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Dear CWPT Supporter,

WE DO WHAT WE SAY

2010 HIGHLIGHTS

WE KEEP OUR EXPENSES TO A MINIMUM
In 2010, we spent just 3.3% of our expenses on administration, and just 8.3% on fundraising, meaning that 88 cents of every dollar we spent went directly toward specific battlefield preservation efforts, education programs and our public outreach activities.

I will stack those stewardship numbers up against any other non-profit in America

• In 2010, CWPT received Charity Navigator’s 4-Star Charity designation – their highest award. Read Report ».
• GuideStar, designated us as a “Valued Partner”
• The Independent Charities of America organization gave us their “Best in America” award

WE MULTIPLY THE VALUE OF YOUR DONATIONS
Our Real Estate and Government Relations staff are constantly looking for matching grants that can be used with our battlefield appeals. In most cases the giving power of your donations will be magnified many times over.

2010 HIGHLIGHTS

• $20 to $1 Match at Spring Hill
• $116 to $1 Match at Brandy Station
• $4.13 to $1 at Gettysburg-Power’s Hill
• $10 to $1 at Second Manassas

As an organization we are proud of all that we’ve been able to accomplish in 2010, but all of these accomplishments would be impossible if it was not for the support that we receive from you.

Jim Lighthizer
President, CWPT

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The following linked video, “Our Gettysburg Legacy,” was played during today’s hearing.  Many famous celebrities volunteered their time to make the video.  Please click on the link and watch the video.  If you are able to donate to the Civil War Preservation Trust for this campaign, click HERE.  United, we can win – Divided we WILL lose.  God Bless the USA.

“Our Gettysburg Legacy” featuring Ken Burns, Matthew Broderick, Sam Waterston, Stephen Lang, David McCullough and others.

Eric’s Article: The GBPA Sells Its Soul to the Devil

Click HERE to make your donation!

Click HERE to view my Battle of Brandy Station essay from last year.

Click HERE to listen to my interview with Eric J. Wittenberg, author of “The Battle of Brandy Station.”

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EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL
10:00 a.m. EDT, May 13, 2010

For more information, contact:
Mary Koik, CWPT, (202) 367-1861 x7231
Beth Newburger, Epoch, (571) 436-0887

Civil War Preservation Trust Releases Annual Report on Nation’s Most Endangered Battlefields

Best-Selling Author Jeff Shaara Joins Trust to Unveil “History Under Siege” Report

(Washington D.C.) – The iconic Pennsylvania battlefield synonymous with American valor, now facing a second attempt to bring casino gambling to its doorstep; a Virginia crossroads where a single marching order set the Union army on the road to victory, now proposed for a monstrous commercial development; and a rocky Arizona spire where Confederate and Union forces fiercely faced off, now jeopardized by state budget cuts; are some of the nation’s most endangered Civil War battlefields.

At a news conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) unveiled its annual report on the status of the nation’s historic battlegrounds.  The report, entitled History Under Siege™: A Guide to America’s Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields, identifies the most threatened Civil War sites in the United States and what can be done to save them.

“All across the country, our nation’s irreplaceable battlefields – these tangible links to our shared history – are threatened by inappropriate development, misguided public policy, limited financial resources and, in some cases, simple apathy,” said CWPT President James Lighthizer at the report’s unveiling.  “Next year marks the Sesquicentennial of the bloodiest conflict in our nation’s history, and as we prepare for that seminal moment, it is an opportune time to shine a spotlight on the places that tell America’s story.”

Joining Lighthizer at the news conference was best-selling author Jeff Shaara, who also serves on the CWPT Board of Trustees.  The author of nine New York Times bestsellers, Shaara’s novels, including the Civil War-themed Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, have been praised by historians for their painstaking research.  His  only non-fiction work, Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields,  is a unique and personal tour across ten of America’s most hallowed battlegrounds.  In testament to his commitment to historic preservation, Shaara donated the entire advance from the project toward battlefield protection efforts.

“Nothing creates an emotional connection between present and past like walking in the footsteps of our Civil War soldiers,” said Shaara.  “I hope that by drawing attention to endangered Civil War battlefields, Americans will this see hallowed ground in a new way and understand that these sites must be preserved for future generations to experience.”

Also taking the podium at the news conference was Dr. Mark Snell, director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University.  A Civil War scholar and retired army officer, Snell was appointed to the West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the Civil War Commission last summer by Governor Joe Manchin, and was subsequently elected vice-chairman.

“Particularly on the eve of the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, there is no more fitting commemoration of American valor than respectfully protecting the land where our soldiers fought and bled,” said Snell.

