Carnton

Fantastic experience and tour. Kristi was passionate, thorough, and so engaging. Carnton makes an effort to teach history in all its facets, without sugarcoating or shying away from difficult truths. They focus on telling whole human story here instead of getting too hung up on the antiques in the house or the politics of battle (though they can absolutely speak to both of those things, too) Highly recommended.

I should have paid more attention in History class. It was a great tour, and the tour guides are very educated and passionate about this home. I would say take the tour it was AMAZING

What a wonderful experience! Sheila was our tour guide for both the Carnton House and the Carter House (we visited on separate days). I can't say enough about how exceptional Sheila was. Her breadth of knowledge, narration skills, patience, and ability to turn the information into a story was captivating. She is a unique and interesting storyteller! As for the properties, both houses are very well maintained and the interiors are as original as can be expected. You can definitely tell the City and State are doing their best to provide an exceptional experience. The grounds are also extremely well maintained with plenty of signage and plaques to mark important information. The cost to enter either location was very reasonable, I highly recommend doing the House and Ground tours together as a package for the biggest bang for your buck. In addition both properties have a museum and gift shop in the Visitor Center, again both worth stopping in. The museums are well laid out, the displays are easy to read and the information flows well as you make your way around the rooms. You won't regret taking the time to do either or both of these tours, I highly recommend them!

Great experience today, with Jeff as our guide! The tour was very informative and the Carnton house is curated very nicely. I would highly recommend the combination ticket that includes the Carter home as well. I would also recommend visiting the Carter home before Carnton. Highlights of the tour include: local history, Confederate Cemetery, family Holy Bible, and one of the oldest Osage Orange trees in Tennessee!

We SO enjoyed our tour! Sheila was our guide, and she was absolutely incredible!! She not only knows the information thoroughly but also brought the history to life in such an engaging and passionate way. We could listen to her talk about history for hours! I highly recommend this tour. You will be immersed in the stories of the people who lived there!

Jeff was the best tour guide. I couldn’t believe he had only been doing tours for 2 weeks so far. Felt like he had been doing it for years. Super impressive. Felt all the sacrifices of all those that died for our country. What a cool place to go!

This was an amazing tour! We started at the small museum at the Visitor’s Center which was very interesting and well done. The house (Carnton) is beautiful and in great condition. The story of the home, the family, the cemetery and the Battle of Franklin is so interesting! Our tour guide was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and personable. She got me interested in further research and books to read. Can’t recommend it enough!

This is an amazing property and a phenomenal tour. So much history inside the structure and on the grounds around it. Our guide was Sheila, and not only does she know the property and its story like the back of her hand, she even remembered which state each person on the tour is from! The hour just flew by, packed with information. The blood stains soaked into the floor, still clearly visible, are a very powerful and visceral scene.

Spent a wonderful afternoon at Carnton. The home is beautiful and the grounds stunning. The tour guide was friendly and informative. I enjoyed learning a bit of TN civil war history while on vacation here. The museum and gift store are clean and well stocked. The restrooms were as well. Unfortunately, the water fountains do not work, so that's a strike against them. Also, the gardens were not as glamorous as we'd been led to believe, but maybe that was the time of year. I think the ghost stories that are found online should also be part of the walking tour, but others may disagree.

Great place to learn about US history. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and was great at telling the story of the house and history connecting to it. You could tell she truly enjoyed what she was doing and was great at engaging our group! Tour is $20 which I felt was a little high.

Beautiful grounds and our guide was great! It was the end of the day so she tailored our tour to be the experience we wanted!

The tour of the manor house give you an insight of life during the civil war was like as the confederate army took over the manor house as a field hospital. It brings up so many emotions. The hatred of chattel slavery, the wealth accumulated buy families who owned plantations. A wife and mother who had already lost 3 of her children and who's husband had sent all the slaves south to other properties and was elsewhere himself being confronted by a Confederate commander who commandeered her house as a hospital. The screams of men in pain, most of who were battle weary already in a war that was dragging on. The guide sugar coated nothing. So if you have a weak stomach you might want to pass on going upstairs. Thank you. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. So this Hoosier appreciated the candid telling of the story here.

