Over the intervening fourteen decades, the landscape around Gettysburg has changed significantly. These changes were not only created by buildings, commercial development and urban sprawl. Much of it has been caused by the slow creep of the landscape. Fields becoming woodlots, woodlots becoming open fields and orchards vanishing into prairie grass. On this anniversary of the sanguinary fight at Gettysburg, I thought it might be appropriate to offer a link to an article which I wrote in October 2009: Gettysburg National Military Park – A Study in Contrasts. This article highlights the National Park Service’s efforts to restore the sight lines which existed in the 1860′s. If you have not been to Gettysburg recently, I would recommend you review this article. The park service has done a fine job at Gettysburg.

Gettysburg National Military Park – A Study in Contrasts

Shortly after this article was published, the National Park Service provided an update on the rehabilitation efforts at Gettysburg. To review this article click on the following link:

Gettysburg National Military Park – Rehabilitation Update

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As I so often do, on trips such as this, I searched for famous names on FindAGrave to find famous Civil War era graves in the area. There were plenty, to say the least. Some of them I knew about: major generals William B. Bate, Bushrod Rust Johnson and Benjamin F. “Frank” Cheatham. But there were many others I planned on visiting while I tromped around Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. Some of the more famous Civil War soldiers which I visited were: John C. Brown, John Adams (CSA brigadier general – not president), George E. Maney, William Hicks Jackson, Richard S. Ewell and Sam Watkins, of “Company Aytch” fame. Unfortunately, for much of the trip, the sky was quite overcast and the colors were less than vibrant. The sun did peak out at times and provided for high-contrast colorful pictures. Many of the pictures I actually chose to present in black and white, which I could nicely bring out the contrast in. I hope you enjoy the photos. As always, I would enjoy reading your comments on the photo essay and individual pictures. The following link will take you to the photo essay.

Mike’s Photo Essay on Central Tennessee Civil War Era Graves

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I was able to spend 30 minutes with Eric Jacobson while I was at Carnton. Eric is operations director at the Battle of Franklin Trust. His narrative on Franklin, “For Cause & For Country,” is excellent and made my “Top 12” list recently. It is always great to spend time with experts, such as Eric, as you always learn something new – in this case that his new book is due out this fall. It will detail the actions of newly organized regiments at Franklin and includes the 44th Missouri and 183d Ohio. Thanks for your time, Eric.

Please take some time to check out my photo essay on my visit to Franklin:

Mike’s Photo Essay on the Battle of Franklin

To learn more about the Battle of Franklin, check out the following two narratives on the campaign:

From Atlanta to Spring Hill

The Battle of Franklin

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I was able to visit Spring Hill on a recent business trip. I am fascinated with how the battlefield changes with the passage of time and seasons. Check out my short photo essay on Spring Hill by clicking HERE. There are some very nice pictures of Rippavilla Plantation and Rally Hill.

For additional information on the Affair at Spring Hill, check out my December 2009 article:

From Atlanta to Spring Hill

If you are interested in learning more about the Battle of Franklin, check out my January 2010 article:

The Battle of Franklin

For an exciting narrative on the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, listen to my interview with famed historian Thomas Y. Cartwright:

Thomas Y. Cartwright Interview on ThisMightyScourge.com

As always, please remember to support the Civil War Trust. They have saved nearly 200 acres of the Spring Hill Battlefield.

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On November 29, Hood’s forces pushed into the small village of Spring Hill. His goal was to place his army between Schofield and Thomas, making his retreat to Nashville impossible. Unfortunately, in what has become known as the Affair at Spring Hill, Schofield was able to thwart Hood’s well made plans and sneak by him in the overnight hours of November 30. Once beyond Spring Hill, Schofield moved his two army corps to Franklin where he set up a strong defensive position. Hood was furious that Schofield had escaped and pushed quickly after him. Finding the Federals in a strong position at Franklin, Hood attacked again, and again, nearly wiping out his army.

