Carnton Plantation - Franklin, Tennessee

I just spent the most delightful evening at Carnton Plantation. If you aren't familiar with Carnton, it played a pivotal role during the Battle of Franklin here in Tennessee. The home served as a large Confederate field hospital and there are still bloodstains on some of the floors upstairs. Ultimately, over 1,400 soldiers were buried on several acres adjacent to the house. The cemetery is haunting. If you ever get the chance to visit, you should. Thousands of visitors come every year... even more now that Robert Hicks published his bestselling book The Widow of the South, which is based on the events during the Battle of Franklin.

I'm on the Advisory Board of the home and they have a summer concert series on the lawn, the first of which was tonight. I walked around the home and gardens and took these photos. It's truly breathtaking.

Please note one of my favorite features, the "haint blue" paint on the ceiling of the porch. It's a charming Southern tradition and was historically meant to ward off spirits, or haints.