Carnton Plantation served as one of the largest hospitals during the bloodiest battle in Tennessee's history, during the Battle of Franklin in 1864 (during the Civil War). The Battle of Franklin is know to be one of General John Bell Hood's (a Confederate general) catastrophic defeat in Tennessee. This antebellum mansion was owned originally by former mayor of Tennessee, Randal McGavock. His son, John McGavock, inherited the home and the grounds when he passed away. On November 30, 1864, John McGavock, his wife and family's lives forever changed. Soldiers knocked on John McGavock's door and said their home will be used as a hospital to house and care for wounded soldiers (they were ordered to do this and not given a choice). The battle itself took place a few miles away, at the Carter House, that lasted close to 5 hours. Most of the battle took place during night fall, in the dark. With about 9500 soldiers dead, 7000 of which were Confederate troops. At the end of this battle, four Confederate generals (Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams and Otho F. Strahl) were taken to the Carnton home, laying side by side on the back porch, in which they ended up dying. There are blood stains on the floor boards throughout the house, as a reminder of this bloody battle. The Carnton mansion is 2 stories with about 22 rooms. There are white columns with a front porch on both the first and second floor. There is a porch and verandah on the back side of the house. According to the docent led tour, most of the furniture in the home is original from 1820- 1860. In 1866, John and Carrie McGavock designated 2 acres of their land, next to their family cemetery, as a burial place for ~1500 Confederate soldiers that were killed. They maintained the cemetery until they had passed away. The cemetery is actually well laid out and organized by state where the soldiers are from and buried accordingly. Our docent told us that they are still forever trying to identify those that have been buried, as not all of the soldiers have been. But she did say that there have been many family members that are appreciative that they had discovered that their loved ones were buried here. Carnton Plantation was owned by the McGavock family until 1911, when Susie Lee McGavock had sold it. Susie Lee McGavock was the widow of Winder McGavock (one of John and Carrie McGavock's sons). Eventually in 1977, the home and 10 acres of land was donated to the Carnton Association. The association restored the home (even with the restoration, the blood stains still remained on the floor boards) and had been providing guided tours for the public ever since. To tour the home, it cost $18 per person. But if you wish to walk the grounds and visit the cemetery, that is free. But the tour does better enhance your knowledge of the Battle of Franklin. I would also highly recommend doing both the Carter House Tour and Carnton Plantation together, as you save a little bit of money. But if you do plan to do that (which you can purchase these discounted package at either site), you want to make sure you arrive early for the first place you visit so that there is enough time to visit the other. There is also a discounted package to also visit the home at Rippa Villa (but I believe this place is about an hour away). Please note that tickets do not expire on the same day so you could always tour this home on another day. At the visitor center, there is a small museum in which you can read some of the boards to learn about the battle. You can also purchase souvenirs (and the discount ticket packages that I had mentioned earlier). There are also clean restrooms right outside the visitor center (there are no restrooms available at the mansion so you are encouraged by the staff to use the restroom prior to taking the tour). I do want to mention that although the Lotz Home, which is across the street from the Carter Home, is not part of the package deal, it also played an essential role during the Battle of Franklin and is available for a tour. The Lotz home served as another hospital for the wounded. Albert Lotz, a German immigrant, and his family fled across the street to the Carter House during the battle. The 2 families took shelter in the basement during the battle.

KUDOS and thanks to Chelsea and Walker for providing quality supreme guest service! Chelsea providing me a military discount on the tour. She was super friendly and mighty courteous. Ms. Sherry provided a thorough tour of the Carnton House. She had a nice storytelling voice which covered the history of the place during the Civil War. I highly recommend all to experience tour and walk the hallowed grounds...The cemetery is definitely worth the walk and pay your respects....

This was a heavy site and one I will not soon forget. The tour guide was full of information and had real love for the history. I read the Widow of the South before and have to say that made it more worth while. Our history is one of hate and violence, this place was no different but can serve as a reminder and proof that change is possible. I would also recommend visiting the Carter house about 5 minutes away.

AMANDA-historian extraordinaire! She has tons of other titles. You HAVE to get her to give you your tour. It's not about the facts, it's about sharing the human aspect of The Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. She actually goes home and studies, daily, all the events and people from this battle. When your tour is done, go to the Carter house. Both are a must!

This Civil War Tour was amazing, very much enjoyed the genealogy researcher and her stories of the people in Franklin and Carnton!!

Excellent guide. Knowledgeable and humorous. Highly recommend especially if you are a history buff.

Amazingly sad, yet a real part of Civil War history. The docent and staff working at the museum are quite knowledgeable about that time in civil war history of the south, and I was blown away at the physical evidence of the tragedy and mayhem that happened on the grounds. Surreal to learn about. Definitely recommend if you're into history and want to look at how ignorance and hate almost divided the country.