The Battle of Franklin is a fascinating story. Heroism was the norm on both sides. Six Confederate general officers would be killed, with more wounded. To learn more about the Battle of Franklin, I suggest you read the following articles I wrote last year.

From Atlanta to Spring Hill – John Bell Hood’s 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign

The Battle of Franklin – John Bell Hood’s 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign

Additionally, I had the opportunity to interview famed Franklin historian Thomas Y. Cartwright for my campaign study on Franklin. Cartwright is one of the most knowledgeable historians on the Franklin-Nashville Campaign and is extremely entertaining. You can listen to the interview by clicking on the following link.

Thomas Y. Cartwright Interview

Lastly, you can view my photo essays on Spring Hill, by clicking HERE, and Franklin, by clicking HERE.

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The surrender of the Army of Tennessee extinguished any hope of Confederate independence.  While additional Confederate armies were still active in the Western Theater, Johnston’s Army of Tennessee was the last large organized fighting force.  This army saw bloody action at some of the most brutal battles in the west: Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga (Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain), the Atlanta Campaign, Franklin, Nashville and the Carolinas Campaign.  It would have several commanders: Braxton Bragg, Joe Johnston and John Bell Hood.  The battles of Franklin and Nashville would decimate the proud army.  While losing more battles than it won, it was not so much due to the fighting elan of the men, but rather poor decisions made by its commanders.  Many of the most celebrated general officers of the Confederacy held important commands in this army including Patrick Cleburne, Nathan Bedford Forrest, James Longstreet, Stephen D. Lee and Alexander P. Stewart.

* The Battle of Franklin – John Bell Hood’s 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign
* Thomas Y. Cartwright Interview at the Famous Lotz House

You may also be interested in my photo essay on the Battle of Franklin.  It can be found on my Flickr website by clicking HERE.

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Help Save the Franklin Battlefield
Let’s Reclaim a Key Section of the Franklin Breakthrough

“The most desperate fighting imaginable.”

There were many horrifying scenes of carnage throughout the Civil War, but there are few that can compare to what was witnessed on November 30, 1864 at the Battle of Franklin.

In what became one of the largest and most precipitous charges of the Civil War, Confederates of Frank Cheatham’s corps hurled themselves against strong Union entrenchments. Despite facing enormous odds, these battle hardened Confederate forces did manage to break through the Union line at its center.

Facing the sudden prospect of total defeat, Colonel Emerson Opdycke and his brigade of veteran Midwestern soldiers – Opdycke’s Tigers – charged forth into the growing breach and drove back the Confederate attackers. After five hours of frenzied fighting more than 8,500 soldiers would lay dead on the field and John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee was left in shambles.

CWPT is partnering with Franklin’s Charge to preserve forever a 1.07 acre portion of the Franklin battlefield – ground which witnessed the Confederate breakthrough and Union counterattack. Join us in saving this hallowed ground.

Franklin 2010 Preservation Campaign
* Acres: 1.07 acres
* Total Cost: $950,000
* CWPT Fundraising Goal: $150,000
* Match: $6.33 to $1
* Match Sources: ABPP, Franklin’s Charge

It’s not every day that we get the chance to reclaim a battlefield that has been lost. As we did with the former Pizza Hut location, at the Carter House Garden, and on the Eastern Flank, we are slowly taking back what was lost at Franklin. Join us in adding another crucial part of the puzzle at the Franklin battlefield.

Very sincerely yours,

Jim Lighthizer
President, CWPT

Click HERE to make a donation!

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About the Lotz House:
The Lotz House is one of the few remaining Civil War era homes still standing on the Franklin battlefield.  Built on five acres of land, purchased from Fountain Branch Carter, the house was completed in 1858.  German immigrant Johann Albert Lotz, a carpenter and piano maker by trade, built the majority of the house himself.  The home still bears marks from the sanguinary Battle of Franklin, including an indentation on the gift shop floor from a cannonball that entered through the roof.  J.T. Thompson, the executive director of the Lotz House, has done a superb job filling the home with Civil War memorabilia and period specific furniture.  An expert on antiques, J.T. will greet you at the door with a smile and provide a wonderful tour of the beautiful home.