For three days in the summer of 1863, 160,000 men in blue and gray fought the Civil War’s largest and bloodiest battle around the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 2006, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board rejected a proposal to build a slots parlor near Gettysburg’s East Cavalry Field, citing widespread public opposition to the plan. However, earlier this year the same chief investor rolled the dice again and announced plans for another Gettysburg casino.  Although smaller than the previous proposal, this casino would be only one half-mile from Gettysburg National Military Park.

In May 1864, Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s bloody Overland Campaign began in a tangled mass of second-growth trees and scrub known as the Wilderness, Virginia.  When portions of Grant’s army attacked elements of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army on May 5, 1864, it was the first time the two legendary commanders met in battle.  In August 2009, the Orange County, Va. Board of Supervisors approved a massive commercial center featuring a Walmart and four retailers at the gateway to the historic battlefield.  A lawsuit to block the project is pending.

While most of the battles of the Civil War took place on southern soil, Confederate and Union forces engaged in their westernmost struggle at Picacho Pass, Arizona, on April 15, 1862.  Confederate Capt. Sherod Hunter raised his flag in the small, frontier settlement of Tucson, hoping to take another step toward the Pacific and the creation of an ocean-to-ocean Confederacy.  The Confederate rangers were met by a detachment of Union cavalry under the leadership of Lt. James Barrett near Picacho Peak, a rocky spire 50 miles northwest of Tucson.  Although Picacho Peak State Park is a popular tourist destination, it will close to the public on June 3, 2010, due to drastic cuts in the state budget – less than one year before the sesquicentennial of the war.

The Civil War Preservation Trust is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our nation’s endangered Civil War battlefields and to promoting appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism.  History Under Siege is composed of two parts; one identifying the 10 most endangered battlefields in the nation, and a second section lists 15 additional “at risk” sites also confronted by serious threats.  Sites discussed in the report range from the famous to the nearly forgotten, but at least part of each site is in danger of being lost forever.  Battlefields were chosen based on geographic location, military significance, and the immediacy of current threats.

History Under Siege™ also includes:

Camp Allegheny, W.Va., December 15, 1861: Early in the war, North and South both strove to gain control over the western counties of Virginia, meeting in a number of engagements among the peaks and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains.  Today, the scenic beauty of Camp Allegheny, West Virginia stands to be compromised by a field of 40-story-high wind turbines — 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty — to be built within view of the battlefield.

Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1864: In the fall of 1864, Union Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan marched up the fertile Shenandoah Valley, stripping the countryside bare to starve out Confederate forces.  After a daring Confederate surprise attack at Cedar Creek, Union forces launched a crushing counterattack, extinguishing the South’s last hope of recovering the Valley.  In 2008, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors approved a massive expansion of the mine operating adjacent to Cedar Creek, which would destroy nearly 400 acres of battlefield land crucial to telling the story of this decisive struggle.

Fort Stevens, Washington, D.C., July 11-12, 1864: Fort Stevens was part of an extensive ring of fortifications surrounding Civil War Washington, but in July 1864 those defenses were vulnerable to a direct attack by Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early.  President Abraham Lincoln, watching the action from Fort Stevens, came under fire from sharpshooters.  Last year, a church adjacent to the fort applied for a zoning exemption to build an immense community center complex.  The new construction would tower over the fort, significantly degrading the visitor experience.

Pickett’s Mill, Ga., May 27, 1864: The Battle of Pickett’s Mill was one of the most stinging Union defeats of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign and the first serious check on Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s momentous campaign against this Confederate transportation center.  Although Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site is widely regarded as thoroughly preserved and interpreted, the park was forced to reduce its hours significantly due to budget cuts, and last autumn it was inundated by floodwaters that destroyed footbridges and a portion of the historic mill.

Richmond, Ky., August 29-30, 1862: Confederate Maj. Gen. Kirby Smith’s newly-dubbed “Army of Kentucky”—a bearded, shoeless band of rebel soldiers — marched north in the soaring heat of August 1862 and encountered a hastily-formed Union force led by Maj. Gen. William Nelson.  The ensuing battle became one of the most decisive Confederate victories of the Civil War.  Although the battlefield has been well protected to date, future preservation efforts will be complicated by the addition of a new highway interchange, paving the way for significant commercial growth in an area that has previously experienced little development pressure.

