted sister,
America V. Carter

America Cattles married Moscow Carter on January 11, 1866. The above is an excerpt from a letter written to her sister on New Year's Day 1869.

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Carnton, Carter House, and Rippa Villa will be closed today and tomorrow to allow our hard-working staff to be with family and friends. We look forward to welcoming you on Friday, December 26. All sites will be open normal hours, 9-5.

12/12/2025

Moscow Carter sheltered in the cellar with his family on the night of the Battle of Franklin. Their farm was ravaged by the battle, and they lived for a long time surrounded by its aftermath. Years later, Moscow described the scene:

“You see this locust thicket on our right? That thicket then covered five acres, but after the fight it was a forest of tooth-picks. In that vegetable patch to our left General Cleburne fell dead. There is nothing to indicate the exact spot, but it is within twenty yards of where we stand. The cornfield to the left of the pike was filled with dead and dying and the corn to right of the pike was a counterpart of the other. In this yard and in that garden I could walk from fence to fence on dead bodies, mostly those of Confederates. In trying to clear up I scraped together a half bushel of brains right around the house and the whole place was dyed with blood. Nothing in the shape of horse, mule, jack nor jenny was left in the neighborhood. In fact, I remember that it was not until Christmas, twenty-five days afterwards, that I was enabled to borrow a yoke of oxen and I spent the whole of that Christmas day hauling seventeen dead horses from this yard.”