I highly recommend that you stop by the Lotz House for a tour the next time you are in Franklin.  If time allows, make sure to have Thomas Cartwright lead you on a tour of the historic Franklin battlefield.

I want to thank J.T., and Thomas, for their hospitality during my visit to Franklin on January 6, 2010.  I spent over two hours talking with Thomas in the office of the Lotz House.  The interview is split into 19 parts so you can listen to it at your leasure.  If you prefer to download the entire interview, you may do so by clicking HERE.  The MP3 format is compatible with MP3 players and iPods.  Now, fasten your seatbelts and take a journey with me through John Bell Hood’s 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign.  Like me, I am sure you will be messmerized by the many stories that Thomas Cartwright has to tell.

Thomas Y. Cartwright Interview – 19 Parts
Interview Date: January 6, 2010
Total Time: 2 hour 09 minutes 38 seconds

Part 1: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 1
Time: 7:04
Contents: Welcome and introductions | How Thomas became interested in the Civil War | Thomas’ attraction to the “stories” of the Civil War | Storytelling and the Civil War student | Tactical narratives vs. storytelling

Part 2: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 2
Time: 7:57
Contents: History in today’s education system | Mr. Cartwright’s interviews on the History Channel and other documentaries | How Thomas spurred my interest in the forgotten battle: Franklin | Thomas’ narrative on Hood’s movements from Atlanta | The consolidation of the armies

Part 3: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 3
Time: 7:00
Contents: The organization of John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee | Overview of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s 1862 West Tennessee Campaign | Battle of Parker’s Crossroads | Bedford Forrest arrives at Florence to join John Bell Hood | Hood’s army invades Tennessee | James H. Wilson’s Federal cavalry engages Forrest’s Cavalry Corps | The Confederate flanking movement towards Spring Hill, Tennessee

Part 4: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 4
Time: 7:50
Contents: The Affair at Spring Hill | Where was James H. Wilson’s cavalry? | The Federal disposition of troops prior to the Affair at Spring Hill | John M. Schofield and John Bell Hood at West Point | Analysis of Hood’s movement towards Spring Hill | Actions at Spring Hill | Cleburne’s movements at Spring Hill – attack by US Colonel Luther Bradley’s brigade | Bate’s Division begins its movement towards the Columbia-Franklin Turnpike

Part 5: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 5
Time: 7:35
Contents: A.P. Stewart’s Corps left behind at Rutherford Creek during the Affair of Spring Hill | The Federal army’s march from Columbia to Spring Hill | The Federal army escapes the Confederate trap at Spring Hill | The Hood conspiracy at Spring Hill – Was he drunk or on laudanum? | The angry Army of Tennessee and Hood’s meeting with his lieutenants at RippaVilla | Hood puts his army in motion towards Franklin | Cleburne and Bate receive Hood’s blame for the debacle at Spring Hill

Part 6: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 6
Time: 6:49
Contents: CSA Major General Patrick R. Cleburne | Cleburne as a logistician and tactician | Overview of Cleburne’s battlefield contributions | Cleburne’s proposal to enlist slaves in the Confederate armies and its costs

Part 7: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 7
Time: 7:35
Contents: The breakdown in communications during the Affair at Spring Hill | The Army of Tennessee arrives at Franklin | Forrest’s troopers and A.P. Stewart’s infantry skirmish with George Wagner’s division at Winstead Hill and Breezy Hill | Frank Cheatham and A.P. Stewart’s Corps arrive at Franklin | Confederate Tennesseans arriving “home” | The Confederate order of battle, and positions, at Franklin | Missouri in the Civil War

