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My Civil War story is about some interesting happenings of the Civil War in Macon County. One of the Thomas Legions Indian Companies with about a 100 men passed through Franklin on it's way to Tennessee in April 1862. In April 1865 Lt.Colonel Will Strigfield of the Thomas Legion made his headquarters in Franklin with a small number of men from the Legion. The notorius Colonel George W. Kirk and his gang of bushwackers rode into Macon County on May 10th 1865. Colonel George W.Kirk made his headquarters at the Siler home(Dixie Hall). He surrendered his command on May 12th 1865. Mrs.Dee Cunningham told the story of Macon County's only battle of the Civil War that was printed in The Franklin Press and The Highlands Maconian newspaper on Thursday, June 16th 1955. Mrs Dee Cunningham spoke of captain Julius Siler's two daughters Alice later Mrs. Jame Robbinson, and Kim the younger daughter. One day Kim climbed up on the lattice of the front porch where Kirk had placed the U.S. flag, twisted it up and tied it and said it was not to fly over their house. Kirk got angry and scolded Kim. Alice went upstairs and leaned out the window and spit on the flag to show her hatred. Colonel Kirk and his men made raids to any part of the country where they thought they could find food, money, or livestock. One of the stories of their robberies in the article is one that Mrs. Dee Cunningham tells about her husband and herself. Dee Cunningham was a great horse-trader and had an inside belt in his pants with a pocket to hold his pieces of gold. When Kirk's men came to the house he took his wife in a back room and took of his money belt and told her to put it underneath her clothes. As she was doing this one of Kirk's men watched her through the side window and went to tell kirk what he saw. Kirk made her take off her husbands belt and her own that she was wearing. Finally ,Kirk and his men were leaving for Tennessee. Captain Steve Porter, who had been injured in a battle in Tennessee and sent home was made Captain of the Home Gaurd. He assembeled a small company of older and very young men and followed Kirk and his men and over took them at the Itola Ford of the Little Tennessee River, about three miles north of Franklin where the Itola bridge now stands. Captain Porter fired at Kirk's troops and the BATTLE WAS ON. None of Porters men were killed, ,but the bodies of two of Kirk's men were seen floating down the river and Kirk and the others were captured and brought back to town. Return to Home Page
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