Franklin, Battle of

Franklin, Battle of (1864).After Union General William Tecumseh Sherman had captured the capital of Georgia in the Battle of Atlanta, he cut loose from his supply lines and set out with 62,000 of his troops in mid‐November 1864 on Sherman's march to the sea to cripple southern resources and demonstrate the hopelessness of the Confederate cause. But, while Sherman headed east, Confederate Gen. John B. Hood headed into Tennessee behind Sherman.

To guard against this move, Sherman had left George H. Thomas in Tennessee. Once Thomas could gather the numerous garrison troops there, he would have an army of ample size to deal with Hood. Meanwhile, Thomas assigned Gen. John M. Schofield with 34,000 men to watch Hood. Hood advanced rapidly from northern Alabama, outmaneuvered Schofield, and nearly captured his force at Spring Hill, Tennessee, 29 November 1864. Something went wrong—just what did remains controversial—in the Confederate army's command structure, and Schofield's army was able to escape from the trap.

The next morning, an enraged Hood put his army in pursuit. He caught Schofield at Franklin, Tennessee. The Federals' backs were to the unbridged Harpeth River, but in front of them were powerful entrenchments and an open plain two miles wide. Though two of his divisions and nearly all his artillery had not yet arrived, Hood hurled his 30,000 available men against the Union fortifications in a series of bloody and futile charges. Six of Hood's generals were killed, and 6,245 other Confederates became casualties. Union casualties numbered only 2,326.

After the battle, Schofield withdrew at his leisure, joining Thomas in Nashville. Hood followed. The slaughter at Franklin substantially weakened Hood's army and made easier and more complete Thomas's devastating victory at the Battle of Nashville a fortnight later.

Bibliography

Richard M. McMurry , John Bell Hood and the War for Southern Independence, 1982.
James Lee McDonough and and Thomas L. Connelly , Five Tragic Hours: The Battle of Franklin, 1983.

Steven E. Woodworth