Part 8: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 8
Time: 6:01
Contents: John Bell Hood gives his fateful orders to Patrick Cleburne | General Cheatham states it would be suicide for a frontal assault at Franklin | Forrest states he can flank the Federals with one division of infantry and his cavalry | General Govan’s conversation with Cleburne | The Army of Tennessee is deployed in line of battle | Lack of Confederate artillery at Franklin

Part 9: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 9
Time: 7:44
Contents: What the soldiers were thinking prior to the Battle of Franklin | Was General Hood punishing Cleburne or other soldiers for the debacle at Spring Hill? | The Confederate brigades at Franklin

Part 10: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 10
Time: 6:54
Contents: The Federal army | John Schofield did not want a battle at Franklin but US Major General George H. Thomas wanted him to hold the crossing of the Harpeth River | The Confederate Army of Tennessee begins marching towards the Federal works like a “human tidal wave” | The Federal soldiers admire the grand scene | Federal dispositions at Franklin | US Brigadier General George Wagner’s faulty position in advance of the main lines | The Federal advance line crumbles under the advance of CSA Brigadier General Hiram Granbury’s brigade | “All hell breaks loose….”

Part 11: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 11
Time: 7:26
Contents: Hand-to-hand fighting breaks out along the Federal fortifications | US Colonel Emerson Opdycke’s brigade saves the day “bursting out of the ground like demons…” | Individual actions at Franklin | The conditions on the Franklin battlefield | The fighting at Carter’s cotton gin | The fighting at the Carter house and garden | CSA brigadier generals Granbury and Strahl are killed | CSA General Francis Cockrell’s brigade is annihilated | CSA Captain Tod Carter is killed near his home | CSA Brigadier General John Adams is killed | The fighting on the Confederate right flank

Part 12: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 12
Time: 7:09
Contents: “A scene out of the bowels of hell” | The Carter Garden: “The bloodiest two acres of the Civil War” | Brigadier General Patrick R. Cleburne is killed, dying instantly | The cost of the Battle of Franklin | Night fighting at Franklin | Federal stories from Franklin | The disaster on the Sultana takes many Federal soldiers’ lives who participated in the Battle of Franklin | The armies move to Nashville | Preservation activities at Nashville

Part 13: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 13
Time: 7:36
Contents: The Battle of Nashville | The Confederate withdrawal from Nashville | The battles during the Confederate retreat | The Army of Tennessee retreats through Mississippi | The battles of the Carolinas Campaign | Preservation of Tennessee battlefields | The forgotten Battle of Franklin

Part 14: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 14
Time: 5:34
Contents: The battle the Confederacy wanted to forget | The cost in Confederate line officers and general officers at Franklin | The Civil War soldiers’ well deserved legacy | Battlefield preservation groups | The Carter House and death of Captain Tod Carter | Additional soldiers’ stories | Carnton Plantation and the McGavock Confederate Cemetery

Part 15: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 15
Time: 6:52
Contents: The Lotz House and its place in the history of the Battle of Franklin | Matilda Lotz – survivor of Franklin and a budding artist | The Lotz House collection | The Carnton Plantation | The Battle of Franklin: “Pickett’s Charge of the West” | Comparisons between the Confederate charges at Franklin and Pickett’s Charge | Everyone at Franklin was a veteran of the battle | Reminisces of Cleburne’s charge and “the awful” – the battle flag of Cleburne’s Division

Part 16: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 16
Time: 6:55
Contents: Battlefield preservation discussion | Development and preservation can work collaboratively | Identifying the “unknown” Confederate heroes at McGavock Confederate Cemetery | General John Bell Hood’s legacy and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign | Emerson Opdycke’s insubordination and future promotion

Part 17: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 17
Time: 7:23
Contents: Preserving the legacy – Civil War soldiers and their letters | Mr. Cartwright’s future books | Franklin battlefield tours | Visiting Franklin, Tennessee | If John Bell Hood could have a “do over….” | Grading the principal commanders: John M. Schofield

Part 18: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 18
Time:  5:38
Contents: Grading George H. Thomas | Civil War Roundtables helping with preservation | Grading John Bell Hood

Part 19: Thomas Y Cartwright Interview Part 19
Time: 2:36
Contents: Grading John Bell Hood (continued) | Thank you, wrap up and closing

Click HERE for animated maps of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin – Courtesy of the Civil War Preservation Trust!

