Fort Granger is a property in Franklin, Tennessee that is now a City of Franklin park, in the central Franklin area. It was part of American Civil War fortifications of Franklin and includes trenches dug by Civil War soldiers.The Union Army captured Nashville early in 1862 and occupied Franklin within a few weeks. The troops occupying Franklin were under the command of Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, for whom the fort is named. The Union Army, fearful of local unrest and Confederate guerrillas, began planning and construction for an artillery position that would protect the Nashville railroad line nearby. Construction began in 1863 and was overseen by Capt. W. E. Morrill.A letter written by James L. Rogers, 98th Ohio Infantry, on June 4, 1863 reveals some of the Federal units who constructed Fort Granger. Rogers states in part, "For the last 2 months and over we have been camped in, near Franklin, Tenn.. While our stay there, our time was principally occupied in working on the fortifications and scouting occasionally. And on the 2nd day of June General Grainger’s commenced including the 125th.O., 124th., O, 113th., O., 121st.O., 98th.O., 40th.O., 115th.ILL., 96th., ILL., 12ILL., & 84th Ind., and 2 or 3 regts of cavalry & 3 battries left Franklin at 6 a.m." The Samuel Boyd Map shows the positions of the Federal unit's camp sites at Franklin in 1863.The fort was to be located on Figuer's Bluff, just north of the Harpeth River and parallel to the railroad to Nashville. The fort was built on Figuer's Bluff because the bluff had military control over the Harpeth River bridge of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad and it had control over the southern and northern approaches to Franklin. The completed fort incorporated nearly 275,000 square feet. The fort is approximately 781 feet long and 346 wide. Until the Battle of Franklin, the fort was only occupied by a small garrison.