If I could give 10 stars I would. We came as a group to take the slavery tour. Unfortunately we came on a day they didn't offer it. No biggie, bought tickets for the regular house tour. As I'm checking out, I tell the kind young lady that we were really interested in the slavery tour, 5 mins later we were booked on said tour with the most PHENOMENAL historian I've ever encountered. I've been on many of these tours all over The US and Sheila by far was the best orator I've come across ( Ashville NC hood huggers tour was pretty epic as well) She has such a passion for telling accurate and sometimes hard truths to the people that take the tour and she really understands how to navigate such hard conversations with Conviction and rawness. I felt more than once her passion coming out as she's telling such unfortunate but rarely discussed background of the enslaved. She told it like it was, no filter and no sugar coating. Such an epic storyteller she is! Our whole group was in awe of her ability to answer tough questions and overall, provide just a lasting impact on us all. Thanks so much for the wonderful memory

The Carnton Plantation This 1826 Antebellum mansion became the largest temporary field hospital during the Battle of Franklin, and its wood floors still show blood stains from the more than 300 soldiers brought in that day. After the Battle of Franklin on Carnton's back porch, 4 Confederate generals' bodies were laid out (Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams, and Otho F. Strahl). Following the battle, the people of Franklin were tasked with burying the dead. Over the next 18 months, the markers rotted and the writing disappeared. Many of the Union soldiers were re-interred in 1865 at the Stones River National Cemetery in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The McGavocks wanted to do something more formal. In 1866, they set aside 2 acres of their land for a cemetery. The citizens of Franklin raised the funds that would be needed for the intense process of exhuming and reburying the soldiers. A man named George Cuppett led a team that moved the 1,481 soldiers. One civilian was buried in the cemetery as well. This was George's brother Marcellus, who had died during the process of reburials. The graveyard is called the McGavock Confederate Cemetery and remains the United States largest privately owned military cemetery.

Civil war, the battle of Franklin, times of slavery, one family's destiny - all come alive in one place both during the highly informative guided tour, a quiet walk on the premises and a visit to the family and confederate cemetery nearby. This is a must visit place if you are ever in Franklin. A place to pause and ponder. Give yourself at least 2 hours here.

So glad we decide to stop here and do the tour. California guy from Downey tour guide was so informative you would think he was a history professor. The history that lies in Carnton and on the grounds was something to see first hand. Walk the grounds and garden and don't forget to pay your respect at the cemetery of the family and the confederate soldiers.

So, I've had visiting Carnton on my Nashville bucket list for a while. This past weekend, my friend and I decided to check it off. What's good? There's no self-guided tour option, but the 60-minute guided tour was really interesting. This is more than just an old house. Carnton was used as a hospital during the Battle of Franklin during the Civil War (the tour guide will be sure to point out all the bloodstains around the house from those days). The tour guide also made a point to discuss slavery and the slaves that were owned by the family until the end of the war - something that many Civil War era properties often skip. What's not so good? $18 is steep. The tour is an hour, but $18 is about the highest I've paid for a house that you're in and out of in an hour. But what really kind of bugged me is that they don't have set tour times. We showed up around 12:30, and they said they weren't doing a tour until 1:45, since that was when a Gray Line bus tour was due to be there. We didn't want to hang out in the shop that long, so we decided to go do something else and come back - so we asked when the next tour would be. They said they weren't sure, that they don't have set tour times, but just start a tour when people were there for one. (They did say their last tour is always at 4:00.) However, this makes it hard to plan a visit to Carnton. You could definitely wait around a while. The tour was interesting. I recommend it to anyone that wants to fit a little bit of history into a day trip to Franklin.

Our first vacation post Covid! Taking a Breakfast visit to Franklin, prior to the Bellemeade Mansion Tour, we decided to extend our day with a last minute visit to the Carntan Plantation. THIS IS NOT TO BE MISSED! This is absolutely the best historical tour I've been on in ages. A great part of it had to do with the excellence of our guide, Will Pogue. His wit and knowledge, along with his verbal skills, were beyond the price of the ticket... Seriously! He is a truly gifted story teller. I have scant knowledge of Civil War history, but through his superb recounting concerning the participants of this story, the Families and Battle of Franklin came visually alive. The blood, the fallen fighting men, the compassionate women, and the heroism of those involved left me suddenly aware of the story I've missed. And what a story!

I cannot hype this place up enough! If you are a civil war fan you need to visit! The tour guide was absolutely amazing. He was so knowledgeable and thorough with everything on the tour. We enjoyed our time here so much and look forward to visiting again.

Attended my first summer concert series at the Carton Plantation in Franklin. The setting was absolutely perfect for a summertime experience with wonderful music, outstanding food, and scenic views. The cover band Johnny Cash now was lively and fun. It was so enjoyable to listen to some of my favorite songs. If you attend an event I would pack a picnic and relax before the music (doors opened 2 hours prior to the show) I brought a Coleman chair with a built in cooler. I'm glad I remembered to bring the Altar bug spray. The show was great for the price- $12 Bathroom was clean and well stocked (so nice not having to use a port a potty) I will definitely be back to do the historic tour.

We visited Carnton and Carter House in September. Our Carnton tour guide, Joseph, was fantastic! He knew so much about the history, the battles, the conditions and the families affected by the war. I highly recommend taking both tours. The only negative: the hour long tour was very hard on the legs..all standing and no seating or breaks to sit, I personally found very difficult.

