Battle of Franklin, November 30,1864

[bdtex]

On this day in 1864, Confederate and Federal troops clashed at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. Confederate troops attacked from the south and stepped off about 4:00pm. A little over an hour later it was dark but the battle raged on until it finally died down around 9:00pm. Franklin is bordered on the north and east side by the Harpeth River. During the night, the Federal troops slipped across the river heading for Nashville leaving their dead and some wounded behind. When the sun came up the next morning the townspeople of Franklin and surviving Confederates awoke to a scene of horror as bad as any Civil War battle. Casualties were horrific.

I have visited Franklin on 4 separate trips to Tennessee. It was the first Western Theater battlefield I visited. I had the honor of being there on the 157th anniversary of the battle in 2021. I had wanted to do that since my first visit. The weather conditions were identical to the day of the battle. The official anniversary celebration started at 4:00pm right when the Confederate line stepped off. By 5:20pm, it was almost completely dark. It was surreal.

 

[bdtex]

If you don't know anything about the Battle of Franklin, here's a good place to start. The battle only lasted 5 hours at most. The worst of it happened in the first 2 hours. Total casualties estimated were 8,500-8,600.

Franklin

The Battle of Franklin page includes battle maps, history articles, battlefield photos, videos, and more on this 1864 Civil War battle in Tennessee. Check out our animated map on the Battle of Franklin.

www.battlefields.org

 

[bdtex]

The current CEO of the Battle of Franklin Trust is a man named Eric Jacobson. He has been involved with restoration and preservation of land, structures, artifacts etc. of the battles of Spring Hill and Franklin for over 20 years. I have had the pleasure of his company a number of times since 2016 and a full day guided tour from Colombia to Franklin in 2017. To really understand Franklin you also have to understand what happened and didn't happen at Spring Hill the day and evening before Franklin. Mr. Jacobson wrote the most comprehensive book about Spring Hill and Franklin which was published in 2006....For Cause & For Country. It's currently on sale on the Battle of Franklin Trust website for $19.99.

For Cause and For Country — The Battle of Franklin Trust Store

by Eric A. Jacobson and Richard A. Rupp The battles at Spring Hill and Franklin, Tennessee, in the late autumn of 1864 were watershed moments in the American Civil War. Thousands of hardened veterans and a number of recruits, as well as former West Point classmates, found themselves moving throu

store.boft.org

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Cleburne was killed, the best CSA tactical general of the South.

 

[bdtex]

Cleburne was killed, the best CSA tactical general of the South.

6 Confederate generals were killed that day. For a brief time, all their bodies were on the porch at nearby Carnton Plantation which became a hospital for quite some time after the battle.

 

[bdtex]

One of the wartime structures preserved in Franklin is the bullet riddled Carter Office Building on the grounds of the Carter House. Those grounds were the epicenter of the battle.