South Mountain, Md., September 14, 1862: In early September 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched an audacious invasion of the North.  But when a copy of his orders was discovered by Union soldiers in a field, wrapped around cigars, federal commanders were able to move quickly against the vulnerable Confederates at the Battle of South Mountain.  In December 2008, Dominion Power purchased 135 acres of battlefield land for a proposed $55 million natural gas compression station, a plan that has been subsequently suspended with an option to re-file.

Thoroughfare Gap, Va., August 28, 1862: Although a relatively small engagement, the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap was of immense strategic significance, setting the stage for the battles of Second Manassas and, ultimately, Antietam.  In February, consultants began seeking comments from the preservation community regarding a proposal to build a 150-foot-tall communications tower within the core battlefield area at Thoroughfare Gap.  Although construction of Interstate 66 in the 1960s saw portions of the mountain gap widened, the area retains much of its rural, scenic beauty.

With 55,000 members, CWPT is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States.  Its mission is to preserve our nation’s endangered Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds.  CWPT has preserved more than 29,000 acres of battlefield land across the nation. CWPT’s website is www.civilwar.org.

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(For additional materials, visit us online at http://www.civilwar.org/historyundersiege)

* 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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While Rosecrans defeated CSA General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee 146 years ago, the battle continues today.  With development slowly encircling the battlefield, it has had the undesirable honor of making the Civil War Preservation Trust’s “Most Endangered Battlefields” list many times.  Additionally, this past Good Friday, the battlefield was directly hit by a tornado, causing significant damage to many of the largest trees.  Their is, however, a silver lining.  The Civil War Preservation Trust has permanently saved 24 acres of the battlefield and Tennessee Congressman Bart Gordon recently announced that the state had approved $1.5 million to make improvements at the national battlefield.  I visited the battlefield on January 6, 2010 and was very impressed with the National Park Service’s efforts to clear the tornado damaged trees from the hallowed ground.

I have included the following short narrative on the Battle of Stones River, to provide an overview of the battle for my readers.  I wrote the narrative for my other website, BattlefieldPortraits.com.  For additional information on the battle, please check out the following items.

Mike’s photo essay on the Battle of Stones River

Mike’s blog article on Julius P. Garesche killed at the Stones River

Battle of Stones River
(also known as Murfreesboro)

Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Rutherford County)
Dates: December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863
Union Commander:  William S. Rosecrans, Major General
Confederate Commander:  Braxton Bragg, General 

Battle Summary:

During the summer and early fall of 1862, Lincoln’s western armies were having success.  His armies had pressed the Confederate armies out of Kentucky, and portions of western Tennessee.  With U.S. Grant’s victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, in February, 1862, the Federal troops commanded the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. This provided the leverage necessary to push CSA General Albert Sidney Johnston to abandon all of Kentucky, and western Tennessee.  Grant’s victory over Johnston’s Army of the Mississippi, at Shiloh, pushed troops under P.G.T. Beauregard into northern Mississippi.  Confederate General Braxton Bragg, with his Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Lieutenant General Leonidas “Bishop” Polk and Lieutenant General William Hardee, moved into Kentucky in September and October.

While Lincoln was pleased with the success of his troops, under Grant, he remained very concerned for the safety of loyal Unionist citizens in eastern Tennessee.  After the fall of Iuka and Corinth, Mississippi, US Major General William S. Rosecrans, replaced US Major General Don Carlos Buell as commander of the newly designated Army of the Cumberland.  Meanwhile, after his unsuccessful invasion of Kentucky, Bragg was at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, protecting the vital southern rail hub at Chattanooga.

Late in December, after repeated threats from Commander-in-Chief, Major General Henry W. Halleck, Rosecrans put his army in motion.  Rosecrans slowly moved from Nashville, towards Bragg’s Army of the Tennessee, at Murfreesboro.  With the Army of the Cumberland plodding towards his Army of Tennessee, Bragg sent Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry to raid Rosecrans’ supply line.  Wheeler was successful, capturing hundreds of prisoners and a portion of the Union supply line.

Meanwhile, Braxton Bragg had formed a defensive line, running southwest, to northeast, just north of Murfreesboro – his supply depot.  His army straddled the Stones River.  While Bragg had time to entrench his army - he failed to do so – an error that cost him dearly.

With Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland within striking distance, on December 30, Bragg decided to go on the offensive.  Just after dawn on December 31, Bragg had the left ¾ of his army wheel on its right flank, hoping to turn the Federal army’s right flank.  While the move was initially successful, the surprised Federal troops soon rallied.  Early the same morning, Rosecrans had planned to attack the Confederate right flank, so his lieutenant, US Major General Alexander McD. McCook’s Corps was ill prepared to meet the rebel attack on his sector – the Federal right.  Assigned to carry out the attack were the corps of William Hardee, on the far left, and Leonidas Polk, near the rebel “hinge,” in the middle of the line.  The attack pushed McCook’s Corps back fairly easily.  However, US Brigadier General Philip Sheridan was able to hold his section of the line, at a very defensible position along the railroad, near the Murfreesboro-Nashville Pike.  (This area would be known as the Round Forest, and is part of the Stones River National Battlefield.)  