Well traveled, well educated history buff writing this. This is my personal experience from end of September 2022. While the farm and preservation of the land, structures, and cemetery are impressive...the staff are seriously lacking. Same is true for Carlton House in downtown Franklin, which is a sister location. On two different days, I went to two different locations and had equally poor experiences. When I checked in at the bookshop, Joseph didn't look up from his book, didn't say hello. He rolled his eyes when I questioned why he needed personal information to track the receipt (rude much stranger!), and snidely remarked that this was NOT a plantation, but a farm, when I asked about the entirety of the property! Joseph continued on to be rude, condescending, and spent a great deal of time complaining about his day at the start of the tour. (oddly enough, there was a wedding being set up prior to and during the tour). I traveled a great distance, and paid good money, to take these tours. I found it incredibly unprofessional, low class, and down right rude the attitude and behavior of the staff Joseph. Quitely frankly, it's not my concern your issues...I didn't pay to hear your complaints. Be a professional and suck it up and get a hobby to release stress at the end of your day...or get a new profession. Joseph talked down to everyone about how stupid people are regarding history, and respecting the stories. He lamented about how his day was atrocious due to he wasn't supposed to be there that day, he was supposed be at the sister location near his house rather. He was incredibly put out, had ADD and instructed everyone not to ask questions unless he ok'd it. He continued on for his disdain for weddings. I found it rather confusing to have a significant historical site allowing weddings where so many were enslaved and/or died in battle. Very off putting. Though, it was mentioned this was the last season and only several more weddings to go. I realize I may have caught this historical agency's staff on a bad day...but two? On unrelated days? AND and unrelated staff? I've worked with the public for decades...I do understand how trying they can be. However, I was seriously disappointed in how unprofessional this experience was. The site itself is incredible, the stories (once finally able to hear them), humbling. Very important stories to know. I'm grateful I went...but really disappointed for it being touted as such great service and staff. NOT in my experience at all. Go to the Lotz house for down-to-earth history lessons!

Carnton, like the other Civil War homes in the area, absolutely cannot be passed up on a trip to Franklin. Carnton is a grand plantation home and fine example of what life was like during the 1800s. Of course the sites are amazing, the architecture is beautiful and of the era, but what really made this an unforgettable experience was our tour guide - he was AMAZING. So much passion, emotion, and empathy in his tour. He was able to add a bit of levity to the beginning of the tour but then switch the tone on the second half where we explored the upstairs of the house and saw how it was transformed into a hospital during the Battle of Franklin. He really made you feel and relate to the stories of what happened during the battle and how the family responded; it is hard to wrap your head around. In addition to the tour of the home you can explore the rest of the grounds on your own, including the cemetery with family graves, slave graves, and the Confederate cemetery from the Battle of Franklin. It is a somber place to experience but something we should all see.

So I have to say that the grounds are spectacular. But Hannah that is in charge of the venue is a miserable woman with not an ounce of professionalism. A rehearsal time at the venue came with the agreement that we signed and they do have the ability to change it if another event books on that day. She notified us 17 days prior with a one sentence email that she was changing our time. Invitations had been sent and our dinner space and time booked. The agreement also gives you the ability to share rental costs if a person is using your space and rentals during the same weekend. We asked about this so that maybe we could make the most of a bad situation. She responded saying that they weren't using our rentals. We get to our new rehearsal time and there is not a person in sight besides our wedding party and I come to discover that Hannah had some weekend plans for my wedding date and found a replacement for the actual event and didn't show to the rehearsal meaning that I put two and two together as to why she changed our time - to fit her schedule. When I got to Carnton on the wedding day, the bridal suite was completely trashed. Used towels on the floor, a glass of white wine with some dead flies in it, and used Q-tips on the counter. My wedding planner mentioned this to Hannah and she proceed to tell her that if we had a problem with it then we tell her directly. Any normal venue coordinator would have been embarrassed and apologized, but not Hannah! She lashed out at someone that didn't deserve it because she didn't like what they had to say. Until they fire Hannah (which if upper management doesn't know about her selfish and childish behavior already then they need to take a hard look at their reviews all over the internet (see the review about her calling the police on the groom's father during their ceremony)), then I would not suggest getting married here for the sole fact that you would have to deal with Hannah.

We toured Carnton last week. I just want to thank our guide Sheila for giving us an excellent picture of what it must have been like during the Battle of Franklin. She was knowledgeable, interesting, personable, and repeatedly asked if we had questions. I walked away with a feeling of what it must have been like to be there, at this pivotal battle. I highly recommend this tour!

Really enjoyed visiting Carnton. The guide did a great job bringing history to life. The bloodstains on the floor also help imagine what went on in the house (served as a hospital during the Battle of Franklin). Highly recommend a visit, especially if you are into Civil War history.