To see my photo essay, on the Battle of Franklin, click HERE.

The final charges of CSA Major General Frank Cheatham’s Corps were across a wide front, facing the Federal works, south of the home of Fountain Branch Carter.  Division commanders, major generals Patrick Cleburne and John C. Brown, were given the unenviable task of marching across nearly 1 1/2 miles of open ground, with little cover other than the occasional ground swale.  Hood’s order to Cleburne was quite clear:

Form your division to the right of the pike, letting your left overlap the same.  General Brown will form on your left with his right overlapping your left….Give orders to your men not to fire a gun until you run the Yankee skirmish line from behind the first line of works, then press them and shoot them in their backs as they run to their main line; then charge the enemy works.  Franklin is the key to Nashville, and Nashville is the key to independence. – CSA General John Bell Hood’s orders to Major General Patrick Cleburne(i)

Knowing the mission would be nearly suicidal, Cleburne was observed to say, “He would either take the enemy works, or fall in the attempt.”  Upon reaching his division, at Breezy Hill, one of his brigade commanders, CSA Brigadier General Daniel C. Govan, noted that Cleburne was “greatly depressed.”  Upon receiving Cleburne’s orders, to carry the Federal works, Govan saluted and then told Cleburne, “Well, general, there will not be many of us that will get back to Arkansas.”  Cleburne’s rueful response was short, “Well, Govan, if we are to die, let us die like men.”(ii)

The narrative of the Battle of Franklin is full of inspiring stories – and sad stories.  One in particular strikes my imagination.  Young Theodrick “Tod” Carter was the tenth child of twelve that was born to Fountain Branch Carter and Mary Armisted Atkinson.  Born March 24, 1840, in Franklin, he would enter the Confederate service as a private in Company H, 20th Tennessee Infantry, during the summer of 1861.  He was 21 years old.  He would see action at many large battles including Mill Springs, Shiloh, Stone’s River, Chickamauga and during the Atlanta Campaign.  During this time, he would be promoted to captain and would serve on CSA Brigadier General Thomas B. Smith’s staff, as an assistant quartermaster.  He had not been home in over three years.  He would be headed home, in mid November 1864, as John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee attempted to flank US Major General John M. Schofield’s army at Spring Hill.  Unfortunately, the Federals would escape with the Army of Tennessee rapidly pushing after them, towards Captain Carter’s home.  The Carter house would become the epicenter of the Battle of Franklin, with its family members, and the Lotz family, hiding in the house’s basement.  Although young Captain Carter’s role as a quartermaster would not place him in the front lines, Carter could not stay behind the lines – after all, he was going home.  He was said to have told a friend, “that no power on earth could keep him out of the battle.”  Mounting his large gray horse, Rosencrantz, Carter would draw his saber and push towards his house, with portions of the 20th Tennessee Infantry.  Pushing rapidly forward, with his sword leading the way, he went down with his horse.  Carter had received two wounds, one of them mortal, above his eye.  He would lay prone on the battlefield for hours, calling for help, with his house little more than 150 yards away.  After the battle, General Smith would ride to the Carter home, looking for Fountain.  Upon finding him, he advised Tod’s father that his son had been wounded and way lying nearby, on the battlefield.  Fountain Carter, and several of his daughters, were able to locate him and carry him on his final “journey home.”  Placing Captain Carter in the family’s parlor, the entire family would be with him when he died, several hours later.  One of his sisters was to have remarked, “Brother’s come home at last.”(iii)

