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The soldiers focused on finding a melange of valuables: money from the courthouse safes and cash from local businessmen such as John W. Custer. They also stole horses from all over town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A.S. Colyar, a wealthy local lawyer, lost a significant amount in this raid, including his personal law books, valuables from his safe, and a rare find: a prized Arabian stallion that Colyar had recently imported from Syria. The fact that he owned such an animal teaches us a lot about the international connections that existed in pre-war Franklin County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Limbaugh believes Colyar may have written the Atlanta newspaper article, which is the only surviving account of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is really the only account I\u2019ve ever seen of what actually happened during this time here in Franklin County,\u201d Limbaugh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flipping through the pages of the deed books today, you can still see where soldiers took time to sign their names simply to let future readers know they had been there, like a graffiti tag. These were the only community records that survived intact, with many more documents destroyed. Court minutes covering a 55-year period starting in 1807 were lost in the raid. All of the earliest paperwork detailing how Franklin County was started and who was in the community in the earliest days was wiped from history forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur records up until 1834 \u2014 the court actions, and all those types of records \u2014 were lost during this time,\u201d Limbaugh said. This stolen history caused a lot of confusion and frustration for locals, and it is hard not to wonder what insights about life in Winchester those lost documents may have held. But what seemed like an inconvenience at the time was just the beginning of the escalation to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis 1862 raid was sort of a precursor that gives you an idea of what was going to happen the next time in Southern Middle Tennessee and Jackson County, Alabama,\u201d Limbaugh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Union Army returned in the summer of 1863, Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Marshall, Rutherford, and Warren counties were occupied by soldiers charged with defending the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad; their headquarters were in Tullahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy commanded the division from 1864 until the end of the war. Gen. Milroy had a reputation for harsh treatment of civilians, including frequent banishments and public executions of those who expressed pro-Confederate sympathies. In his own words: \u201cBlood and fire is the medicine I use. I shoot the men who are friendly with and harbor bushwackers and burn their houses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMilroy was really a monster,\u201d Limbaugh said, referring to the fact that the general had informants listing people who were sympathetic to the Confederate army. \u201cHe went down that list, with orders to burn this place down or kill this person,\u201d Limbaugh said. Families were hunted down. People were killed in what Limbaugh called \u201chunting expeditions.\u201d The brutality of war affected everyone who lived through those days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While incomplete, Franklin County\u2019s history is carefully being restored and pre- served by locals, such as Jerry Limbaugh, who understand the value of learning from the past and understanding how our ancestors\u2019 struggles and triumphs impact our lives today. He said that schools focus on large-scale history but do not take enough opportunities to dig into local history, which is rich in stories and valuable lessons. This is especially important for families who have lived in Franklin County for generations \u2014 knowing about your roots is priceless wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI retired from the Air Force in 1991, and when I came back home to Franklin County, I volunteered with the historical society,\u201d Limbaugh said. \u201cI wanted to make sure this county\u2019s history survived so we don\u2019t forget about what happened in the past.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" IT WAS 1862 when the typically quiet town of Winchester faced an unwelcome disruption. Embroiled in the Civil War, Union soldiers came to occupy the town, and though they would not take innocent lives, the troops thoroughly ransacked the Franklin County Courthouse, home to the town\u2019s most important documents and valuables. Locals watched in dismay […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":24341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/franklin-county\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/4-1-1024x683.png\")
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