We found this place day of & decided to come here last minute & holy crap, im so glad we did! This was one of the highlights of our trip. We took the 2:30 tour on 8/12 & I could not say enough good things about our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable & smart, clearly extremely passionate about the history here but my favorite part was by far the way he humanized what happened here in every way. It was so touching & emotional & a good reminder of how recently things here happened & that it all happened to real people on each side. As someone who appreciates history, I would've paid stupid amounts of money to get an in depth tour of each part of the plantation & I think this tour guide had plenty of knowledge that he could've given us. Getting tickets was also so easy & pretty cheap for getting two tours. Go out of your way to come here & support those who are protecting our history. I will recommend this place to anyone I know who visits the Nashville area.

Really great and informative tour. Our guide, Walker, was incredibly informative and interesting. The actual tour lasted just shy of an hour. Glad we stopped.

I had a beautiful wedding here, the grounds are well kept and the mansion was gorgeous. We spent a lot of money on this venue with a lot of promises made from our original venue planner savannah who was very sweet and helpful. Unfortunately the woman who took over our rental, her name was Hannah, was extremely rude and hard to work with. We went for the walk through two weeks before the wedding to solidify all of our plans and she refused to allow us to do a lot of the things we had been planning. We had already cleared all of these things with our original planner, savannah. So it was extremely frustrating for us to have to replan the wedding we had taken a year to plan. She wasn't kind about it either, she was very rude and short with us, her attitude was "not my problem". Additionally they were having a summer camp going on while we were walking through that they didn't tell us about, so we had to rush through the walk through while gettin a lot of bad information. She called the police on our groomsmen for drinking outside before 5 pm, they didn't know they weren't allowed to drink in that location before 5pm. So police showed up on my wedding day, causing a lot of drama and adding stress to the already stressful day. She was extremely rude to my father, who is a very kind person. My father on my wedding day had to talk to the cops and try to ensure that they didn't ruin my day. She then came to my wedding in a tydye shirt and cut off jeans to break everything down way earlier than we were told that we needed to be out. She was rude to my vendors, my planner, my family, and my guests. I'm very disappointed in my experience with carnton, but had a beautiful wedding there despite the fact that this happened. It rained on my wedding day, so my aunt used a wash cloth from the bridal suite to wipe off the chairs for the ceremony and it got misplaced. Hannah was very upset over this one washcloth, yelling at my bridal party and mother that if she didn't find the wash cloth she would be charging us for the entire set. Eventually it was found, thank god. Must have been a golden wash cloth. Also, be aware that if you leave any trash bags anywhere that isn't the dumpster (in our case on the ground near the dumpster) the venue will charge you 100$ PER BAG. My mom was hit with more fees the day after the wedding, when she had already payed over 4000$ for the use of the venue. I feel that Hannah doesn't have the personality to work with brides, she didnt seem to be happy for us and honestly just acted like she wanted to go home the whole day. I had hoped she was just not going to be there for it, but sadly she was. Unfortunately I had to give a 3 star review because of this, I hope other brides see this and know not to work with Hannah, even though carnton is beautiful. We have emailed the owner of the business, her boss, weeks ago and have still not heard anything back. It's very unprofessional and rude. Hope to hear back so we can know that, at the very least, he's aware of her attitude problem and can coach her on this. I sincerely hope another bride doesn't have to go through this on her wedding day.

The history of Carnton spans decades before and after the Battle of Franklin in which thousands of Civil Wars soldiers perished. The plantation house is so beautiful inside well worth the tour to learn about the war, family and true sacrifice and heroism.

I hate to admit I knew nothing about the Battle of Franklin before visiting the Carnton Plantation. I must have missed that growing up, yet now I feel it's important to learn as much as possible about the cities I travel to and the country I live in. We took a tour of the Carnton Plantation House, learning about the historic significance this house played in the Civil War. Although completely remodeled and fashioned in the era of the day, the house itself is like a time capsule. It's almost like 187 years did not pass through it. The tour paints a picture of a family that aided in the war by opening up their doors to hundreds of wounded soldiers. The blood stains in the floor are evident throughout the house and proof of the horrible carnage caused by war left to this day. Over 9,500 were killed, wounded or captured in the Battle of Franklin. The Cemetery created by the McGavocks provides the final resting place for 1500 Confederate soldiers, which is the largest private military cemetery. It's pretty erie to walk through after the tour. The Garden was my favorite. The Carnton Plantation maintains the garden to contain plants and vegetables that would have been growing at that time and consumed by the family. The whole tour was quite interesting, although the history of it was pretty morbid. We learned a lot about the Battle of Franklin that day. Most of all, it really gave me an idea of what life may have been like so long ago.

