More markers depicting Federal trench line have popped up in Franklin, Tenn. Meanwhile, battle-damaged Carter House is breaking ground for new visitor center

At right, Sam Huffman of the Civil War commission and planners Emily Huffer and Elizabeth Bulay (City of Franklin)

The city of Franklin, Tennessee – which makes preservation the name of the game -- has installed new markers identifying where Union Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield’s troops dug in before the Nov. 30, 1864, assault that cost the Confederacy six generals and 6,200 casualties.

The announcement this week came ahead of a March 28 groundbreaking for a new visitor center at the Carter House, which was in the center of the fierce fighting.

The Federal trench line was crescent-shaped and anchored by the Harpeth River. The city’s Civil War Historical Commission erected six markers this month, according to preservation planner Emily Huffer.

The first two markers were dedicated in November 2023 near the Carter House and Carter Hill Park, “a reclaimed Civil War battlefield site where some of the heaviest fighting took place,” Kelly Dannenfelser, assistant director of long-range planning and historic preservation, told the Picket in an email. Those markers were funded by Save the Franklin Battlefield and the Battle of Franklin Trust.

Huffer said the markers, made of Indiana limestone and standing about 5 feet tall, are being placed on either side of 10 streets (20 markers total). They are labeled "U.S. Army Line."

Currently, there are posts on Columbia Avenue, Hillsboro Road, New Highway 96 W. and Fair Street. (Click map to enlarge to see the 10 locations)

“Using these markers as a reference point, locals and visitors can visually identify where the forces were located to better understand how the battle enveloped much of the central Franklin area and to obtain a sense of how much the landscape has evolved since the time of the Civil War,” Huffer wrote.

The Harpeth River served as the natural barrier for the entrenchment line. The US Army did not dig up the roads on the streets that the entrenchment line went through, only between each of the streets.

The Union soldiers were set up on the streets between the earthen mounds to protect Franklin citizens, she added.

The city is developing new software that integrates mapping, historical documentation and brief descriptions of each site and location, planners said. That is a project of the historic parks audio tour subcommittee of the Civil War Historical Commission. 

Franklin, about 20 miles south of Nashville, has long been known for working to save or reclaim battlefield. (New marker, right)

The Civil War Trust (now known as the American Battlefield Trust) worked with the city and nonprofit groups to do so following decades of rampant development over battle sites.

”Today, well over a hundred acres of battlefield land have been reclaimed and preserved, often one acre at a time over a span of many years,” says the trust.

“In 2005, (a) Pizza Hut property was bought and restored to its 1864 appearance. In 2012, the Civil War Trust and its partners secured the strip mall, another acre and a half, and thus scored another major victory in the historic journey to reclaim the heart of a battlefield that was once considered lost forever. “

Franklin formed a Civil War advisory task force in the early 2000s, said Huffer. It suggested reproduction carriages for four authentic cannons on the Public Square and the establishment of U.S. trench line markers.

The late Sam Gant was the driving force behind the latter.

The visitor center, other buildings are behind the Carter House (Tenn. Historical Commission)

Perhaps the main Civil War attraction in Franklin is the Carter House on Columbia Avenue. Over 1,000 bullet holes remain in the structure.

Among the most popular stories is of Tod Carter, a young Confederate mortally wounded 500 feet from his boyhood home. His family found the captain on the battlefield. “Dying and insensible, Tod was carried back to the Carter House near dawn and set down in his sister Annie’s room.  He died the next day, just one of the nearly ten thousand family tragedies that the battle wrought,” said the American Battlefield Trust.

The Tennessee Historical Commission said this week $8.5 million has been earmarked for the new Herbert Harper Visitor Center at the state site, which is managed by the Battle of Franklin Trust. The trust will sponsor interpretive exhibits.

The existing visitor center, which has been in use since the early 1980s, will be replaced by a new multiuse building designed to blend with its surroundings.

Map of main combat courtesy American Battlefield Trust (https://www.battlefields.org/)

Built in 1830, the brick house served as headquarters for the Federal 23^rd Corps during the Battle of Franklin. The state acquired the property in 1951 when it was threatened by demolition to make way for a gas station.

