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

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. 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 and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

. Additionally the knob had a large redoubt capable of holding four large artillery pieces, a blockhouse, cisterns, and a magazine. ... " Artillery at

Fort Granger Fort Granger was a Union fort built in 1862 in Franklin, Tennessee, Franklin, Tennessee, south of Nashville, after their forces occupied the state during the American Civil War. One of several fortifications constructed in the Franklin Battlefield ...

, another fortification in Franklin, played a role in the November 1864 Battle of Franklin, 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,

, the Carter House, and

Carnton Carnton is a historic home and museum in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The plantation played an important role during and immediately after the Battle of Franklin during the American Civil War. It is managed by the non- ...

comprise the Franklin Battlefield

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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 Infrastructure completed 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