Franklin’s Clubwomen: 1890s–1940s At the turn of the twentieth century, Franklin’s clubwomen began advocating for several social causes as part of the larger women’s movement in the U.S. Clubwomen raised funds, generated publicity, and advocated for the preservation of the nation’s treasured landmarks. In Franklin, two of the most active women’s clubs were the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Women in Franklin also served in leadership roles in the Tennessee Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, founded in 1889 as the first statewide preservation organization in the United States. They were also active in the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, established in 1915 to preserve the nation’s heritage and historic places.15 UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY Founded on October 30, 1895, the Franklin Chapter No. 14 of the UDC advocated for the identification and preservation of historic landmarks associated with the Battle of Franklin, fought on November 30, 1864. The military battle was one of the deadliest conflicts of the Civil War with over 10,000 casualties. The Federal defeat of the Confederate charge at Franklin led to the city’s battlefields becoming sites of collective memory, trauma, and mourning for residents, most of whom supported the Confederacy. Prior to formation of the UDC chapter, Franklin’s clubwomen had already been engaged in preservation activities such as maintenance of the McGavock Confederate Cemetery at the Carnton plantation.16 In January 1899, the Franklin UDC launched a fundraising campaign to fabricate a 37-foot-tall marble and granite Confederate monument for exhibition in the center of the Public Square. In doing so, the 15 Dubrow and Goodman 2003:17–25. 16 Bailey 2015; Jones 2019. clubwomen resurrected an earlier Lost Cause campaign led by the Williamson County Confederate Monument Association, formed in August 1889 by a group of men led by Thomas F. Perkins Jr. (1842–1893), a Confederate veteran and state senator. The monument association launched a $12,000 fundraising campaign. However, by 1892, the association had raised only a small amount of money and disbanded. (A second monument campaign initiated in 1883 also failed to materialize.) After Thomas F. Perkins Jr. died in 1893, his widow, Louisa Perkins (1846–1928), carried on his work as a member of the UDC monument committee. The UDC picked up where the all-male monument association left off and successfully raised $2,700 to fund fabrication of the monument.17 The UDC monument committee selected the Muldoon Monument Company of Louisville, Kentucky to fabricate the monument depicting a Confederate infantry soldier at parade rest atop a tall shaft. The UDC and Confederate veterans considered locating the monument at the McGavock Confederate Cemetery or within the battlefield, like Nashville had done in 1889 with its Confederate monument in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. They ultimately decided to locate the monument at the highly visible center of the Public Square so that it would be widely seen by residents and visitors.18 Dedicated at a grand ceremony on November 30, 1899, the Our Confederate Soldiers monument (NRHP 1988) commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. The dedication ceremony consisted of a 1.5-mile-long parade from the train depot. An estimated 10,000 people attended the ceremony, which featured orations by numerous elected officials and community leaders – all of whom were men, despite that this effort was women-led. The monument was surrounded by an iron fence and granite curbing. 17 Bailey 2015:40; Jones 2019; NPS SRS 2006:11, 72. 18Bailey 2015:40; Jones 2019. 62 FRANKLIN, TN | PRESERVATION PLAN
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY1Mzc2