Emancipation Proclamation (Source: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum) CIVIL WAR (1861–1865) The Civil War began in April 1861 and significantly impacted Williamson County throughout the war. There were three notable battles at Brentwood, Thompson’s Station, and Franklin that had some of the highest fatalities during the war. In February 1862, the U.S. Army captured Nashville, and they held it until the end of the war. Troops under the command of Gen. Gordon Granger moved southward along the Franklin Turnpike and took permanent possession of the town. FORTIFICATIONS AND SIGNAL STATIONS In Spring of 1863, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Granger on the north side of town, a strategic command post protecting the railroad bridge spanning the Harpeth River. Self-emancipated Black freedmen assisted Federal forces with the construction of this fortification. The U.S. Army also built entrenchments and an octagonal log block house as a signal station on top of Roper’s Knob, about a mile northeast of Fort Granger, helped guard both the Nashville Turnpike and the vital Nashville and Decatur railroad that passed through the heart of Middle Tennessee. UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS (USCT) Following the Militia Act of 1862 and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the United States began to allow African Americans and other ethnic groups to join the Union Army. This was crucial to the outcome of the Civil War and comprised ten percent of the U.S. forces. There are 365 known formerly enslaved men with ties to Franklin or Williamson County who served in the USCT. APRIL 1863 ENGAGEMENT The first significant engagement occurred on April 10, 1863. Confederate Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn advanced north along the Lewisburg Turnpike from Spring Hill. Granger initially considered this movement a strategic diversion and sent forces to protect Brentwood, north of Franklin on the route to Nashville. The Confederate advance was repulsed by Granger’s subordinate, BG. David S. Stanley, whose men crossed the Harpeth River at Hughes’ Ford. The Confederates under Van Dorn returned to Spring Hill. The First significant engagement, with a Confederate advance by Maj. Gen. Van Dorn (Source: National Park Service) April 1863 Engagement 1863 United States Colored Troops (Photo: Library of Congress) 45
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