The loss at Franklin had a mighty influence on Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood and his troops.

“The scale of the Confederate charge at Franklin rivaled that of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. The action resulted in a disastrous defeat for the South and failed to prevent the Union army from advancing to Nashville,” said the American Battlefield Trust. “The fighting force of the South’s Army of Tennessee was severely diminished.”

Among the Southern generals killed were Patrick Cleburne, Hiram Granbury and States Rights Gist.

The markers are visible along the right of way, from sidewalks (City of Franklin)

Lost (stolen), found and sold: 48 portraits from Herb Peck's prized collection, plundered in 1978 Nashville burglary, have new homes after auction

Florida soldier with carbine; siblings with 3rd Tennessee (Fleischer's Auctions)

Forty-eight photographs, mostly of young Southern men toting rifles, Bowie knives, revolvers and fierce gazes, sold for $259,000 (excluding buyer’s premium) at a weekend auction, pleasing the widow and son of an esteemed collector who curated the images before they were stolen in 1978.

The family of Herb Peck Jr. enlisted the help of law enforcement, other collectors and Military Images magazine in their hunt for 117 images taken during a burglary at their Nashville home.

Peck  began collecting in the 1950s ahead of the Civil War centennial, amassing one of the “premier collections of Civil War portrait photography at a time when the genre’s importance was only first being realized,” said Fleischer’s Auctions.

Peck died at age 67 in 2004 before any of the photographs were recovered. One was located in 2006, 39 were seized during a 2020 raid and eight more were returned in the past year.

Herb Peck Jr. with some of his photos in the 1970s. (Fleischer's Auctions)

Fleischer’s Auctions said representatives of the family attended the three-hour Saturday sale in Columbus, Ohio.

“It’s been an emotional process for everyone involved,” the company said in an email to The Civil War Picket.

Adam Fleischer, in a social media post after the sale, said high interest in the photographs reflected Peck’s eye for quality. “The Peck family's decision to share Herb’s captivating images with the public, following decades of uncertainty, resonated deeply with collectors and history enthusiasts alike.”

The top seller Saturday was lot 45, entitled “Confederate with Colt Revolving Rifle.” It went for $32,200 with the buyer’s premium. The subject wears an outdated cap topped by a havelock and holds a Model 1855 Colt revolving rifle. It’s possible he was from Virginia, according to Fleischer’s.

“This is a masterpiece of Southern photography and I chose it for the cover (left) that featured the story about Herb's collection,” Ronald S. Coddington, editor and publisher of Military Images, told the Picket. (Fleischer’s Auctions is an advertiser with the magazine)

Behind that was lot 34, entitled “Masterful Character Study,” which realized $24,300 with the buyer’s premium. The portrait depicts James and Calvin Walker of the 3^rd Tennessee Infantry. Calvin was killed in action in Georgia in 1864, with an eyewitness noting that nothing was left of his head after he was hit by artillery shrapnel but “"...[a] chin and rather long whiskers.”

Images going for high prices included a Tennessee infantryman, Florida soldier with carbine and a Confederate private armed with a Model 1842 musket, Bowie knife, and pair of large Colt Navy revolvers.

Coddington said he found lot 28, a photograph of a Confederate first sergeant, to be particularly compelling (right, courtesy Fleischer's Auctions).

He cites “the focal clarity of the image, the look of the soldier, the way he holds his saber and the unusual paper mat that was likely used as a substitute for brass mats that were unavailable in the South due to the blockade and loss of territory.”

Ahead of the sale, Fleischer’s Auctions said the collection was once thought lost forever.

Coddington, in a Military Images article about Peck, said photographs from the collection were published in “The Civil War” by Ken Burns and in more than 50 books, magazines and articles, including Time-Life’s “The Civil War” series, the “Confederate Faces” series and “Civil War Times.”

Burglars hit the Peck home in September 1978, making away with 117 images, cameras and more than a dozen weapons.