Highly recommended. We went here and Belle Meade and this one is better. It looks like they kept the buildings more original and you can see inside most of them. At Belle Meade it's more of a museum and some are locked and you only see the outside. At Carton you can feel an energy of intense sadness. To think about what happened there. Walking through the slave quarters and the graveyard is overwhelming. This is something everyone should experience to honor the slaves and the soldiers who lived and died there.

We lucked into arriving at Carnton just as the Battlefield tour was about to begin. Our guide, Joseph, was phenomenal. The passion he has for the history of the Civil War and The Battle of Franklin especially were so impressive. I felt like I was there in the throes of battle. We are lucky to have such young people dedicated to preserving our knowledge of the past. Don't skip this tour!

This is a really cool tourist destination if you wanna lean about some civil war history. Being from CA I never really thought about the fields in the south that battles were carried out on, it seemed like the stuff from books. Being here, in the house where a battle took place right outside, and seeing the blood stained floors from amputation was fascinating and reverent. I could put myself into the feelings of the family that lived there. Our tour guide was amazing too. Spunky lil blonde woman. Great attraction.

Great tour guide. Such an interesting and tragic story of the Civil War. The tour guide really helped make the scene come alive in his descriptions, and pointing out the blood stains on the floor boards!

This ain't some Gone With the Wind production. Leave your romantic notions at home. My favorite part about this historic home is how real everything is. The exterior has cleaned up nicely but this plantation is much more like a worn structure that's an honest reflection of life back in the day. That makes the tour an emphasis on quality above all else. No pictures are allowed inside but let me tell you that there is some very vivid color inside among all the furnishings. The second floor has the famous blood stains on the floor. There's nothing gory to see but the idea is purely grotesque. And some say you can still smell all the blood. (don't look at me. I had allergies so bad that day I couldn't smell a skunk if I tried. lol) But they do a really good job storytelling and helping you imagine just how many bodies of soldiers were piled in here. At some point it exceeds grotesque and actually turns into pure courage on behalf of the Carntons. And yet. After all that. The only thing that keeps me up at night is: How did they ever clean up after all this and make it look so clean inside?? With the utmost respect for what happened here. Seriously. How do you clean that up?

Visited Carnton today and left feeling a bit spooked! We took the house tour and everything was going fine until I had my own eerie experience while inside one of the "surgery rooms." I began to feel nauseous and light-headed, to the point where I had to sit for a minute. I didn't attribute it to anything until later when I overheard a woman mentioning similar symptoms she experienced. Weirdly enough, she too felt them in the same room as I did. Later, I found out that feeling sick is not uncommon inside the house. It is said that spirits of soldiers are also commonly seen in the nearby cemetery. **Note** I was not briefed on anything related to the house and it's history prior to the tour. I went in cold turkey and eager to learn some civil war history! Ghost hunter or not... the place is filled with history and the plantation grounds are beautiful. Take the tour!

A combination of open grounds for self guided tours and guided tours makes this a great place to walk around and reflect on the grounds you are on. Well maintained grounds, great buildings and historical importance can be found here. Highly recommend.

Of all the houses I visited on my vacation this is the one I most wanted to see. I had read so much about it. It was awesome to see it and the cemetery. They restored the house nicely and the new outbuilding where the bathroom, gift shop and museum are is wonderful. The only draw back was the guide. I could tell he was new. He seemed a little nervous and scripted. I think with time he will get better at it. He did tell a good story and some interesting facts about the Battle of Franklin. The blood stains through the house are a chilling reminder of what happened in that house on that fateful day. Our tour guide told us that the daughter, who was a child at the time and helped with the wounded and dying, never spoke about what she saw until she was in her 80s. She said that not one day had gone by since the battle that she hasn't thought about it and pictured the events of that day. Gives me chills!