The Battle of Franklin was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Army of Tennessee.  In little more than four hours, John Bell Hood lost over 6,000 of his soldiers.  Most significant, was the loss of fourteen Confederate generals – six killed or mortally wounded, seven wounded and one captured.  Blood literally flowed along the Columbia-Franklin Turnpike, between the Lotz house and the Carter house.  Unfortunately, the Battle of Franklin is little known and very seldom remembered, even by avowed Civil War buffs.  Much is happening today to save portions of the Franklin Battlefield, and to raise awareness of this sanguinary battle.  Unfortunately, the majority of the ground Hood’s Army of Tennessee crossed, to reach the Federal lines, have been paved over and turned into retail establishments.  However, the memory of the battle will long remain with those who choose to study the battle, and its courageous combatants.

I have included the following battle summary, taken wholly from my other website, BattlefieldPortraits.com, for you to learn a little more about this monumental battle.  Hopefully, like myself, you will become as interested in this battle as I am.  In the next several days, I will provide my readers with a very special treat – an audio interview with the preeminent historian, on the Battle of Franklin, Thomas Y. Cartwright.  It was recorded in the office of the Lotz House, where Mr. Cartwright now leads battlefield tours from.  I’m sure you will enjoy the spirited talk with Thomas, as much as I did.

Battle of Franklin

Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Dates: November 30, 1864
Union Commander: John M. Schofield, Major General
Confederate Commander: John Bell Hood, General (temporary rank)

Battle Summary:

On July 22, 1864, US Major General William T. Sherman flanked CSA General John Bell Hood from the fortifications of Atlanta, Georgia.  Each commanding general devised different strategies at this point.  Sherman determined to take the war to the people of Georgia, with his March to the Sea.  Hood determined to take back Tennessee – specifically its enemy held capital – Nashville.  He felt that this move would bring Sherman’s army north and relieve the pressure in Georgia. 

Having his plan approved by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, John B. Hood set his Army of Tennessee, in motion.  First he would move west, to Florence, Alabama, to set up a new supply base.  From there he would cross the Tennessee River, invading Tennessee.  During this time period, Jefferson Davis was concerned with Hood’s grievous losses at Atlanta, and his lack of an overall operational plan.  In order to provide strategic assistance to his field commander, he placed CSA General P.G.T. Beauregard in charge of the entire theater of operations.  While Hood would still command the Army of Tennessee, his superior was now Beauregard.

Poor John Bell Hood.  Bad luck followed him.  Due to issues with the weather, the roads, CSA Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s missing cavalry, his health and his supplies it took him close to three weeks to get his army marching into Tennessee.  On the morning of November 21, Hood started north with his army over icy roads, with blowing snow and sleet hampering their movements.  His destination was Columbia, Tennessee, along the banks of the Duck River.  His soldiers’ morale was high, as they were finally on the move.  It was Hood’s plan that he would catch US Major General John M. Schofield’s Federal army off guard.  Schofield, through the use of his cavalry, commanded by US Major General James H. Wilson, knew that Hood’s Army of Tennessee was on the move.  Unfortunately, Wilson’s cavalry was unable to provide the detailed recognizance necessary to keep Schofield fully aware of the disposition of Hood’s army.  Additionally, as Hood’s cavalry, commanded by Bedford Forrest, was working around Schofield’s left flank, one of Wilson’s primary tasks was to delay, or prevent, Hood’s crossing of the Duck River, at fords east of Columbia.  This caused some fairly significant skirmishing at the Duck River fords, and near Rally Hill, between Wilson’s cavalry and Forrest’s horsemen.

Schofield was now certain that Hood was working around his left flank.  However, his strategy was weak in that he only planned to hold him up north of Columbia.  Meanwhile, Hood’s objective was to get around Schofield, reach Spring Hill, and block his route of retreat.  While tactically well planned, it would not be carried out well.  Confusion was rampant in the Confederate high command, and Hood, suffering from his injuries, was said to medicated with laudanum.  Several tactical miscues, and a lack of communication, would allow all of Schofield’s army to pass by the bivouacked Confederates, at Spring Hill, in the overnight hours of November 29.