Law enforcement agencies in Tennessee and the FBI worked on the case as several photographs appeared for sale on online sites. The FBI office in Indianapolis netted one image in 2006.

Peck’s son asked Military Images to revive the case in 2016 and he created a poster showing many of the photographs. The FBI and police in Ethridge, Tenn., recovered 39 images in an October 2020 raid. Eight more turned up later. (Southern musicians with fife and drum, left)

About 70 photographs are still to be recovered, according to Coddington. The publisher says the family is committed to their return. “Due to the active nature of the investigation and concerns from the family about jeopardizing the investigation, this is all I am able to state at this time.”

Saturday’s auction must have brought some satisfaction to Peck’s family.

Peck’s widow, Felicity, previously told Military Images: “I remember how distressed the collectors were at the time of the burglary. It has always been a comfort to me that others care about the importance of these images as historical, visible and tangible evidence of this country.”

Gen. O.O. Howard will be depicted on horseback in new monument at Lincoln Memorial University, which he helped found

The Howard monument (Lincoln Memorial University)

Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., next month will dedicate a monument honoring Civil War Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, who was instrumental in the creation of the school.

”It was a conversation with (President) Lincoln about the loyal unionists in East Tennessee that inspired Howard to help turn the Harrow School into a university,” Michael Lynch, the director of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at LMU, told TV station WVLT.

Howard, known for leading the Freedmen’s Bureau after the war and co-founding Howard University in Washington, D.C, became involved after touring the mountainous Cumberland Gap area in 1896.

Construction of the monument base (Lincoln Memorial University)

“There he met with Reverend A.A. Myers who had founded the Harrow Academy for underprivileged mountain families,” Lincoln Memorial said in a news release.

“Howard agreed to help raise money for the school if Myers would expand its scope to include higher education. A year later, Lincoln Memorial University was founded as a living memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. Howard remained dedicated and involved with LMU through the end of his life in 1909.”

Sculptor Omri Amrany is making the 20-foot monument of Howard, depicted on horseback. The statue is the second memorial of Howard on the campus. A bust (below) sits outside Chinnock Chapel.

(Courtesy of Lincoln Memorial University)

The new monument, which will be placed in Alumni Park, will be dedicated at 11 a.m. Oct. 13 during homecoming celebrations.

Lincoln Memorial University, a private institution, has about 5,400 students. It covers 1,000 acres near Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

Howard, an ardent abolitionist, participated in numerous Civil War campaigns and battles, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Atlanta. He lost his right arm during the battle of Seven Pines in Virginia but returned to service. He later fought in the Indian Wars and served as superintendent at West Point for two years.

The American Battlefield Trust said of Howard:

“Known as ‘the Christian General,’ Oliver Otis Howard is a unique figure in Civil War history.  Despite lackluster performances by troops under his command, Howard’s reputation as an efficient and personally courageous officer would lead to command of an army by the war’s end.”

CSI: Nashville goes Civil War. Police 3D scanners and drones help plot trajectory of bullets fired on Sunnyside Mansion during battle

A mosaic shows likely trajectories of bullets fired by Union troops (MNPD)

What do police crime scene investigators and archaeologists have in common? It turns out, a lot.

Both take extreme care with evidence. They create detailed notes and photographs, make measurements and diagrams, then document and analyze the data.

These skill sets came into play when the Metro Nashville Historical Commission partnered with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department to study two unoccupied log structures at Sunnyside Mansion in Sevier Park.

They wanted to solve the mystery regarding embedded bullets and holes discovered earlier this year in the cabin walls. The 44 “defects” – bullets, holes and chips – were associated with the December 15-16, 1864, Battle of Nashville, a significant defeat for the South.

Nashville police photographs of bullets, defects and removed projecticle

For Adam Fracchia, archaeologist with the historical commission, the ballistics project has provided an opportunity to learn more about the battle and its impact on the mansion. The house -- situated between battle lines -- was occupied for a time by Confederate pickets. Advancing Union troops fired upon Confederates in the log structures – made of stout cedar -- and used the residence as a hospital.

Sunnyside Mansion, the headquarters for the commission, has been undergoing an extensive restoration.

