Roper's Knob Fortifications were constructed by Union Army forces between February and May 1863 in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

. According to ''Tennessee Archaeology'', "Roper's Knob served as part of a chain of signal stations that provided a communications link from Franklin to

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

. Additionally the knob had a large redoubt capable of holding four large artillery pieces, a blockhouse, cisterns, and a magazine. ... " Artillery at Fort Granger, another fortification in Franklin, played a role in the November 1864

Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...

, but it is believed that Roper's Knob was not then occupied. It is nonetheless believed that artillery had at some point been hoisted into the fortification, in part on the archeological evidence of an artillery fuse found there, but was removed in 1864 when the battlefronts moved south. The area was investigated by an archeological dig in 2000. A letter written by a 22nd Wisconsin soldier - Herman L. Cunningham - on June 28, 1863, from atop Roper's Knob, reveals in part, "Company H, K, & G occupy a Knob about three hundred feet high, with breastworks, stockade, and 125 pounder (cannon). The rest of the Regiment is over to the other fort ort Granger3/4 of a mile from here, that and the 85th Indiana command this post." The letter header says "Roper's Knob, Franklin."The Kraig McNutt Civil War Collection, https://battleoffranklin.wordpress.com/about-your-guide/ In a study of Civil War Historic and Historic Archeological Resources in Tennessee, it is noted that Winstead Hill, Fort Granger, the Carter House, and

Carnton Carnton is a historic Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plantation home built in 1826 in Franklin, Tennessee, Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The property, comprising , played an important role during an ...

comprise the

Franklin Battlefield Franklin Battlefield was the site of the Second Battle of Franklin, which occurred late in the American Civil War. It is located in the southern part of Franklin, Tennessee, on U.S. 31. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. and ...

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

area, but Roper's Knob is not included. The document describes criteria for listing of fortifications on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

which applied to the later Roper's Knob nomination. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The listing was for an area of .

References

External links

Photos from a 2008 tour of the site
{{National Register of Historic Places Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Franklin, Tennessee Military installations established in 1863 American Civil War forts Protected areas of Williamson County, Tennessee Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Williamson County, Tennessee American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places