By noon, with the assault on the Union right grinding to a halt, Bragg determined to divert Rosecrans’ attention.  He sent four brigades, commanded by CSA Major General John Breckinridge, to assault the Federal left flank.  As Breckinridge’s troops crossed Stones River they were hit by heavy Union artillery and infantry, that held a naturally strong defensive position, near McFadden’s Ford.  Breckinridge’s troops being sent in piecemeal, would be annihilated.

Sporadic fighting would continue until sunset.  When Hardee requested reinforcements, around 4:00 PM, Bragg replied that he had none to send.  Hardee, capturing the moment for all eternity, stated, “The enemy lay beyond the range of our guns, securely sheltered behind the strong defense of the railroad embankment, with wide open fields intervening, which were swept by superior artillery.  It would have been folly, not valor, to assail them in this position.”

On January 2, with a division of US Major General Thomas Crittenden’s Corps arrayed east of Stones River, Bragg once again went on the offensive.  After Bishop Polk’s Corps, in the center, hammered US. Major General George Thomas’ Corps, Bragg sent Breckinridge’s Division to push Crittenden from their right flank.  Breckinridge advanced in two lines.  With sharp fire from his front, and being enfiladed from the west side of the Stones River, Breckinridge’s Division was cut up.  The assault would gain no ground for the Army of Tennessee, and would leave many dead southern soldiers on the field.  This would end the fighting at Stones River – a very costly battle on both sides.

Campaign: Stones River

Outcome: Union Victory

Troop Strengths
Union: 44,000
Confederate: 34,000

Casualties (estimated):
Union: 13,000 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)
Confederate: 10,000 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)

Battle Aftermath:
Late in the evening of January 3, under the cover of a heavy rain and darkness, Braxton Bragg began to withdraw his Army of the Tennessee.  Rosecrans did not pursue Bragg, who would end up spending the remaining winter months, and much of the summer of 1863, in camp near Tullahoma, Tennessee.  Rosecrans would stay at Murfreesboro, building an elaborate fort, Fortress Rosecrans, to protect his army.  The fortress was so large that entire wagon trains could disappear in the fort, amongst the thousands of Federal troops.

In June 1863, the Lincoln administration, through Henry Halleck, finally got William Rosecrans’ lethargic army moving.  They would push Bragg’s Army of Tennessee out of their camps at Tullahoma, and into northern Georgia.  Plodding through mountainous country, west of Chattanooga, Rosecrans would enter northern Georgia in September, 1863, to meet Bragg near another lazy waterway – Chickamauga.

(i) Cozzens, Peter, No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stone’s River, published by University of Illinois Press on November 1, 1989, Pg. 207.

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

Congratulations to the CWPT for this outstanding achievement!

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Victory at Appomattox Station

47 Acres of this 1865 Battlefield Added to the Saved Column

We would like to share some great news with you today. CWPT would like to announce that we have met our fundraising goal for the 47 acres section of the Appomattox Station battlefield.

As most of you already know this new acquisition is important on three levels:

1. Appomattox Station is a historically significant battlefield. The events on this ground on April 8, 1865 led directly to Robert E. Lee’s decision to surrender his army the next day.
2. That we are saving 47 acres at the heart of this battlefield. In one fell swoop we have now saved almost all of the ground of this battlefield that can still be saved.
3. That we will be helping the Town of Appomattox and Appomattox County expand their heritage tourism opportunities.

Will Simmons, Director of Tourism for the Town of Appomattox stated that “[p]reserving the Appomattox Station battlefield site is an important step in telling the complete story of the final days of the Civil War in Virginia. This historic site links both the historic downtown Railroad Depot with the preserved village of Appomattox Court House and will enhance future visitor’s experience in learning about this significant chapter of American history.”

Of course none of this would have happened without your direct and generous support. Thanks to you we have now put another 46 acres of hallowed ground into the Saved Column.

Jim Lighthizer
President
Civil War Preservation Trust

CIVIL WAR PRESERVATION TRUST
1156 15th Street N.W., Suite 900, Washington D.C. 20005
Phone (202) 367-1861
www.civilwar.org

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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.