“I went and looked at the building and I noticed the bullet holes,” said Fracchia, who found more upon inspection. A forensics colleague suggested he reach out to the police department. “We wanted to get a (look at bullet) trajectory and where they were fired from.”

For Nashville police, the partnership was an excellent way to further test their FARO 3D scanners, which were used in the investigation of the 2020 Christmas Day bombing in the city. The scanners take 360-degree measurements and capture other details from a crime scene. (Photo courtesy of FARO Technologies)

Taking advantage of modern technology, police merged the scans with images they took by drones to make a mosaic of the mansion – which was built in 1852 – and show likely bullet trajectories and direction.

The project was only the second time that the department combined FARO and drone data, said Officer Douglas Belcher of the crime scenes detail.

“This gave us a great opportunity to test the technology we have and we think it did very well,” Belcher told the public during a July 13 presentation in the visitor center at Fort Negley, a large Union defensive fortification.

Another disastrous battle for Confederates

Nashville fell to Union forces in early 1862, relatively early in the Civil War. Tennessee was a strategic location for the Northern army and it built defenses in the capital.

Following a disastrous loss at the Battle of Franklin in November 1864, Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood moved upon Nashville, digging in below the city. Federal Maj. Gen. George Thomas attacked about two weeks later, sending Hood’s battered army off the field on Dec. 16.

The property now in Sevier Park is in the middle (click to enlarge map)

It has long been known that dozens of bullets, including Minie balls, were left on the porch door and columns on the big house at Sunnyside. Fracchia says you can still see evidence today.

The bullets and bullets in the log structures were found in February as restoration work reached that area on the north side of the house.

Until the damage was found, officials did not know whether the structures might have been elsewhere on the property before being moved to the house. Fracchia theorizes they may have been used as a kitchen or other ancillary purposes. Evidence of cabins for enslaved persons has not been found.

The north face in the 1980s and now (red is the area of study)

By the time of the Civil War, log structures were not fashionable and siding would have covered them, the archaeologist said. “The bullets likely went through the siding and they probably replaced the siding and the bullets were covered up.”

Fracchia said officials don’t have detailed descriptions of what happened on the property during the battle, but they believe Confederates must have been a significant target because of the number of bullets and holes. They eventually were forced to retreat.

Siding still covered the buildings when restoration began. “The more siding we took down, the more we found,” Fracchia said.

Crime scene unit logs entry points with rods (MNPD)

Old school and high tech meet

The police crime scene unit’s work at Sunnyside Mansion wasn’t all fancy gadgets. Officers did old-fashioned work first, marking and photographing the “defects” and using handheld rods to help determine trajectory and origin. An angle finder helped plot direction of impact – from the “leading edge” of the bullet. All of this information, including labeling of the defects, was used to complete the analysis.

“The goal is we want to determine origination. We are trying to figure out where the bullet came from,” crime scenes investigator George Bouton told the Fort Negley audience. “Bullets are predictably unpredictable,” he said. Flight paths are dynamic, including the effects of gravity on trajectory.

Police found and marked 44 bullet "defects" (Image MNPD)

Fracchia told the Picket that at some point after the battle, someone had chiseled out some of the bullets before the siding was replaced. “Nobody in active memory knew there were bullet holes in that wall.”

The archaeologist said a total of seven bullets were embedded in the two log structures. Most remain in the larger of the cabins. The smaller cabin, unfortunately, had to be taken down after the police examination because of its poor conditions. The logs have been kept.

The presentation included photos of a three-ring Minie ball and a Williams cleaner bullet.

“We are assuming they are Union bullets, given they were coming from the north, and fits the battle.” Some of the shots fired upon the mansion also came from the northwest.

The two embedded bullets mentioned by police are soft and burrowed themselves into the cedar. They are fairly well lodged in there, Fracchia said. “We don’t know exactly how far they were fired from.”

Officer Steven Jones said the logs had the density of railroad ties. “So it was extremely good cover.” He said most of the bullets were likely .40- or .50-caliber. "It seems to be a heavy concentration of fire in one area.” 

