Franklin: Animated Battle Map

[Music] during the summer of 1864 Union and Confederate forces were locked in a series of battles for control of Atlanta by mid September of 1864 the city had fallen and the once mighty army of Tennessee was just a shadow of its former self realizing the futility of attacking an entrenched Union Army in Atlanta Confederate commander General John Bell hood decided to attack the Union supply lines running from Chattanooga Tennessee to Atlanta Union commander Major General William T Sherman pursued hood hoods plan seemed to be working hoods struck at Allatoona then Dalton eventually the rebels would withdraw into Alabama with the Union Army in pursuit by the end of October hood moves his army West hoping to lure Sherman into a fight Sherman tired of the chase turns his attention to Savannah and begins his march to the sea as Sherman marched east he left hoods army up to the tender mercy of Union Major General George H to MAS and his scattered troops hood knew that for his plan to have success he needed to react before Federals could concentrate hoods plans came into focus he would move north through Tennessee and defeat Thomas but hoods armies sat near Florence Alabama halted by weather and awaiting the arrival of Confederate cavalry commander Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest on November 21st hoods started north Union forces at Pulaski Tennessee under the command of Major General John Schofield quickly retreated north by the evening of November 27th hood and Scofield are opposite each other at Columbia Tennessee [Music] on November 28th in a plan to cut off Scofield's line of retreat at Spring Hill general hood sent foresters Calvary to clear out the federal Calvary the next day the Confederate Army would move the morning of November 29th two of hoods cores crossed the Duck River just east of Columbia with one Corps left to hold the Union Army Hood plan to get between Schofield and Nashville Wagner positions his troops around Spring Hill to protect the Union retreat route to the Columbia Pike at 4:00 p.m. clay burns troops arrived and advanced toward the Columbia Pike to cut the Union retreat taking flanking fire from Bradley's hidden troops Lowry and Govan try and push Bradley back to Spring Hill though poised to continue the assault Cheatham orders Clayburn to halt while Brown moves into position just yards from cutting the Columbia Pike the Confederates settled into camp for the night throughout the night Scofield's troops silently pass within sight of the campfires of hoods sleeping army when the Confederates awoke the next morning they soon discovered the Union Army had slipped away after a heated discussion with his commanders hood said his army in pursuit of his missing foe after slipping past the Confederates at Spring Hill beleaguered Union troops filtered into Franklin through the early morning as Scofield's troops fell into position they started building and strengthening existing breastworks by 11:00 a.m. Confederate cavalry under Forrest caught up to the rear of the Union Army at winstead Hill and an hour-long skirmish ensued the arrival of Lieutenant General AP Stuart's Corps forced the Federals atop winstead Hill to fall back to the fortified positions south of Franklin general hood arrived on winstead Hill and lifted his field glasses surveying the Union works he made note of the ground between his army and the main Union line two miles of unobstructed and flat terrain a weight of his men [Music] as hoods study the strong Union position he did detect one tactical weakness wagner's advanced line what hood could not see was that Emerson Updike had formed a third line a reserve behind the Union main line this line would figure prominently in the battle to come on the Union left thick Osage orange branches were positioned as an effective ibadis local structures like the Carter's cotton gin were torn down and their timber used to fortify the Union works in preparation for their assault the Confederates align themselves along a two mile front their lines were formed in the columns of brigades at precisely 4:00 p.m. a signal flag was raised and 20,000 hardened Confederates stepped forward to their destiny Union soldiers could initially see little through the hazy air but they could hear the growing sounds of the rebels bands that marched with the troops just before reaching Wagner's advanced line the confederates formed into battle lines and continued the assault Grand Mary's men struck the line first as the Confederates struck Wagner's line the Federals broken mass confusion toward the main line hoods men used this mass of men as a human shield to continue the assault after shattering Wagner's men and with cries of go into the works with them the Confederates pressed on aiming at the break in the Union works just south of the Carter House the first to hit the earthworks was cockerels men within seconds his brigade disappeared advancing through a blizzard of Union musket balls and canister Confederate soldiers including many senior officers began to fall and droves Brigadier General Hiram Granberry is shot through the head Brigadier General states rights gist is mortally wounded leading his men to the Union works a single minie ball struck Major General Patrick Cleburne in the chest killing him instantly a bullet strikes Brigadier General John c.carter mortally wounding him with the roar of battle emanating from the South Colonel Emerson Updike's men rushed towards the disintegrating union line Updike's men arrived just in time they're vicious counter-attacks stunned the Confederate attackers near the Carter House the 44th Missouri pouring fire into the rebels in the Carter House garden became an anchor for Updike's men major Arthur MacArthur of the 24th Wisconsin father of Douglas MacArthur of World War 2 Fame is grievously wounded near the Carter house leading his men while on horseback Brigadier General John Adams storms the Union works which unleashes a volley of fire killing him instantly the federal counter assault regains the main earthworks east of the Columbia Pike but stubborn Confederate troops hold onto the Carter House garden area west of the pike a true killing zone for those trapped there Todd Carter of the 20th Tennessee would be mortally wounded during the Confederate assault on the very ground of his boyhood home the Carter House fighting alongside his men in a ditch in front of the works Brigadier General Otho F straw is killed instantly with a bullet through his head another effort was made to retake the main line west of Columbia Pike as the 112th Illinois was ushered in from the other side of the battlefield the Illinois troops plunged forward only to be likewise repulsed both by Confederate fire as well as friendly fire by 7:00 p.m. Lieutenant General SD Lee's Corps reached the battlefield Lee advanced his lead division under Major General Edward Johnson Johnston's men struck the federal works in are repulsed around 9:00 p.m. the fighting faded and rebels who were able to pull back did so under the calm darkness at midnight the Union Army abandoned the battlefield and continued its march to Nashville the Battle of Franklin was over throughout the night the cries and screams of the wounded and dying had replaced the sounds of battle by 1 a.m. on December 1st the Union army abandoned Franklin and was making its way to Nashville the losses suffered at Franklin were staggering the Confederates lost approximately 7,000 men while federal casualties would total nearly 2,500 not as well-known as many of the bloody engagements as Eastern theater battles Franklin would rank is one of the bloodiest episodes of the Civil War [Music] you

Channel: American Battlefield Trust

Views: 230,661

Rating: 4.9276357 out of 5

Keywords: American Battlefield Trust, Civil War Trust, Battle of Franklin, John Bell Hood, Patrick Cleburne, John Schofield, David Stanley, Civil War Trust Animated Maps, Franklin 1864

Id: HvNMTpAlalk

Length: 10min 8sec (608 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 13 2019