Читать книгу Nashville Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 29

directions

From downtown Nashville, take I-65 South to Exit 74B, merging onto TN 254 West/Old Hickory Boulevard toward Brentwood. Turn left at Franklin Pike and continue onto TN 6 South/US 31 South/Franklin Road. Continue straight at the traffic circle onto Main Street/Public Square, continuing to follow Main Street. Take a left onto Columbia Avenue, and the Carter House is on the right.

history

Essentially, the Carter House was the epicenter of one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War. The house itself was built in 1829 by a man named Fountain Carter, and for many years his family lived in the house in relative happiness. Eventually, Fountain’s wife died in the house along with 4 of his 12 children. When the Civil War broke out, three of Fountain’s sons joined the Confederate army.

One of these sons, Tod Carter, became captain. He was captured at Missionary Ridge but escaped, returning to his unit to continue the fight. Since he had gone through the hardships of being a prisoner of war, his unit allowed him to go visit his family in Franklin.

On the night of November 29, Tod stayed the night at a friend’s house, which was only a couple miles from his family home. He planned to reunite with his family the next day. History would have other plans. Union forces had planned to sneak past the Confederate forces in Franklin by crossing the Harpeth River during the night. Unfortunately, the river level was too high and the Union forces could not cross. They set up defenses at the Carter home and braced for the next day’s attack.

It wasn’t until around 4 p.m. the next day that the Confederate forces were finally organized enough to mount an attack. The battle raged through most of the night. Tod Carter, knowing that his family was trapped inside the house that stood at the center of the battle, organized a charge toward the Union center and his family home. He was hit by several bullets and fell in his own yard.

The Confederate army won the battle but lost almost three times as many men as the Union. Tod, wounded, was carried into the Carter House, where he was laid on the bed in his sister Annie’s room. He died from his wounds only a couple feet from the place where he was born.

ghost story

Nearly 150 years has passed since the Battle of Franklin, but the ghosts of that night are still prevalent within the home. While there are, of course, ghostly remnants of soldiers here who died during the battle, either manifested through phantom footsteps or inexplicable shadows, the most often experienced casualty of the battle is that of Tod Carter himself. Tod can be seen throughout the house, most often sitting on the side of the bed in Annie’s room where he died or in the hallway in the downstairs of the house. It seems as if Tod finally made it home and nothing—not even death—is going to take him away.

Much of the other phenomena that occur here are attributed to Annie Carter, Tod’s sister. Items will suddenly move by themselves, falling inexplicably from a dresser or simply flying as if tossed across the room. Other times, a ball will roll down the hallway without anyone having pushed it, or an unsuspecting tourist will feel a tug on his or her sleeve, only to look down and find no one there.

Occasionally, people will hear the voice of a friendly woman welcoming them to the house despite the fact that there is no one there.

visiting

Since most of the activity here at the Carter House actually occurs within the home itself, you will probably need to enter the building during regular business hours in order to experience the ghosts. The building itself is open for tours from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week, and tours cost $12 a person. The grounds of the house are included on the tour, so you are unable to explore the grounds and the battlefield unless you pay admission.

At 5 p.m., the building and grounds close to the public, so if you want to experience some of the ghostly activity here, it would have to be before the house closes. Luckily, though, a lot of the activity here does happen during the day, and you may just get that chance to encounter one of these spirits.