On Saturday a new monument was unveiled at the old slave cemetery at Carnton Plantation near Franklin, Tenn. commorating the enslaved people who are buried there. The non-profit organization Franklin’s Charge helped lead the effort. Below is part of the insription on the marker.
Follow Reconstruction Blog on Social Media:
I was present at the ceremony in Franklin. It was a day of prayers, hymns and beautiful music, and heartfelt speeches. Present were the descendants of the slaves buried there, as well as descendants of the slaveowners. Within the cemetery were buried the white owners of the plantation and their families; next to them were buried the enslaved. On the other side of the enslaved were the graves of hundreds of Confederate soldiers who fell in the Battle of Franklin. The irony was not lost on anyone.
It was a moving ceremony that culminated in the unveiling of the 10,000 lb monument to the slaves who were buried there. It was a day to be long remembered.
What irony would that be?