While Sunnyside Mansion is not a crime scene, it was an interesting opportunity for the police department to employ old skills and new technology.

“The last time a human touched this was in 1864,” said Bouton. “It has been that long. It is still right there where it ended up.”

Maps of Federal attack and Southern positions and bullets (MNHC)

More research at site lies ahead

There’s more work ahead, but the project already is helping flesh out details of the fight around Sunnyside as Union forces swept in from the west and north.

“We see a much more complicated picture out of the battle and how it actually played out,” said Fracchia. “It was crucial to tell this part of the Battle of Nashville.”

The commission has found rifle pits and entrenchments on the land. One pit was found this spring when crews were digging a new sewer line to the mansion. “They hit a discoloration in the soil.”

“The soil was burned and there was charcoal. We found melted lead and two percussion caps.” Fracchia (left) said it was evidence of a small fire. “It was very cold during this time period.”

A researcher from Louisville, Kentucky, is doing dendrochronology work to determine the age of the logs.

“We are working on researching what else these bullet holes may tell us,” said Fracchia, adding he may do metal detector surveys and research the site using geophysics. (Metal detecting is illegal on any city property, including parks, he said).

The aim is to tell a wider story and put up interpretive panels next year after the renovation. The archaeologist would like the surviving cabin to have a few places left open so that visitors can see bullets, holes and chinking between the logs. (The holes would be protected by plastic or thick glass.)

Sunnyside Mansion was built in 1852 and it included outbuildings

Fracchia’s work experience has included archaeology in the East, including Baltimore, and forensic aviation archaeology -- he has helped identify fallen US service members overseas.

His goal in Nashville and Davidson County is to build awareness “that could lead to stewardship and ownership and preservation.”

“What is really surprising is the depth and interest in history and the fragility of these resources. We don’t know that they are there until we find them.”

Editor's note: Please contact Adam Fracchia at adam.fracchia@nashville.gov if you have questions or want to join the work on site.

One of the bullet holes tested in a log structure (MNPD)

The rear of the log structures; the one on the right has been removed (MNPD)

Shiloh's visitor center is closed for months during a museum overhaul that will focus on stories rather than objects

The museum is being largely gutted during the work (NPS photo)

Shiloh National Military Park has gutted its visitor center museum, with plans to transform the space from an object-based presentation to one that highlights compelling stories from the April 1862 battle, officials say.

The federal park in southern Tennessee recently announced the closing of the visitor center for several months. The film “Shiloh: Fiery Trial” is still being shown in the auditorium. Restrooms are available nearby.

The museum is long overdue for the overhaul: The exhibits are about 35 years old.

Park ranger Chris Mekow tells the Civil War Picket in an email that among new items to be displayed is the frock coat of Col. Francis Eugene Whitfield, commander of the 9^th Mississippi Infantry.

Park officials remove artifacts, exhibits from the walls, floor (NPS photo)

“He was wearing this coat in the Battle of Shiloh when he was seriously wounded. The bullet hole and blood are still there. We are very excited to get this on display for the first anywhere,” Mekow said.

The coat came from a private collection with help from grants and donations through the Friends of Shiloh National Battlefield Park. It was donated to the park several years ago.

F.E. Whitfield

Whitfield was wearing the coat on April 7, 1862, during fighting at the Hornets Nest. He accepted the surrender of Lt. Col. William Shaw of the 14th Iowa.

Whitfield, wounded in 1864 at Resaca in Georgia, survived the war and died in 1885.

The Civil War in North Mississippi Facebook page says the double-breasted coat appears to be made of imported gray wool and was finely tailored, with French blue facings, a gold sleeve braid and a three-button cuff.

In September 2017, noted Civil War collector Rafael Eledge donated uniform trousers Whitfield wore after the battle to the park (photo below).

The Picket has asked Mekow for more details on the nature of story-based items and interpretation that will greet visitors after the museum overhaul.

“As for other new exhibits, you will just have to wait,” he wrote previously.

