Next Thursday, state and local officials will hold a ceremony, dedicating The Eastern Flank Battlefield Park as the first fully interpreted battlefield park .
At the April 3rd dedication event, Franklin Mayor Ken Moore, author and historian Robert Hicks, Columbia State Professor Thomas Flagel, attorney and philanthropist Julian Bibb, Tennessee Commissioner of Transportation John Schroer, and State Historian Dr. Carroll Van West will offer remarks on the project and its significance. The event will begin at 10 a.m., and the public is encouraged to attend.
The Evolution of Eastern Flank
In 2004, the non-profit organization Franklin’s Charge was formed, when the former Country Club of Franklin golf course was threatened by development. Representing Civil War preservation, the group raised nearly $7 million to acquire the property. Organizations including the American Battlefield Protection Program, the Civil War Trust and several private donors made the purchase possible, and the property was given to the City of Franklin for use as a park. Since then, the City Parks department has done extensive work to the site, enhancing it for the benefit of citizens and the thousands of visitors who come each year to learn more about Franklin’s Civil War history.
Thanks to a $240,000 grant from the Tennessese Civil War National Heritage Area, Eastern Flank has undergone more improvements recently, just in time for the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. Loop Road was completed last year and allows for public access to the 110-acre park, 20 interpretive signs and three kiosks have been erected, telling the story of what happened there in 1864. Local historians Thomas Flagel, Eric Jacobson and Rick Warwick collaborated to research and present compelling facts about the battle and its aftermath through the interpretive signage.
“It’s rewarding to see children and parents walking the property and reading the signs and learning about what happened 150 years ago,” Watson said. “Our history matters to our future, and we’ve come so far with the support of so many partners,” said Stacey Suzanne Watson, director of Franklin’s Charge.
The Eastern Flank Battlefield Park is located at 1368 Eastern Flank Circle in Franklin, off of Lewisburg Pike and adjacent to Carnton Plantation.
In mid-November, the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event will take place but special events are happening all spring and summer. For a list of events, visit www.franklin150.com
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I can’t wait to go check it out. I think it would have been neat to kept it a golf course and each hole tee box have a history plaque.