Carnton Carnton is a historic plantation house and museum in Franklin in Williamson County , Tennessee . Carnton is the setting for the novel " The Widow of the South " , by author Robert Hicks . The sprawling farm and its buildings played an important role during and immediately after the Battle of Franklin during the American Civil War . It is managed by the non - profit organization The Battle of Franklin Trust . Antebellum years . Initial construction . The first construction at Carnton took place in 1815 by Randal McGavock ( 1768 – 1843 ) , who had emigrated from Virginia , settling in Nashville , Tennessee . Significant work on the home started in the mid - 1820s using slave labor . McGavock named the property after his father ’ s birthplace in County Antrim , Ireland . The term “ Carnton “ was derived from a Gaelic word " cairn " that means “ a pile of stones ” . A cairn is sometimes a pile of stones marking a grave . Early on , the main house was adjoined to the smokehouse or kitchen by a two - story wing . The smokehouse was the first structure in the property ( c . 1815 ) . The kitchen was destroyed by a tornado in 1909 . The remains can clearly be seen today and were excavated by archaeologists . Patriarch : Randal McGavock . Randal McGavock was a prominent local politician , serving as Mayor of Nashville for a one - year term in 1824 . He knew President James K . Polk and was good friends with President Andrew Jackson , who stayed in the McGavock home on more than one occasion . Jackson gave a rocking chair to the McGavocks , and it is one of the several original artifacts or pieces of furniture one can see when touring the home today . The home was ready for the McGavock family to permanently occupy in the late 1820s . At the time it was 1 , 400 acres ( 6 km² ) of which 500 acres ( 2 km² ) was used for farming . In the 1830s , McGavock had 250 hogs , cattle , and sheep . Son : Col . John McGavock . Randal McGavock died in 1843 , leaving his property to two sons , James and John ( 1815 – 1893 ) . John took possession of the Carnton property . He continued to farm it until his death in 1893 . John married Carrie Winder ( 1829 – 1905 ) , who is famously known as the " Widow of the South " . John McGavock started renovating the home in the late 1840s , preferring a Greek Revival style to the Federal style it was birthed from . Thus , he added a two - story Greek Revival portico and two dormers in the attic . In the 1850s , McGavock added a two - story porch onto the rear of the home . There are Greek Revival touches in the interior as well , including then - fashionable wallpapers , faux - painting and carpets in most every room . Three distinct wallpaper patterns have been discovered on the third floor . The central passage downstairs appears much as it did in 1864 during the Civil War . The wallpaper design , though a reproduction , is based on a popular design for the time . The parlor also saw a Greek Revival upgrade in the form of a fireplace mantel , new wallpaper and carpeting . The china set in the dining room is original to the McGavock family and contains over 200 pieces , all hand - made , each completely unique . The clock on the mantel in the parlor is original to the family and it still works , counting the time like it did in the hours after the Battle of Franklin in December 1864 . In December 1848 John married his cousin Carrie Winder of Ducros Plantation House in Thibodaux , Louisiana . The couple had five children but only two would survive to adulthood . McGavock sent his slaves to Alabama early in the Civil War , so in 1864 there were no McGavock slaves present . Carnton during the Civil War . Just prior to the Civil War , the McGavock ’ s net worth was about $ 339 , 000 in 1860 , which is about $ 6 million in 2007 dollars . Among the crops the McGavocks grew in the mid - 19th century in middle Tennessee were wheat , corn , oats , hay , and potatoes . The McGavocks were also involved in raising and breeding livestock and thoroughbred horses . Carnton became the epicenter for tending the wounded and dying after the Battle of Franklin on November 30 , 1864 . The home was situated less than one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) from the location of the activity that took place on the far Union Eastern flank . Since most of the battle took place after dark , from 5 to 9 p . m . , the McGavocks witnessed the fire and explosion of guns and muskets that permeated the sky over Franklin on that Indian summer evening . More than 1 , 750 Confederates lost their lives at Franklin . It was on Carnton ' s back porch that four Confederate generals ’ bodies — Patrick Cleburne , John Adams , Otho F . Strahl and Hiram B . Granbury — were laid out for a few hours after the Battle of Franklin . Some 6 , 000 soldiers were wounded and another 1 , 000 were missing . After the battle , many Franklin - area homes were converted into temporary field hospital s , but Carnton by far was the largest hospital site . Hundreds of Confederate wounded and dying were tended by Carrie McGavock and the family after the battle . Some estimates say that as many as 300 Confederate soldiers were cared for by the McGavocks inside Carnton alone . Scores , if not hundreds more , were spread out through the rest of the property , including in the slave cabins . Some wounded had to simply sleep outside during the frigid nights , when the temperature reached below zero . Carrie Winder McGavock – " Widow of the South " . Carrie led the Good Samaritan services for the family on behalf of the Southern soldiers after the battle . She made breakfast the following morning , and witnesses say her dress was blood soaked at the bottom . Doubtless , many soldiers died inside the home or out on the grounds of the plantation due to the horrible Battle of Franklin . At least 150 died