It's me again, Dorothy. I just wanted to thank those of you who have been checking us out. We really appreciate your support and feedback. I know there are those of you out there who walk a different path. You may have a collection of potato chips with faces on them, or have every pair of shoes you've ever worn. Whatever, we're interested! Everyone is different in some way. Reach out and share it with us. So email us or write and let us know, and send in your pictures too. We'd love to see them.
Thanks, Dorothy WIDOW OF THE SOUTH PRESERVES HISTORY
Story and Photos BY DOROTHY CURTIS For those of you who like delving into the past, especially the Civil War, there is a plantation in Franklin, TN called Canton House. It is the subject of a book by Robert Hicks, "Widow of the South", and was on the New York Times' Bestseller List. Located near the country club, the house was built in the early to mid-1800's, and was used as a hospital during the latter part of the Civil War.
The 3-story home faces away from the highway, in the direction of the original road. A troop of over 10,000 Rebel soldiers is said to have camped on the grounds before an attack by Union forces led to a day-long encounter.
Carrie McCavock, the owner's wife, was reluctant at first to allow the house to be commandeered, but in the end, she and her house staff assisted the surgeons with their work. Almost every upper room in the house was used to treat the wounded; at one point, amputated limbs were thrown out of the windows to collect in a pile in the yard, where they were later burned.
The Southern dead were interred at a neighbor's farm. The Union soldiers were buried in a mass grave. Wooden markers were erected to identify the dead; however, over time these degraded or vandals stole them. Finally, the land where the soldeirs were buried was to be used for another purpose and their graves erased.
Widow McGavock was outraged at the desecration, and she paid a crew of men to unearth each of the fifteen hundred graves, and to transport the remains to Canton Plantation, where they were reburied. As each body was moved, she personally kept a record of each man's name, rank, division and birth and death dates using the old markers. Then she commissioned new ones to be placed on each grave. Later these were replaced with small stone blocks, as well as a marker at the beginning of each division showing the State they came from. The book has been reprinted for tourists, but the original is still in the house.
The graves are located next to the family cemetery. At one time, the country club tried to get the county to allow them to destroy the cemetery so it could be used by their facility, but earlier this year they were defeated, and the soldiers allowed to rest in peace.
Tours of the house are available and there is a ghost tour as well.
