"March to Freedom" : USCT soldier monument (2021)

“March to Freedom” sculpted by Joe Howard was unveiled and dedicated on October 23, 2021. The monument commemorates the service of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) in the Civil War. The statue and several historic markers in the square are the result of the Fuller Project, a community effort to balance the history represented in the public square by the Confederate monument. 

Efforts to erect a new monument began after the 2017 Charlottesville, VA rally over the proposed removal of Confederate monuments. In the national debates that followed over the place of Confederate monuments and memory in American society, residents of Franklin, TN discussed ways to address the Confederate monument in the city’s public square and build unity within the community.

A community effort called “A Fuller Story” was led by Rev. Hewitt Sawyers, Rev. Chris Williamson, Rev. Kevin Riggs, and historian Eric A. Jacobson working with the mayor and city officials. In community discussions they decided “Our goal was to provide proactive solutions on the national controversy surrounding Confederate monuments. We decided that our efforts would focus on what could be put up as opposed to what could be taken down.” The first part of their solution was to place five historic markers in the town square about African American history. These markers commemorate the slave trade in the old courthouse, the Battle of Franklin, the 1867 race riot, and Reconstruction, and were unveiled October 17, 2019. The second part was placing a United States Colored Troops (USCT) soldier monument facing the Confederate monument.

Linden artist and sculptor Joe Howard created the eight-foot statue of a USCT soldier in uniform, moving forward with his gun as if in action. It took Howard about a year to sculpt the piece, using loaned reenactor gear to design the soldier’s uniform and using a neighbor’s face as inspiration for the soldier’s features. Under the soldier’s foot a tree stump represents the trees “to which enslaved people were tied and beaten or where Black people lynched.” Also present is a pair of shackles. Howard said that he made the chains buried and broken to show “that man is never again going to be chained like a wild animal but will be treated as human.” The bronze casting was done by Coopermill Bronzeworks in Zanesville, OH.

The monument honors the men who served with the United States Colored Troops (USCT) who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. In total between 180,000 to 200,000 Black soldiers (both freemen and former slaves) served in the Union Army between 1863 and 1865. In Williamson County more than 300 Black men, mostly escaped slaves, joined the USCT and many were processed at the courthouse which served as a provost office for the Federal Army. 

Henderson, Steward. “The Role of the USCT in the Civil War.” American Battlefield Trust. October 27, 2020. Accessed November 4, 2021. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/role-usct-civil-war.

“The History of the Fuller Story.” Battle of Franklin Trust. Accessed November 4, 2021. https://boft.org/the-history-of-the-fuller-story.

“Fuller Story Project.” Franklin, Tennessee. Accessed November 4, 2021. https://visitfranklin.com/fuller-story-project.

“USCT Statue.” Battle of Franklin Trust. Accessed November 4, 2021. https://boft.org/usct-statue.

Ward, Allison. “Linden artist Joe Howard sees sculpture of Black Civil War Union soldier dedicated in Tennessee.” The Columbus Dispatch. October 31, 2021. Accessed November 4, 2021. https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/arts/2021/10/31/joe-howard-sculpture-Black-civil-war-soldier-tennessee-columbus-artist/8550625002/.