Reaching Franklin at first light, John Schofield set to work emplacing his army.  US Brigadier General Jacob Cox’s XXIII Corps would represent Schofield’s left flank.  Cox’s left would be on the Harpeth River, and his right would be near the Franklin Columbia Turnpike.  US Major General David Stanley’s IV Corps would be the right flank Schofield’s entrenched army.  His left flank would connect with Cox’s right flank, and his right would be anchored on a bend of the Harpeth River.  This placement was very defensible and would be augmented by the large batteries at Fort Granger – north of the Harpeth River.  From their position high over the river, the big guns at Fort Granger would offer plenty of support for Schofield’s army.

At first light on November 30, John Bell Hood learned that Schofield had snuck by his position at Spring Hill.  Hood was furious, blaming everyone except himself.  He would quickly put his army in motion, wanting to keep Schofield’s army from reaching Nashville and joining with US Major General George H. Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland.  Reaching Franklin, in the afternoon, Hood found Schofield’s entrenched, and well placed army.  Moving quickly to the offensive, CSA Major General Frank Cheatham’s Corps would form his left wing, while CSA Lieutenant General Alexander P. Stewart’s Corps would represent his right wing.  Additionally, the right wing would be supported by Bedford Forrest’s Cavalry Corps.

US Brigadier General George Wagner’s division was the Federal army’s rear guard in its march to Franklin.  Wagner inconceivably detached two brigades, not as skirmishers, but to hold an advance line in between the two armies.  Commanding these two brigades were colonels John Lane and Joseph Conrad.  Wagner positioned Lane’s brigade on the south slopes of Privet Knob, while Conrad’s brigade was positioned further north, in a unprotected field.  At this point, riding back toward the Federal lines, south of Franklin, Wagner ordered Colonel Emerson Opdycke to extend Conrad’s line.  Having been in the rear guard of Schofield’s quickly moving army, the fiery Opdycke exchanged heated words with Wagner, claiming the ground was untenable and unprotected.  Opdycke kept riding, with his brigade, towards Franklin.  His actions, while insubordinate, would prove very fortuitous for the Federal army.  Wagner’s positioning of Lane and Conrad’s brigades would lengthen the list of Federal casualties at Franklin, and would prove to be of no strategic importance to the battle.  Their brigades, effectively sacrificed, would offer no serious resistance to Hood’s advancing army.  In a futile effort to avoid being flanked, Lane would pull his brigade back, from Privet Knob, to Conrad’s position.  There they set about building some small earthworks to protect them from the advancing Rebels.  They would not have to wait long as CSA Major General Patrick Cleburne’s division soon arrived, and fired from point blank range into Conrad’s brigade.  Lane, observing this, ordered his men into the fray, but their position would become untenable as they were quickly flanked, on the left, by CSA Lieutenant General A.P. Stewart’s entire corps.  It would quickly become a rout, with Lane and Conrad’s brigades rushing pellmell towards the main Union lines.  Unfortunately, Wagner’s advanced placement of these two brigades would prove problematic for the massed Union artillery.  Some artillery positions had to suppress their fire, waiting for the two lone Union brigades to pass from the field of fire, but there were still plenty of Union soldiers hit by the friendly fire.

On came Hood’s two army corps – Cheatham’s on the left, and A.P. Stewart’s on the right.  Cheatham’s Corps had three divisions, commanded by Cleburne, and major generals John Brown and William B. Bate.  Cleburne and Brown’s divisions would attack repeatedly near the Carter house, and cotton gin, while Bate on the far left, would attack the Union right flank, comprised of US Brigadier General Nathan Kimball’s division, of the IV Corps.  Cleburne and Brown’s divisions suffered the most, being opposed by US Brigadier General James Reilly’s division, of Jacob Cox’s XXIII Corps, and portions of Wagner’s Division.  After repeated assaults along their front, portions of Cleburne’s Division would break through the lines on the Columbia-Franklin Turnpike.  Rushing forward pellmell, the Rebels would run headlong into Opdyke’s lone brigade, which would struggle to push them back across the Federal works, and saving the Federal position.  The fighting would rage in this sector for several hours, well after darkness blanketed the battlefield.

