MULTI-FACETED ADVOCACY EFFORTS Additional important efforts impacted Civil War preservation as well. Those efforts included: • The creation of the Battle of Franklin Trust to manage the separate sites of the Carnton Plantation and the Carter House, with the subsequent merger of all three organizations into the Battle of Franklin Trust in 2009– the result of the merger has provided for a coordinated and uniform tourist experience and sharper focus on battlefield reclamation (it also should be noted that the BOFT has now been given responsibility and authority to manage Rippa Villa in Spring Hill, Tennessee opening up the interpretation of the events leading up to the Battle of Franklin); • The evaluation by the National Park Service in 2005 regarding whether the Franklin Battlefield could become a national battlefield park; • Beginning in 2006, the focus, programming and advertising of Franklin’s Civil War history by the Williamson County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau; • The hosting by Franklin’s Charge in each of 2007, 2008, and 2009 of conferences that attracted a national group of attendees including an education forum to discuss both the Battle of Franklin and Civil War Preservation efforts in Franklin; • The recognition of Franklin’s Civil War history through signage developed by the National Civil War Trails program, (g) the successful public fundraising effort in 2014 to remount Franklin’s four pre-Civil War 6-pounder cannons on replica field carriages located on the Public Square; • The Civil War Historical Commission engaged in community awareness and education projects. The Historic Wayfinding Program created a brandmark for new wayfinding signage to raise community awareness of various Civil War and historical sites in Franklin. The U.S. Army Line Marker Program is underway, which includes the installation of Limestone markers along the trench line used in the Battle of Franklin. The vision is to help locals and visitors understand how much area the battle enveloped around Downtown Franklin and understand the changes in development that has taken place since. The historic parks audio tour update is underway to tell more of the Civil War and Reconstruction stories in Franklin. THE TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA WORKS TO INTERPRET STORIES Tennessee’s significant role in the Civil War is reflected in a unique distinction: it is the only state whose entirety is encompassed in a National Heritage Area, designated by Congress in 1996. The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area (TCWNHA) works to tell “the whole story of America’s greatest challenge, 1860-1875: the powerful stories of vicious warfare, the demands of the home front and occupation, the freedom of emancipation, and the enduring legacies of Reconstruction.”53 The NHA management entity works with partners across the state to develop programs and projects that interpret Civil War stories to educate residents, students and tourists. 53 Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, https://www. tncivilwar.org/ 87
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