Col. Whitfield's pants before conservation (NPS)

During the work, a temporary station will be set up outside of the 87-year-old building and manned by rangers to assist visitors. Battlefield grounds and park’s bookstore remain open during the project.

Officials say updates will be provided on the park's website and Facebook page.

Visitor center exterior and dismantled exhibits (NPS)

Human remains are found near site of Nashville's Fort Negley

A developer has unearthed human remains that could be two centuries old while digging to lay the foundation of a new Nashville project not far from a Civil War fort and a cemetery dating back to 1822. The discovery marks the latest intersection of economic boom times and the city's rich and sometimes troubled history — where new amenities sprout up on or near lands where people long ago settled, battled or toiled, then died and were buried, often with little record of their final resting places. -- Article

Monument to USCT dedicated in Tenn. city that was a recruitment center

A monument to U.S. Colored Troops was unveiled at Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center in Clarksville, Tenn. Hundreds gathered for a weekend Juneteenth ceremony filled with speeches, music, poems and dance in honor of the troops. Clarksville served as a recruitment center for escaped slaves who joined the Union army. -- Article

Civil War author and preservationist Robert Hicks dies at 71

Robert Hicks, whose best-selling novel “The Widow of the South,” set during the 1864 Battle of Franklin, Tenn., evoked the bravery and bloodshed that he sought to memorialize as a leading preservationist of Civil War history, died Feb. 25 at his home in Franklin. He was 71. Mr. Hicks helped lead Franklin’s Charge, a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to preserve the Civil War battle sites of Middle Tennessee and to educate the public about the history that transpired there. -- Article

Fire marshal investigates arson attack on Hazen Brigade Monument at Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee

Monument was built in summer/fall 1863 (Library of Congress)

Arson investigators are asking the public for information that may help them determine who threw Molotov cocktails at the Hazen Brigade Monument – the oldest Civil War memorial still standing on its original battlefield location – at Stones River National Battlefield near Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Rutherford County Fire Marshal’s Office said Monday the incident likely took place in mid-December, but went unreported due to the time of day of the incident and the relatively remote location of the monument.

The office said it was made aware of the incident by Florida investigators with a similar investigation in their jurisdiction. “We are hoping someone may have information that would be helpful to our ongoing criminal investigation,” Rutherford County Fire Marshal Joshua Sanders said in a news release. Officials provided no information on any findings thus far.

Stones River National Battlefield said on Facebook that it was aware of the incident and cooperating with the investigation. A staffer who answered the phone Tuesday morning said officials were gathering information and had no comment.

Historic photo shows grave markers near monument (NPS photo)

The cube-shaped limestone monument has inscriptions carved on each side. It stands in the brigade’s cemetery marking the unit’s location during the Battle of Stones River on Dec. 31, 1862. Col. William B. Hazen’s brigade played a central role during the Union victory and withstood four Confederate attacks, according to the National Park Service, and he was promoted to brigadier general.

“The brigade's determined resistance ended the advance of the Confederate Army of Tennessee and kept it from pushing the Union Army of the Cumberland back to Nashville,” the park says.

Construction of the monument by soldiers took place in 1863. It is nestled among the graves of 55 soldiers. A battlefield historic resource study detailed repairs of the monument in the mid-1980s and some interesting findings from an archaeologist. Park staffers found Confederate cannon balls, another shell, two rifle barrels and a cedar staff rested on the same level within the monument.

“(Archaeologist) John W. Walker identified the artillery shells as being of Confederate origin and suggested that the other items found in this cache were also representative of weapons used by Confederates attacking Hazen’s brigade during the crucial engagement in the area known as the Round Forest, where the monument is located. During this series of Confederate artillery and infantry assaults, even the trees surrounding the Union troops became dangerous projectiles as cannon balls and shells tore through them, dangerously raining sharp fragments of shattered branches upon the troops below.”

William B. Hazen

The National Park Service has a video describing Walker’s work on an online page about the monument. The video is narrated by Alissa Kane, a community volunteer ambassador.

Kane writes further about it on the Murfreesboro Monuments web site, saying the artifacts found in Hazen memorial were considered by Walker to be symbolic and served as a time capsule.