On the Confederate right, A.P. Stewart’s corps would approach three well entrenched Union brigades anchored along the Harpeth River – James Reilly’s brigade at the cotton gin, Colonel John Casement’s brigade in the center and Colonel Israel Stiles brigade anchored on the Harpeth River.  Crossing John McGavock’s beautiful Carnton Plantation, they would come under heavy fire from Fort Granger.  A.P. Stewart’s leading divisions, commanded by major generals William “Old Blizzards” Loring, on the right, and Edward C. Walthall, on the left, charged the entrenched Federal brigades.  Stewart’s third division, commanded by Major General Samuel G. French, followed Walthall’s division.  Stewart’s corps quickly covered the 1,000 yards, and were within yards of the Union line, when they ran into a formidable osage orange hedge.  This hedge caused the Rebels much grief as they tried to assault Reilly’s Federal division.  After several attempts to take the U.S. Army position, A.P. Stewart’s attack disintegrated, in little more than an hour.  Sporadic firing, all along the line, would continue until well after dark.  The terrible battle of Franklin was over.

Campaign: Franklin-Nashville Campaign

Outcome: Union Victory

Troop Strengths
Union: 27,000
Confederate: 20,000

Casualties (estimated):
Union: 2,326 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)
Confederate: 6,261 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)

The battle of Franklin was one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Civil War.  With the Confederate casualty rate being over 30%, the battle of Franklin would severely weaken General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee.  Fortunately, only one division of CSA Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee’s Corps would arrive in time to fight at Franklin.  Lee’s fresh troops would be essential at the upcoming battles around Nashville – allowing Hood to extricate himself from the vise George Thomas would squeeze him in.  The infantry casualties only tell part of the ill fated saga of John Bell Hood, at Franklin.  Often compared to CSA Major General George Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg, the attack at Franklin would cover significantly more open ground, with little artillery support, and instead of one charge, Hood would send his infantry into the Union lines five times.  The Confederate general officer ranks would be decimated at Franklin.  Brigadier generals John Adams, Hiram B. Granbury, States Rights Gist, John C. Carter and Otho F. Strahl would be killed.  However, the most grievous loss for the Confederate army was that of Major General Patrick Cleburne.  Cleburne would be killed while leading his men towards the Carter cotton gin.  Cleburne was undoubtedly one of the best division commanders in any Confederate army.  His death would severely weaken the Confederate armies, in the West, for the remainder of the war.

US Major General John Schofield would successfully unite his army with that of Major General George Thomas.  Thomas’s steady leadership and determined offensive would push John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee from its namesake state, for the remainder of the war.

(i) Sword, Wiley, The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin & Nashville, published by the University Press of Kansas in 1993, Pgs. 179–180.
(ii) Sword, Wiley, The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin & Nashville, published by the University Press of Kansas in 1993, Pgs. 180.
(iii) Sword, Wiley, The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin & Nashville, published by the University Press of Kansas in 1993, Pg. 261.

• Part One, will be background information on the campaign, and the movement of Hood’s Army of Tennessee from Alabama into Tennessee.  It will culminate with the Battle of Spring Hill.
• Part Two, will cover US Major General John Schofield’s movement to Franklin, Hood’s pursuit and the calamitous Battle of Franklin.
• Part Three, will cover the Battles of Nashville on December 15 and 16, 1864.  I plan on having this completed by the anniversary of the battles.

I hope to offer a couple of surprises, during, and after the series, that will add some additional excitement to the project.  Keep a watch out as these articles, and others, are coming during the Christmas season.  I just wonder, can I somehow wrap my blog articles in bright Christmas wrapping, with a bow on each?