Franklin, TN
Nov. 30, 1864

 


HISTORICAL NOTES:

The Army of Tennessee died at Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864.

"(Franklin) is the blackest page in the history of the War of the Lost Cause. It was the bloodiest battle of modern times in any war. It was the finishing stroke to the Independence of the Southern Confederacy. I was there. I saw it."

Sam Watkins - Tennessee 1st Infantry Regiment


Battle of Franklin, by Kurz and Allison (1891).

Having lost a good opportunity at Spring Hill to hurt significantly the Union Army, Gen. John B. Hood marched in rapid pursuit of Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's retreating Union army. Schofield's advance reached Franklin about sunrise on November 30 and quickly formed a defensive line in works thrown up by the Yankees in the spring of 1863, on the southern edge of town. Schofield wished to remain in Franklin to repair the bridges and get his supply trains over them. Skirmishing at Thompson's Station and elsewhere delayed Hood's march, but, around 4:00 pm, he marshaled a frontal attack against the Union perimeter. Two Federal brigades holding a forward position gave way and retreated to the inner works, but their comrades ultimately held in a battle that caused frightening casualties. When the battle ceased, after dark, six Confederate generals were dead or had mortal wounds. Despite this terrible loss, Hood's army, late, depleted and worn, crawled on toward Nashville.

TIMELINE

OFFICIAL RECORDS:

  • Volume XLI - in Four Parts. 1893. (Vol. 41, Chap. 53)
  • Chapter LIII - Operations in Louisiana and the Trans-Mississippi States and Territories. July 1-December 31, 1864. Part I - Reports Part II - Union and Confederate Correspondence, etc. Part III - Union and Confederate Correspondence, etc. Part IV - Union and Confederate Correspondence, etc.

    FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS:

    Franklin by Sam R. Watkins - PDF
    Excerpted from Company "Aytch" A Sideshow of the Big Showby Sam R. Watkins

    Franklin by John M. Copp - PDF
    Excerpted from A Sketch Of The Battle Of Franklin, Tennessee; With Reminiscences Of Camp Douglasby John M. Copp

    An unknown Yankee soldier's account

    FORCES ENGAGED:

    Confederate Order of Battle
    Federal Order of Battle

    CASUALTIES:

    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    General Histories
    First Hand Accounts
    Regimental Histories
    Miscellaneous

    General Histories
    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.
    Choose Paperback,
    CD-ROM, or Ebook

    U. S. Government
    The Official Records of the American Civil War
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