the first night . Carrie ' s two children , Hattie ( then nine ) and son Winder ( then seven ) witnessed the carnage as well , probably providing some basic assistance to the surgeons as well . Many of the floors in Carnton became stained as the Confederate blood soaked through the carpets and seeped into the wood floors . Many blood stains are still present today . The heaviest stains are in the children ’ s bedroom which was used as an operating room . Today one can gather a sense of the tragedy by examining the medical equipment and supplies displayed . Initial burial of the soldiers – December 1864 . After the battle , at 1 a . m . on December 1 , Union forces under Maj . Gen . John M . Schofield evacuated toward Nashville , leaving all the dead , including ( several hundred ) Union soldiers , and the wounded who were unable to walk as well . So morning , the 750 residents of Franklin faced an unimaginable scene of what to do with over 2 , 500 dead soldiers , most of those being 1 , 750 Confederates . According to George Cowan ' s " History of McGavock Confederate Cemetery , " " All of the Confederate dead were buried as nearly as possible by states , close to where they fell , and wooden headboards were placed at each grave with the name , company and regiment painted or written on them . " Many of the soldiers were originally buried on property belonging to Fountain Branch Carter and James McNutt . Many of the Union soldiers were re - interred in 1865 at the Stones River National Cemetery in Murfreesboro . Deterioration of the graves – 1865 through April 1866 . Over the next eighteen months ( from all of 1865 through the first half of 1866 ) many of the markers were either rotting or used for firewood , and the writing on the boards was disappearing . Thus , to preserve the graves , John and Carrie McGavock donated of their property to be designated as an area for the Confederate dead to be re - interred . The citizens of Franklin raised the funding and the soldiers were exhumed and re - interred in the Mcgavock Confederate Cemetery for the sum of $ 5 . 00 per soldier . A team of individuals led by George Cuppett took responsibility for the reburial operation in the spring of 1866 . By June , some ten weeks after the start , the last Confederate soldier was laid to rest at McGavock Cemetery . Some 1 , 481 Rebel soldiers would now be at peace . Soldiers from every Southern state in the Confederacy , except Virginia , is represented in the cemetery . Sadly , George Cuppett ’ s brother , Marcellus , died during the process of the reburials . Just 25 years old , he is buried at the head of the Texas section in the McGavock Cemetery . He is the only civilian interred there . Soldiers ' identities preserved originally . The McGavocks , especially Carrie , took great care to preserve the identity of the Confederate soldiers . The original names and identities of the soldiers were recorded in a cemetery record book by George Cuppett , and the book fell into the watchful hands of Carrie after the battle . The original book is on display upstairs in Carnton . Time has not been favorable to the identities of the Confederate soldiers though . 780 Confederate soldiers ’ identities are positively identified , leaving some 558 as officially listed as unknown . Postbellum years . Carrie ' s devotion . It would fall to the McGavocks to care for the nearly 1 , 500 Confederate dead for the remainder of their lives . John McGavock died in 1893 and Carrie in 1905 . Carrie McGavock ' s shepherding of the fallen of Franklin lasted 41 years . Rev . John W . Hanner was quoted in " Confederate Veteran " magazine praying , mentioning about Carrie McGavock in 1905 : We thank thee for the . . . feeble knees she lifted up , for the many hearts she comforted , the needy ones she supplied , the sick she ministered unto , and the boys she found in abject want and mothered and reared into worthy manhood . In the last day " they will rise up and call her blessed . " Today she is not , because thou hast taken her ; and we are left to sorrow for " the Good Samaritan of Williamson County , " a name richly merited by her . Today , the McGavock Confederate Cemetery is maintained by The Franklin Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy . Carnton ' s post - McGavock years and restoration - 1907 until present . When Winder McGavock died in 1907 , his widow sold the house a few years later ( c . 1911 ) . Since then , Carnton has passed through the hands of several owners . By the late 1960s and 1970s , the property was in horrible disrepair . However , in 1978 Carnton fell into the hands of the Carnton Association when they acquired the house and . The property has been in constant renovation since , and by the late 1990s it was restored to its former elegance and glory . Carnton has never received any funding or support from local , state or the Federal government . The site is maintained and managed by The Battle of Franklin Trust , a non - profit organization which also manages another historic Battle of Franklin historic home , The Carter House . Historic site . Today , Carnton receives visitors from all over the world as many people visit to learn the true story of the Widow of the South , Carrie McGavock . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 . The listing is for an area of , including one contributing building and one contributing site . Also included is one non - contributing site . Tours . Carnton plays a key role in the history of Franklin , Tennessee and is now open to the public , offering guided tours at a minimal cost . The Battle of Franklin Trust runs the tours daily and they generally last an hour . Upon arrival to Carnton , guests receive a map of the plantation as well as important information regarding the surrounding buildings . Hours of Operation : Cost Per Guest :