She said Walker could not determine the true meaning of the items.

The fire marshal’s news release has an email and phone number the public can use to provide any tips.

Tennessee city honors US Colored Troops with statue

For the first time in Franklin, Tenn., history, a statue now stands on the historic square honoring the Black enslaved men who enlisted in the U.S. Colored Troops, a segregated part of the Union Army during the Civil War. The statue was unveiled Saturday during an emotional ceremony commemorating the troops and their sacrifices. They fought not only for their individual freedoms, but for those millions of enslaved men, women and children across the nation. -- Article

Mackinac Island in Michigan briefly housed three Southern prisoners. Here's what we learned about them during a recent visit

Civil War-era barracks are in the background of this fort view (Picket photo)

Above the throng of tourists enjoying the restaurants, water views and fudge shops of Mackinac Island in Michigan stands a fort that briefly held three Southern prisoners during the Civil War.

I recently spent a few hours on the island, gawking at the Grand Hotel, moving to the side of roads to make way for carriage rides and taking a look at picturesque Fort Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw), which is perched above the harbor. Before the visit, I did not know anything about its brief Civil War episode.

Fort Mackinac, now a state park, is most famous for two clashes during the War of 1812. But during the summer of 1862, it housed three Tennesseans who military Gov. Andrew Johnson (later president) had ordered arrested for support of the Confederacy and “treasonous inclinations.”

“Johnson felt that the wealthy, planter class of the South was part of the reason for the war and he wanted the three men removed from Tennessee,” the fort’s website says.

Washington Barrow, Judge Guild and William G. Harding

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton arranged for the trio to be sent to Michigan.

Fort Mackinac had largely been used as deployment center during the mid-19^th century and was not in much use when the Civil War began.

But after the arrests of Judge Josephus Conn Guild, Washington Barrow and William G. Harding, officials prepared their quarters and secured a 90-member militia unit, the Stanton Guard, from the Detroit area.

The prisoners, all from the Nashville area, were able to walk the grounds on their own, being confined to their quarters at night. They could walk downtown under guard but were not allowed to interact with anyone. The men were never criminally charged; instead they were considered political or state prisoners.

One of the blockhouses at Fort Mackinac (Picket photo)

The park’s website provides this information about the three:

“Judge Guild was originally from Virginia, had served in the Tennessee legislature and was a founder of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Washington Barrow was a lawyer who served as a congressman and attorney general in Tennessee. He signed the Tennessee secession ordinance and helped finance a Confederate cavalry company. William G. Harding owned the 3,500 acre plantation Belle Meade where he raised thoroughbred race horses. He served as adjutant general of the Tennessee militia.”

A rifle firing demonstration on the grounds (Picket photo)

According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, Guild was outspoken in his support for the Southern war effort. Early in the Civil War, Harding headed the Military and Financial Board of Tennessee, which spent $5 million arming and equipping Rebel soldiers. 

The three prisoners were on the island during its most pleasant months. Perhaps with thoughts of a possibly harsh winter ahead, Guild and Harding took a loyalty oath and were allowed to return to Tennessee.

Barrow was shipped to the military prison at Johnson’s Island in Ohio. He refused to take an oath but was exchanged in March 1863.

“Barrow returned to Tennessee, ran unsuccessfully for Confederate governor of the state, and spent the balance of the war as a private with the retreating Army of Tennessee,” the encyclopedia says. “After the defeat of the Confederacy, Barrow returned to Nashville, broken in health and financially ruined. He died within the year.”

Fort Mackinac was largely not garrisoned for the remainder of the war.

Several of the park’s 14 buildings go back before the Civil War, including its signature blockhouses and barracks that housed the Stanton Guard.

I enjoyed strolling the grounds and ramparts, and took in seasonal rifle firing and signal flag demonstrations put on by the staff.

Much of the programming focuses on the Army’s use of the fort in the 1870 into the 1890s, when it was deactivated.

Fort Mackinac is one of few surviving Revolutionary War forts.

The briefly constituted Stanton Guard at Fort Mackinac