Some of the grimmest and most vicious fighting of the War Between the States took place on today's date in 1864, in the village of Franklin, Tennessee.
Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood had a plan to defeat Union Gen. John Schofield’s army outside of Spring Hill on the 29th. However, the Federals were able to escape under cover of darkness. But now, Hood believed that he was presented another opportunity while the Federal army was waiting to cross the Harpeth River at Franklin. Determined not to let his enemy get away again, Hood unleashed a daring but foolish frontal assault against the entrenched Federal defenders. Although managing to break through a part of the Union's center in vicious hand-to-hand fighting, Hood’s forces were driven back with heavy losses. The Battle of Franklin cost Hood 1,750 killed and 5,800 wounded. Among the Confederate dead were 6 generals, including the commander of my great grandfather's division, Patrick Cleburne.
The battle was the bloodiest 5 hours of the war, and its result hastened the doom of the Confederacy.
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The battle was the bloodiest 5 hours of the war, and its result hastened the doom of the Confederacy.
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To follow my blog about my great grandfather, Nathan Oakes, and the
32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment in which he served in the Army of Tennessee,
please visit: http://32ndmississippi.blogspot.com
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| Great Grandfather Nathan R. Oakes, cir. 1889 |
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