 In 1862, the Civil War came to Franklin, in what was referred to as the Joint Expedition against Franklin.As several U.S. Navy flag steamships, led by the USS "Commodore Perry", tried to pass through Franklin on the Blackwater River, a band of local Confederates opened fire on the ships.As stated by an officer aboard one of the ships, "The fighting was the same—Here and there high banks with dense foliage, a narrow and very crooked stream, with frequent heavy firing of musketry."