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! When planning our trip to Franklin, I knew that I wanted to explore the Civil War connection that really defines this area. There were three historical sites available and I chose the Carnton Plantation as the one that I wanted to see. I could have chosen to see all three but I did not want to invest that amount of time and not every site was of personal interest to me. Carnton was built in 1826 by former Nashville mayor Randal McGavock and grew to become one of the premier farms in the area. On November 30, 1864, the Battle of Franklin occurred when the Confederates launched an attack on the Union army. The battle lasted five hours and thousands of men, (mostly Confederates) were wounded or killed in the attack. Carnton became the largest field hospital in the area with sick and dying troops being "tended to" inside and outside of the home. Let me just say this: I have never signed up for a guided tour of any kind because I find them to be boring and I like the idea of just being able to see what I want to see and leave when I'm done, (like in a museum). I really wanted to see this home so we scheduled this as the first stop for our visit to Franklin. The home is very large and beautiful and in impeccable shape for its age. It has great history and not just in terms of its role during the Civil War as a hospital for the injured. I was taken with the age of the home, the original furnishings, the wall paper, flooring and the staging that was done with additional furnishings not original to the home. During the tour, the guide pointed out those items that were original to the home and family and those that were staged by curators and designers. Let me make it clear, this home was not just staged with random items to fill space, significant time and research went into determining the appropriate furniture for the era and for this type of home. These pieces were beautiful, especially the sideboard located in the dining room. For me, the tour was boring and I would not take another one again. The guide was very theatrical and dramatic in his delivery which I found annoying. I just prefer it straight, like a good documentary or lecture, (Ken Burns, PBS). The actual tour would have only taken 30 minutes but he was stretching it out to the "indicated" hour and in order to do this he frequently asked for questions and just droned on unnecessarily. It was so boring that by the time we finally arrived to the final room, I was toast. I sat in a chair, with my husband positioned directly in front of me and proceeded to fall asleep. I really enjoyed seeing the house but I expected to see the entire house, not just a few selected rooms. I don't care that they third floor is used for storage I still wanted to see it. It is a part of the home and I wanted to see it all. WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU: You will not see the entire house and grounds. If you want to see it all you have to pay more for the "extended" tour. Perfect if you want to be an "All day" sucker. Here's the deal, I don't like being "nickle and dimed" to death and I don't like trickery! In my mind, there is no such thing as an extended tour, it is just a tour of the property. The extra time that we spent listening to the guide entertain himself could have easily covered a tour of the remainder of the property and should have been included in the price. If you need a $30 donation to maintain this historical site, just say so. I would just rather give the donation than be manipulated into thinking that I am getting something that I am not. ***When you arrive, you will enter the Fleming museum and have access to the gift shop. The museum was great and chronicled the history of the Battle of Franklin with great photos, historical artifacts and information. The restrooms are located opposite the gift shop and are nicely maintained. If I had to do it over, I would have just paid for the museum and spent my time there and outside exploring the cemetery. ***12/12/16 After the less than stellar guided tour of Carnton House, I decided that I could not leave town with that bitter pill in my mouth. I returned today to visit the on-site Confederate Cemetery. It is free to the public but I simply walked along the fence line and allowed my husband to take photos of some of the markers. There were tall markers recognizing the specific states that fought and the number of men they lost. The small stones marking the soldier's graves were numbered and the number served as a way of identifying them. There are 1495 soldiers buried on the two acres and it is just a sad moment in history. When it comes to Civil War history, I have zero tolerance for comedic embellishments as it is just inappropriate. If you can't be serious and respectful then you shouldn't be giving tours.

I visited Carnton plantation as part of the Battle of Franklin three-site tour. This was my last stop on the tour for the day. The grounds are expansive and beautiful; this house has been very well cared for and/or restored over the years. The tour guide was very well-versed in the history of the home, and she was able to answer all of the questions posed. We visited most of the rooms in the home and she shared information about the home, the McGavock family and the Battle of Franklin. It was eerie being in the home and considering what happened so long ago as the Battle began. This home was used as a makeshift hospital and there were some people who remained for months after the battle. Remaining in the home are many blood stains from the injured, and areas where surgeries and triage took place. It was a heady feeling, and almost morbid feeling, looking at the pool of blood spilled on the site, and considering the lives changed and those lost. The tour did not seem overly large, which I appreciated; it gave us the opportunity to ask questions and she gave us a few minutes to look around the rooms. I didn't feel rushed in any way. The tour begins on the back porch of the plantation, and ends by leaving the front door; I think that it is beautiful stroll down the walk and look back at the plantation as it would have looked in 1864 to those who arrived to visit. The walk is lined by lovely trees, and according to the guide, the large tree to the left as you view the house from the end of the walk is the "memory tree", and was a sapling at the time of the battle. Perhaps I'm gullible or simply a romantic, but I choose to believe that is the case. This house has stairs up to the porch (the first floor level), as well as stairs to the second floor, which may be problematic for those with mobility issues. The grounds are also much more extensive than the other two homes, so you may be doing a bit more walking around. Carnton House is also the resting place of confederate soldiers who died at the site; due to the vast amount of land, the tour and the cemetery, this tour probably warrants a bit more time than the other two sites. I didn't do much exploring of the grounds beyond the outbuildings and lawn immediately surrounding the home, but had I chosen to visit the cemetery I would have wanted 2-3 hours to more thoroughly wander the grounds. The Battle of Franklin tour ticket, for all three sites, is $30 as of 7/3/14. This is a savings of $10 over purchasing each ticket individually (I believe Lotz house is $10 with the other two $15 each). I believe it is worth it to purchase the three sites if you have plans to visit them all, and if I recall correctly there is not an expiration date on using the ticket. You can visit the sites in any order and you may purchase the ticket at any of the three sites. If you're a history buff of almost any persuasion you'll find this a worthwhile purchase and you'll get a great overview of the history of the area. I encourage anyone visiting the Nashville area to take in the Battle of Nashville sites without hesitation.

