Fort Granger

Fort Granger
Fort Granger's earthworks
Location 113 Fort Granger Franklin, TN 37065 Franklin, Tennessee
Coordinates 35°55′33″N 86°51′38″W / 35.92583°N 86.86056°W / 35.92583; -86.86056Coordinates: 35°55′33″N 86°51′38″W / 35.92583°N 86.86056°W / 35.92583; -86.86056
Area 20 acres (8.1 ha)
Built 1862
NRHP reference # 73001858[1]
Added to NRHP January 8, 1973

Fort Granger was a Union fort in the American Civil War, built in 1862 in Franklin, Tennessee, south of Nashville. One of several fortifications constructed in the Franklin Battlefield, the fort was used by Union troops to defend their positions in Middle Tennessee against Confederate attackers, most notably the during the Second Battle of Franklin, part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign in the Western Theater of the Civil War.

Today, Fort Granger's subsisting earthworks are a city park, near center of Franklin. Fort Granger is listed by the National Register of Historic Places.[2] The site is accessible to the public via a trail from Pinkerton Park, and includes a boardwalk offering a view of the Harpeth River and extending through part of the fort's site itself.[2]

History

As a fort

Construction, early use

After the Union Army captured Nashville early in 1862, Union troops under the command of Major General Gordon Granger[3] occupied Franklin within a few weeks.[4] The Union Army, fearful of local unrest and Confederate guerrillas, began planning and construction for an artillery position that would protect the Nashville railroad line nearby.[5] Construction of Fort Granger, named for Gordon Granger, began in 1863, and was overseen by Captain W. E. Morrill.[3]

Fort Granger was constructed just north of the Harpeth River, on Figuer's Bluff, parallel to the railroad to Nashville.[6] The fort was built here because the bluff had military control over the Harpeth River bridge of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad, and it had control over the southern and northern approaches to Franklin.[7] The completed fort incorporated nearly 275,000 square feet.[6] It is approximately 781 feet long and 346 wide.[8] Its entrance was called the "sally port."[7] The strongest part of the fortification, called "The Cavalier," was the location where the ground was the highest.[9] This "fort within a fort" was meant for use during overpowering attacks where defenders could make a final stand against invaders.[9] The Cavalier was ideal for artillery because it provided the best view of the surrounding landscape.[9]

Union troops and some escaped slaves built Fort Granger.[10] A letter written by James L. Rogers, 98th Ohio Infantry, on June 4, 1863 reveals some of the Federal units who constructed Fort Granger. Rogers states, "For the last 2 months and over we have been camped in, near Franklin, Tenn.. While our stay there, our time was principally occupied in working on the fortifications and scouting occasionally. And on the 2nd day of June General Grainger’s commenced including the 125th.O., 124th., O, 113th., O., 121st.O., 98th.O., 40th.O., 115th.ILL., 96th., ILL., 12ILL., & 84th Ind., and 2 or 3 regts of cavalry & 3 battries left Franklin at 6 a.m."[11] The Samuel Boyd Map shows the positions of the Federal unit's camp sites at Franklin in 1863.[12]

The Union position in Franklin was initially secure, and Fort Granger was therefore occupied by a small garrison.[6] Union troops hung two Confederate spies on June 9, 1863.[6] Likewise, the fort's artillery served twice in 1863 against Confederate cavalry forces.[3]

During the Second Battle of Franklin

Fort Granger's most important moment came during the Second Battle of Franklin, part of John Bell Hood's efforts in September 1864 to lead the Army of Tennessee to attack Union General William T. Sherman's supply lines after Sherman defeated Hood at Atlanta.[13] Hood directed the army north into Tennessee.[13]

As part of the Second Battle of Franklin, Fort Granger served the Union cause. In the late afternoon of November 30, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood's army attacked Union General John M. Schofield's troops in a fierce battle. The fighting lasted for five hours, including widespread hand-to-hand combat and artillery fire, causing 10,000 casualties on both sides.[10] The commanding Union general, Schofield, spent most of the battle inside the fort,[6] where he had an excellent view of the battlefield.[10] At the same time, he watched his men build pontoon bridges across the Harpeth River, permitting him to move supply wagons and troops to Nashville once the battle had ended.[10]

Fort Granger's artillery delivered enfilading fire upon Confederate attackers on November 30, 1864.[14] Four 3-inch rifled cannons in Fort Granger were fired by Capt. Giles J. Cockerill, Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery.[13] The Confederates suffered serious casualties to the 163 rounds fired by Cockerill's guns.[13] The right wing of the Confederate line, commanded by Gen. A. P. Stewart's corps, suffered the most from these rounds.[13] Confederate attackers were subject to massed fire from the Union artillery from the fort.[15] Local topography made Fort Granger's fire all the more lethal. When Confederate General Stewart's men advanced under Fort Granger's fire, their right flank was blocked by the Harpeth River. Confederate regiments infantry regiments like the 35th Alabama and the 12th Louisiana, General Thomas Scott's brigade, and the 43rd Mississippi, Gen. John Adam's brigade, were in particular harmed by the fire. Stewart's Corps suffered almost 3,000 casualties during the battle, many caused by Fort Granger's fire.[10]

A Union soldier, German immigrant Lieutenant Frederick W. Fout, described the scene: "From our post at Fort Granger, we could see every troop and every gun in our line, as long as it was day and the cloud of gun smoke allowed it. After sundown, the sparks of rifle fire and the lightning, thunder and groaning of the heavy cannons was splendid and awe-inspiring for the eye and ear."[10]

As a historical site

In 1973, a 20-acre (8.1 ha) area, including one contributing structure and one contributing site, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1][16] The site now contains several historical panels about the fort's history and the events surrounding its construction and use.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "Fort Granger". www.franklin-gov.com. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Fort Granger". Historical marker, 113 Fort Granger Dr, Franklin, TN 37064
  4. ↑ Smith, Michael Thomas (2014). The 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign: The Finishing Stroke. Santa Barbara: Praeger. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-313-39234-4.
  5. ↑ Holladay, Bob (Spring 2009). "James Hogan, Jr., and the Conflicts of Antebellum Southern Identity in Williamson County". Tennessee Historical Quarterly: 20–39.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Jacobson, pp. 208-12; Welcher, p. 593; Sword, p. 167; Eicher, p. 772.
  7. 1 2 "Battlefield Tours Fort Granger". Civil War Landscapes. December 26, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ McNutt, Kraig W. (2014). Who Built Fort Granger?. The Center for the Study of the Civil War.
  9. 1 2 3 "The Cavalier". Civil War Journeys. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historical marker: "We could see every troop and every gun," located at Fort Granger
  11. ↑ The Kraig McNutt Civil War Collection, https://battleoffranklin.wordpress.com/about-your-guide/
  12. ↑ The Fortress War: Effect of Union Fortifications in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, by Thomas R. Flagel. Middle Tennessee State University, 2016. Doctoral dissertation. p 44.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Dover, Michael (March 24, 2011). "The Historical Marker Database". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ Jacob Dolson Cox (1897). The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864: a monograph. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. p. 123. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  15. ↑ Crownover, Sims (December 1955). "The Battle of Franklin". Tennessee Historical Quarterly.
  16. ↑ Jack Morgan and Earle DuRard, Jr. (September 1, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fort Granger". National Park Service. Retrieved March 2, 2017. with two photos from 1973 and aerial photo from 1972
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