Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Carnton Plantation

It was wonderful being able to visit Carnton Plantation on my recent trip to Tennessee.  Having finished The Widow of the South, which takes place in Franklin, TN and mostly at Carnton Plantation, the book and the events that happened there were fresh in my mind.  Shoot..I finished the book on a Monday and saw the house on Wednesday that same week. haha!

While I went to the house knowing the story I read wasn't going to be 100% accurate, being able to walk around the house and be familiar with the family and the events that took place there made it more "real" for me.  I could picture it all.   There are a couple of rooms on the 2nd floor that still show blood stains in the wood.  While this is morbid when you think about it, it was really neat to see. We can analyze what that says about me at a later time.  I think just seeing the blood stains and knowing how they came about just enhanced the experienced and made the events come to life for me. It's one thing to know "ok..this was used as a field hospital, a lot of amputations happened here" and it's another to know that happened and see real proof.

If you enjoy Civil War history or history in general and you have the chance to visit this location, I highly recommend it.

Front of Carnton Plantation
Back of Carnton Plantation
Civil War cemetery on the property
Cemetery with Carnton Plantation in the background

5 comments:

bermudaonion said...

That plantation just drips with history. I guess those are sleeping porches on the back of the house.

Unknown said...

That would be my guess Bermudaonion, since it can get hot during the summer. Glad we have air conditioning. haha

Taminator said...

I felt the same way when I visited Carnton! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Cathy said...

Thanks for this post. I'd love to see Carnton because my great-great-great grandfather, James Henry Brown, was killed at the Battle of Franklin, and I've read a few novels that use that battle as (at least) a partial setting.

Unknown said...

Cathy - oh wow! I really hope you get to see it one day! It would be so much to you.