This watercolor was inspired by the events of the last few days unfolding two blocks from my home in historic downtown Franklin, TN.
Six months ago, shovels first pried loose the skeleton of this Civil War soldier buried 145 years ago in an unmarked grave on a field where a new Chick Fil-A will stand along Columbia Avenue. Today, a new grave and coffin cradle the traveler's bones. He was buried under a monument of limestone in Rest Haven Cemetery with soil fetched from 18 Civil War states, North and South.
For two days, hundreds of people (including my wife Chris and me) walked the creaking wooden floors of our beloved St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which was used as a barracks for Union troops during the Civil War occupation of Franklin. More than 400 people had come through by midmorning Friday. Part of the outpouring can be traced to national and local media coverage. A film crew is recording the events for a documentary, and as unbelievable as it sounds, two living sons of Civil War veterans attended.
There was no marker on the grave. No identification was found with his skeleton except a handful of brass buttons carrying a federal eagle symbol, a fired Minié ball, tacks from the soles of his boots and a glass bead. All of these were buried today with the bones.
Fighting tore through Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864, leaving thousands of traveling Union and Confederate soldiers dead.
-Excerpted and adapted from an article in The Tennessean by Kevin Walters
You may purchase the original 16"x20" watercolor on handmade art paper - $450. or a limited edition signed archival 8"x10" print - $45. plus shipping.
