If you have driven down Main Street in Franklin or traveled around the historic downtown area, you've probably noticed the vinyl banners hanging on posts along the roadside. The Sesquicentennial banners pay tribute to twelve of the significant people who were impacted by the Battle of Franklin. The banners were beautifully designed by our friends at Birdsong Creative, an artistic Branding agency here in Franklin, for the Franklin Sesquicentennial - Franklin 150 campaign. Birdsong Creative is the Agency of Record for the Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau (WCCVB), and we were lucky enough to fabricate the banners for them that help commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. 

One of the Franklin 150 banners in downtown Franklin, Tennessee.
(Photo Courtesy of the Franklin Home Page)

Our historic city is filled with antebellum homes, National Register of Historic Places plaques, parks, landmarks and cemeteries that tell portions of Franklin's story in the American Civil War. The outdoor banners refer to the more personal stories - the tales of some of the individuals who witnessed, fought, died, survived and were impacted by the five hours that saw so much bloodshed. All of the banners include the same request: Try to imagine... How do we even begin to image? Here are a few of the featured banners and the tales they tell. 

Carrie McGavock, the wife of John McGavock, called the Carnton Plantation home. It was her home that became the largest field hospital in the area in the days following the Battle of Franklin. She helped comfort and care for the wounded and dying Confederate soldiers and, at one point, had the remains of four Confederate generals on her back porch. She later maintained the 2-acre cemetery that her family donated for the almost 1,500 Confederate soldiers buried there. She kept a record of the soldiers' identities and communicated with their families until her death in 1905. 

A.N.C. Williams was a local businessman in Franklin; however, his life began very differently. He was born into slavery in 1844, in Spring Hill, TN. He moved to Franklin at the age of six. This amazing man learned how to read and write and also built an honorable reputation of being very trustworthy among both the black and white communities in Franklin. Upon emancipation in 1863, he opened up his first business, a shoe repair shop, in downtown Franklin. He continued being a very trusted and respected resident of Franklin, and eventually built and opened a general merchandise store on Main Street. For over sixty years, he managed his store before retiring in 1928.