Battle Ground Academy Historical Marker

This historical marker commemorates the establishment of Battle Ground Academy in 1889, a school for boys located at the site of the Battle of Franklin. The battle occurred on November 30, 1864, and saw John M. Schofield's Union troops repel repeated assaults by Confederate forces under General John Bell Hood. The historical marker specifically mentions an important event that occurred at the school in 1893 when twelve members of the Chickasaw Nation were admitted to the academy to prepare them for admission to Vanderbilt University. The sign also shares the history of the move to this campus in 1902 after the original school building that was located on the Franklin Battlefield was destroyed by fire. The school added a dormitory in 1922 and became an all-boys school in 1929. In the 1970s, the boarding school again became a day school and was once again opened to female students. In subsequent decades, the private college-preparatory school has expanded and operates two campsites.

The battlefield referenced in the school's name is one of the most significant in the western theater of the Civil War. On November 30, 1864, Gen. John B. Hood attacked the Union lines at Franklin, Tennessee. With Union troops penetrating deeper into the South, the Confederates needed a victory and this may have motivated Hood to continue to send his men to attack Union lines. U.S. troops under General Schofield had only recently arrived in the area to protect supplies around Nashville. Unable to avoid confrontation with the oncoming Confederate soldier, Schofield found a location with defenses from the year before and hastily improved the position.

Hood and approximately 33,000 men attacked the Union's outer perimeter. The Confederates were able to break the first layer of defenses but were unable to make it any further. At nightfall, the Confederates retreated back after suffering a heavy casualty rate. An estimated 6,000 Confederate soldiers were killed, injured, missing, or captured by the Union. On the other side, the Union had around 2,000 soldiers either killed, injured, missing, or captured.

"Franklin." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016. http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/franklin.html?tab=facts United States. National Park Service. "Battle Summary: Franklin, TN." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016. https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tn036.htm