The Battle of Franklin was one of the last major battles of the American Civil War and one of the most costly Confederate defeats of the entire conflict. It was fought on November 30th, 1864, near the town of Franklin, Tennessee, approximately 20 miles south of Nashville. During the battle, Confederate General John Bell Hood launched a massive frontal assault against a well-defended Union position and suffered approximately 7,000 casualties in just five hours of fighting. The battle resulted in a Union withdrawal but left the Confederate Army of Tennessee so badly damaged that it could never again fight effectively.
What Was the American Civil War?
The Battle of Franklin took place during the final year of the American Civil War, which was one of the most significant conflicts in the history of the United States. The Civil War was fought between the Northern states, known as the Union, and the Southern states, known as the Confederacy, from 1861 to 1865. The war was mainly fought over the issue of slavery, which had divided the country for many years. By the fall of 1864, the Union had captured Atlanta, Georgia, and General William Sherman was marching his army through Georgia toward the sea. In response, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to march the Confederate Army of Tennessee north into Tennessee, hoping to threaten the Union supply base at Nashville and force Sherman to abandon his march and come back to deal with the Confederate threat. The Battle of Franklin was one of the key events in this campaign.
Battle of Franklin – Background and Causes
After losing Atlanta in September of 1864, Hood led his army of approximately 30,000 soldiers north into Tennessee. Sherman chose not to chase Hood. Instead, he sent General John Schofield and approximately 30,000 Union soldiers to slow Hood’s advance and protect Nashville, where another 25,000 Union soldiers under General George Thomas were waiting. If Schofield could reach Nashville before Hood could trap him, the combined Union force would greatly outnumber Hood’s army and would be very difficult to defeat.
On November 29th, 1864, Hood came very close to trapping Schofield at a town called Spring Hill, Tennessee. Through a series of missed orders and poor coordination among his commanders, Hood failed to block the road north, and Schofield’s entire army slipped past the Confederate forces during the night and marched safely to Franklin. Hood was furious when he woke the next morning to find that Schofield had escaped. He ordered his army to pursue immediately and caught up with the Union forces at Franklin.
Battle of Franklin – Major Events
Schofield’s army arrived in Franklin before dawn on November 30th, 1864. The town sat just south of the Harpeth River, and the bridges across the river needed repairs before the army’s supply wagons could cross to safety. Schofield set up a strong defensive line on the southern edge of Franklin while his engineers worked to fix the bridges. The Union defensive line stretched for just over a mile, anchored on both ends by the Harpeth River. Soldiers quickly built earthworks to strengthen their position. By mid-afternoon, Hood’s Confederate army had arrived on the hills south of Franklin and could see the Union lines clearly spread out before them.
Hood made the decision to launch a frontal assault immediately rather than wait for all of his troops and artillery to arrive. He believed that attacking Schofield at Franklin was his last opportunity to destroy the Union army before it could reach the safety of Nashville. His plan was to send approximately 20,000 Confederate soldiers in a massive charge across nearly two miles of open ground directly at the Union defensive line.
Several of Hood’s own generals warned him against the attack. General Patrick Cleburne, one of the most respected division commanders in the Confederate army, told his officers that if they were to die, they should die like men. His words proved prophetic. At approximately 4:00 in the afternoon, the Confederate lines moved forward in one of the largest infantry assaults of the entire war. Artillery fire tore gaps in the Confederate ranks as they advanced but the soldiers kept moving forward.
The Confederate charge struck the Union line with enormous force. In the center of the line, near a house called the Carter House, Confederate troops broke through the Union defenses and poured through a gap into the Union rear. The situation was critical for the Union. General Emerson Opdycke, who had refused earlier orders to place his brigade in an exposed forward position, was waiting in reserve at exactly the right location. He ordered his men forward and launched a fierce counterattack that drove the Confederate soldiers back out of the gap and sealed the breach in the Union line. The fighting at the Carter House became some of the most brutal close-quarters combat of the entire war.
The assault continued until after dark, with Hood sending additional forces forward even as the light faded. The Confederates were unable to break through the Union line again. By around 9:00 in the evening the fighting died down. At midnight, Schofield began withdrawing his army across the repaired bridges and marching north to Nashville.
Battle of Franklin – Casualties and Aftermath
The Battle of Franklin lasted approximately five hours but produced catastrophic casualties. The Union suffered approximately 2,300 casualties. The Confederates suffered approximately 6,500 to 7,500 casualties, including an extraordinary number of senior officers. Six Confederate generals were killed in the battle, seven were wounded, and one was captured, for a total of 14 general officer casualties. This was more generals lost in a single battle than in any other engagement of the entire Civil War. Among the dead was General Patrick Cleburne, considered one of the finest division commanders in the Confederate army. In addition to the generals, 55 regimental commanders were also among the casualties. In total, approximately 10,000 soldiers on both sides became casualties in just five hours of fighting.
Despite the enormous Confederate losses, Hood continued to pursue Schofield north to Nashville. The Battle of Nashville was fought on December 15th and 16th, 1864, where General George Thomas led a crushing Union counterattack that routed what remained of Hood’s army. The Confederate Army of Tennessee retreated south in disorder and never fought again as an effective military force. Hood resigned his command in January of 1865.
Significance of the Battle of Franklin
The Battle of Franklin is remembered as one of the most tragic and costly battles of the American Civil War. In just five hours, Hood destroyed the fighting strength of the Army of Tennessee, the Confederacy’s main army in the Western Theater. The loss of so many experienced officers, including six generals, left the army unable to function effectively in the Battle of Nashville that followed just two weeks later. The battle is also significant because it showed the terrible cost of ordering frontal assaults against fortified positions, a lesson that had been learned repeatedly throughout the Civil War but which Hood chose to ignore. The Battle of Franklin effectively ended meaningful Confederate resistance in the Western Theater and helped bring the Civil War closer to its conclusion in April of 1865.
