Franklin was in the Battle of Kings Mountain and served as Adjutant of Colonel Benjamin Cleveland's battalion.

In Greensboro there is a monument to Revolutionary War soldiers Joseph Winston, Jesse Franklin and Richard Taliaferro, the gift of Governor Thomas M. Holt.

Franklin was put up by the Legislature for re-election in December 1804, but Republicans at the time were divided in their support of him and Federalists did not think highly of him, and he was defeated.

During his second period as a senator, Franklin was known as an advocate of Madison's war measures, and as an opponent of monopolies and central banks.

During his term as governor, the Canova statue of George Washington was placed at the state Capitol in a new addition containing a rotunda that was considered an appropriate area for displaying it.