This is a pretty cool place. The only thing I have to compare it to is the Carter House. What I did was payed for the tour at the Carter House then just walked around here at the plantation. Both time I have been here there have been weddings going on at the same time. It's a beautiful place.

The Carnton is absolutely beautiful. I've been here numerous times and am continually saddened by the lack of restoration. The home was used as a field hospital during the Civil War and spawned a novel about one of its residents entitled "The Widow Of The South." Apparently, since that time it was been lived in and in so doing the entire downstairs was remolded. The floors on the second floor are original, and you can still see the bloodstains left from the make-shift operating tables. The third floor is completely closed off to visitors. The first guide I had here left many questions about the home unanswered. Despite the regular tour, I'm a huge fan of their Halloween Ghost Tours. I would skip the $12 day tour and do this if you're here during October. The stories are wonderful and the scene is perfect. I definitely suggest taking one. They have several seasonal events during that time as well. The plantation is home to the largest privately owned military cemetery with soldiers from the Civil War, which really takes the experience to the next level.

The guide gave a very good description of what it was like to turn a house into a hospital and the life of the family during that period. We would have liked to have heard more about how, and why, the house deteriorated, and the restoration. The gardens were very nice - since we got there early, we were able to spend some time on the grounds.

I wish I could remember the name of the fantastic guide who painted vivid pictures of what happened at Carnton. I do remember he was from Alabama. Such sacred ground and kudos to those who rescued this beautfiul home. We spent a good 2 hours there including the interior tour and then our own roaming around the grounds. A wedding was being set up in the gardens for that evening. They have just purchased neighboring property (which was a golf course) and are preparing a new road to enter the property. It will be awesome! I think if they had a little cafe for light fare on the grounds, it would be darned near perfect! Another favorite of mine (the Museum of Appalachia outside of Knoxville) prepares fresh, homemade comfort food in a small cafe. A couple of choices each day with homemade pies and cakes. Consider it wonderful folks of Carnton! I did read "Widow of the South" and this visit made the events hit home. Humbling and haunting.

If you're a serious history dork like myself and only do one thing while in Franklin, this is it. I only gave it four stars because the $18 price tag is a tad exorbitant - but seriously - only a tad. As a connoisseur of historic properties, I would offer this place up as one of the best house museums in the country. Carnton stood at the epicenter of one of the bloodiest battles in American history and the museum, its contents, and its interpreters hold that history and tell its story magnificently. The only thing I'll offer is to allow yourself plenty of time to do the house tour, ask questions, tour the grounds, wander the gift shop, and pay your respects at the cemetery. If you rush, you'll run the risk of losing an important part of the experience. But this is a true gem. Enjoy!

We had a wonderful visit to Carnton. Having toured many, many historical sites through out my years, I found our tour guide to be one of the best. The tour included not only the history of the house and grounds, but also stories of the events and people.

Nice historic place to visit. The tour is worth it. Lot's of history. Amazing how blood from the soldiers stained the wood and it is still visible. Really puts things into perspective.

If you enjoy history, but perhaps not as much the strategic 'he moved here they shot there 'part of a battle, this place is a great compromise. My boyfriend is into Civil War history, so we headed out here on our last trip to Nashville. From East Nashville the drive was about 30 to 40 minutes. The grounds are very pretty, but smaller than I expected. We got there around noon and bought tickets for the house tour for about $18 each. The current tour was full so we had an hour to wait and it was more than enough time to visit the Confederate Cemetery, The Gardens, and look at the rest of the property which included a slave house and stuff like that. While we waited at the end we took a quick tour of the museum which is off the gift shop and sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch of the plantation house. The best part was definitely the guided tour. There were a group of about 20 of us but it didn't feel that crowded. Our guide, whose name I can't quite remember now, maybe it was Jenny, has a family that has lived in that area on the same road for like 10 generations. She was extremely knowledgeable and although you're not allowed to take photos in the house there are definitely scenes in there that I'll never forget. You get to see the grandeur that the family lived in, understand their wealth, and see how this house was transformed into an emergency hospital at the Battle of Franklin. You can still see blood in several of the bedrooms that soaked through the carpet and into the wood floors. It was quite sobering. Most importantly she was such a passionate guide, she talked about key members of the family before during and after the battle and really did a great job connecting the house and creating the scene and the events of that night. By the end people were welling up in tears and crying. This tour is definitely a different view of the battle of Franklin- understanding the people that particular event and the community and culture of everyone in that house. While we didn't have time, they said you could also visit a couple of other locations in town and learn a little bit more about the strategy of the battle particularly. I think we'll be doing that on our next trip down in Nashville.

Lovely grounds and a wonderful lesson in history. The cemetery is a must see as it shows the respect given to those who gave their all. The gardens are well maintained and the staff were friendly and well informed on their subject.