Franklin, TN
Nov. 30, 1864

 


CASUALTIES:

More men of the Confederate Army of Tennessee were killed in five hours at Franklin than in two days at the Battle of Shiloh. The Confederates suffered 6,252 casualties, including 1,750 killed and 3,800 wounded. An estimated 2,000 others suffered less serious wounds and returned to duty before the Battle of Nashville. But the military leadership in the West was decimated, including the loss of perhaps the best division commander of either side, Patrick Cleburne. Fifteen Confederate generals (six killed or mortally wounded, eight wounded, and one captured) and 53 regimental commanders were casualties. The six generals killed or mortally wounded were Cleburne, John C. Carter, John Adams, Hiram B. Granbury, States Rights Gist, and Otho F. Strahl.

Union losses were 189 killed, 1,033 wounded, 1,104 missing, most of whom were prisoners, both wounded and unwounded. Many of the prisoners, including all captured wounded and medical personnel, were recovered on December 18 when Union forces re-entered Franklin in pursuit of Hood.

After the battle, the men were buried on the battlefield, most often, near where they had fallen. In places in the breastworks men were six and seven deep with the wounded on the bottom dying a most painful death. The graves were marked with wooden markers that gave way with time. In the winter, boards were used for fires for the living. The Federals buried their dead in trenches, in time relative’s came, and carried the men home. Federal Cemeteries were established and care for the bodies of these men was supported by the United States Government.

Hood's men were not forgotten, but they had died for a dream. The land they loved was both conquered and occupied. It became apparent that most of these men would never find a way back to Mississippi or Texas or South Carolina.

By 1866, John McGavock could see all of this happening. He could see it so clearly and his compassion was so great that he donated two acres of land adjoining his own family cemetery. With the assistance of others, in this a most dire time for Tennessee, he undertook the process of reinterment for the Confederate dead of Franklin.

The soldiers had been buried by states and the McGavock family continued this tradition. The people involved, at no expense to anyone but themselves, moved the following: 424 men from Mississippi, 230 from Tennessee, 130 from Missouri, 129 from Alabama, 104 from Arkansas, 89 from Texas, 69 from Georgia, 51 from South Carolina, 18 from Louisiana, 5 from Kentucky, 4 from Florida, 2 from North Carolina, and 225 unknown, for a total of 1,480. These burials and the cost to maintain this cemetery has always been paid for by the dedicated few that undertook this mission. Each grave is marked with a small marble number today, so that families may locate the dead.

The only person that is not a Confederate soldier buried here, is a former slave, who died while assisting in the reinterment of the soldiers. His marker is a monument to the relationship of black and white and the issue of family in the old south. It is fine stone engraved as follows; Marcellius Cruppet, Born Jan 16, 1841; Died April 26, 1866; Whilst assisting in the reintering of the Confederate Dead. It would appear to me that this newly freed man could have been most anywhere in 1866, doing most anything, yet he chose to stay at home and give his life in the burial of Confederate soldiers.

Franklin Chapter #14, of the United Daughters of the Confederacy today maintains the home and the cemetery. Often on the anniversary of the battle, they will allow you to tour the cemetery and as you walk through you can meet some of the men who lie here, in a most remarkable way.

REFERENCE:

The Battle of Franklin
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Franklin
CWSAC Battle Summaries
- http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tn036.htm

A Journal of Hospital Life in the Confederate Army
Cumming, Kate
201 pgs.
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A Sketch Of The Battle Of Franklin, Tenn.;With Reminiscences Of Camp Douglas
Copley, John M.
166 pgs.
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U. S. Government
The Official Records of the American Civil War
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