Three new summer tours added to the Lotz House in Franklin
The Lotz House Launches Cellar Relics Dig
Three new summer tours added at the historic site in Franklin
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Lotz House Executive Director J.T. Thompson has announced the launch of three new summer tours. Civil War Historian Thomas Y. Cartwright will offer a Walking Battlefield tour, as well as the McGavock Confederate Cemetery tour located at the Eastern Flank Battlefield Park. In addition, The Lotz House will launch the first ever Cellar Relics Dig, an interactive tour led by historian Robert Blythe.
“Blythe’s unique relics dig is in response to visitors’ interest in learning more about the story that the cellar artifacts tell and what happened during that period,” said Thompson. “This tour offers a hands-on experience like no other, and we are proud to debut the first-ever interactive historic tour of its kind.”
The interactive cellar experience is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore relics found in an archeological dig of the Lotz House basement in 2013. More than 1,000 artifacts were discovered, including medicine bottles, fabric, uniform buttons, bullets and buckles. The cellar tour allows visitors to uncover historic items and unearth a new tale of who might have stayed in the Lotz House cellar during and following the Battle of Franklin. This
specialty tour is offered Monday – Thursday at 10 a.m. Tickets are $30 per person, and reservations are required.
In addition to the Cellar Relics Dig, The Lotz House presents two walking tours by Thomas Y. Cartwright:
The Walking Battlefield Tour
Cartwright will lead visitors through the Battlefield, hearing stories of some of the bravest men in history – the soldiers of the Battle of Franklin. Cartwright recreates the dramatic conflict that killed or wounded 10,000 soldiers in the heart of Franklin where the Lotz House was at ground zero.
McGavock Confederate Cemetery Tour
Visitors will be led through the McGavock Confederate Cemetery, where fallen Confederate soldiers were buried on the Battlefield. The cemetery is a stone’s throw away from Carnton Plantation on the Eastern Flank of the Battlefield. Cartwright’s tour informs visitors of the Battle of Franklin and preservation of the burial grounds, and remembers the brave sacrifice of so many.
Cartwright is a renowned Civil War expert and one of the nation’s leading authorities on the Battle of Franklin. He has appeared on History Channel, A&E and the Discovery Channel and is known internationally for his knowledge and passion for the Civil War and Battle of Franklin.
The Walking Battlefield tour is $30 per person and offered Tuesday – Saturday at 10 a.m. McGavock Confederate Cemetery tours are offered Tuesday – Saturday. Reservations for all three tours are required and can be made by contacting jtt@lotzhouse.com or calling 615-790-7190.
About the Lotz House:
The Lotz House, which has been on the National Historic Register since 1976, is located in the heart of downtown historic Franklin, Tennessee at “epicenter” of the Battle of Franklin which was a pivotal battle in the Civil War on November 30, 1864.
The house is open Monday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Admission charged. The Lotz House is located at 1111 Columbia Avenue. For more information, call 615-790-7190 or visit the website is www.lotzhouse.com.
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