Hill; where he arrived just in time to save them from Forrest's cavalry, which was close upon them, but which he drove off; being assailed, soon afterward, by a much stronger force, including infantry, with which he fought till dark; barely holding the road whereby Schofield must make good his retreat. for his great venture. At length, a | Stanley to follow his trains to Spring dispatch from Sherman" apprised Thomas that the former had cut loose from his base and started southward from Atlanta on his Great March; and no sooner had the tidings reached Hood, still at Florence, Ala., where he had a pontoon bridge, with part of his force on either side of the river, than the crossing of his remaining corps commenced;" while his van, already over, moved through Waynesboro' and Lawrenceburg on Nashville." Hood's army was organized in three corps, under Maj.-Gen. B. F. Cheatham, Lt.-Gens. A. P. Stewart and S. D. Lee, beside his strong cavalry corps under Forrest. Each corps was composed of three divisions: Maj.-Gens. Cleburne, Loring, Bate, E. Johnson, and Buford, being the best known of their commanders. Thomas had but five divisions of infantry at the front; but he had collected several more before the struggle was brought to a final issue. Gen. Schofield, at Pulaski, now fell back, by order, on Columbia; where his corps was concentrated," as was most of Stanley's; while Gen. Granger withdrew the garrisons from Athens (Ala.), Decatur, and Huntsville, retiring on Stevenson. The force left at Johnsonville now evacuated that post, withdrawing to Clarksville. Schofield, with Ruger's division, had been kept awake all day by the enemy's efforts to cross Duck river at Columbia; repulsing, with heavy loss to them, their repeated attempts to do so. When night fell, he resumed his movement; brushing aside the Rebel cavalry who infested the road, and finding at Spring Hill the enemy bivouacking within half a mile of his line of retreat. He did not choose to have any difficulty with them just then; but pushed on with his entire command; and, after fighting all day and marching 25 miles during the following night, he got into position at FRANKLIN early on the 30th. His cavalry moving on the Lewisburg pike, several miles eastward, had encountered no enemy. Time being absolutely required to save our trains, which choked the road for many miles, Schofield halted on the southern verge of the village, threw up a slight breast work, and proposed to stop, while his train should be got over the Harpeth and fairly on its way to Nashville. Franklin is situated in a bend of the Harpeth, which here rudely describes the north and east sides of a When the enemy appeared before Columbia, declining to assault, but evincing a purpose to cross Duck river above or below, Gen. Schofield withdrew across that stream; and on learning that the Rebels had cross-square, which was completed by our ed six miles above, directed Gen. lines of defense. 15 "Dated Cartersville, Ga., Nov. 12. 12 Nov. 17. These were held advance a week or ten days longer, I would have been ready to meet him at some point south 14 Nov. 24. "Nov. 27-8. "Thomas says: "Had the enemy delayed his of Duck river." HOOD ATTACKS SCHOFIELD AT FRANKLIN. BUANT BRIDGE PONTOON BRIDGE FRANKLIN MAJ.GEN 239 A.0. AND 4.30 PM. UNION) SCHOFIELD 29&30 B 20 Div. 4TH A.C. GEN. HOOD == CHEATHAM COLUMBIA (REBEL) == STEWART FLEE= LEWISBURG TURNPIKE BATTLE OF FRANKLIN. 681 on his left, reaching westward to the angle of our defenses; Lee in reserve behind them; though Johnson's division of Lee's corps was thrown to the left during the engagement; the cavalry was on both flanks; Forrest, with most of it, on the right. "Break those lines," shouted Hood to his men, "and there is nothing more to with GRANGER stand by two divisions of his own and all three of the 4th (Stanley's) corps-the whole reported at 17,000, and certainly not much exceeding that number. As the ground rises from the stream, the position was of little worth, save as its flanks were protected by the river.20 Hood's army, arriving later, was not ready for the onset till 4 P. M.; when, at the word of command, the charging lines swept on. Hood had delayed the attack till all his forces could be brought up; intending to crush in our front at the first onset by the sheer weight of his assault. Stewart's corps was on his right, next the Harpeth; Cheatham's 16 Gen. Hood, in a personal reminiscence of this conflict, fairly said: "The works of the enemy were so hastily constructed that, while he had a slight abatis in front of a part of his line, there was none on his extreme right." Yet, slight as they were, these defenses were of incalculable value. A veteran who fought stand you this side of the Ohio river!" Many Tennesseeans were now for the first time in weary months within sight of their homes; one General (Carter) fell mortally wounded within a few rods of his own house. Gen. Schofield watched the progress of the battle from Fort Granger, across the Harpeth. Though Schofield's command numbered nearly if not quite 20,000 men, a good part of it was already across the river, guarding the trains and our left flank, while two divisions held the lines guarding our right; so that all the force directly confronting the Rebel advance hardly numbered 10,000. Of these, two brigades of the 2d (Wagner's) division of the 4th (Stanley's) corps were thrown out in our front, holding some slight works a few hundred yards in advance of our general line; the key of which was Carter's hill, a gentle eminence, across which ran the Columbia pike through Franklin to Nashville. Behind that hill stood the 1st (Opdycke's) brigade of Wood's 2d division in reserve. The Rebel charge was so imbehind them said, "Such a line at the Chickamauga would have given us a victory." "Tis sad that, after all we have spent on West Point, we should have had to learn this simple lesson at a cost of 200,000 lives and Two Billions of money. The Turks had mastered it when they last defended Silistria against the Russians, years ago. petuous, as well as so heavy, that it was scarcely checked by the advanced works held too long by the two brigades aforesaid, but swept over them like a torrent, hurling back our men in tumultuous rout, taking many prisoners, and driving the residue right through the center of our main line, which not merely opened to receive them, but kept widening after they had rushed past. In an instant, the wings next that pike of the 2d and 3d divisions of the 23d (Cox's) corps recoiled before the enemy's charge; the hill was lost, 8 of our guns taken, and the Rebel flag planted in triumph on our breastworks, as the exulting victors, having passed over them, hastily formed on the inside, intending to follow up their triumph. Caissons as well as men streamed wildly to the bridges, supposing the day utterly lost and nothing left to do but save from the wreck as much as possible. "First brigade! forward to the works!" rang out the steady voice of Opdycke, as the rabble rout swept by; he riding rapidly forward as the bayonets of his men came down to a charge, flashing back the rays of the setting sun. Swiftly, steadily, grandly, that brigade rushed upon the foe; a brief but bloody struggle ensued; and at its close no Rebel remained upon or inside of the works but the dead and wounded, with 300 prison ers. and here they remained till the last shot was fired that night. Our defenses had been regained as much by surprise as by valor-the enemy not expecting a countercharge they must now be held by valor alone. Exasperated rather than disconcerted, Hood threw heavy masses against the lost breastworks, hoping to retake them before they could be adequately manned; while Opdycke, first exhausting all the shots in his revolver, employed it as a club to drive up stragglers to the help of his heroic brigade; and, when he had broken the pistol, he dismounted and borrowed a musket, which he found even more efficient in the work of persuasion; driving skulkers out of the reserve fort in which they had sought and found comparative safety." Of course, his efforts and those of his men were nobly supported by others—there being ample scope and work for all. The battle raged fiercely till 10 P. M.; the enemy shifting gradually to our right and attacking on the flank; where they were more especially confronted and repelled by Stanley's 1st division, Gen. Nathan Kimball. But our lines were never again broken: assault after assault being repulsed with great loss to the assailants and smaller to the defenders; until the enemy desisted; and then, a little after midnight-our trains being by this time well on their way 10-our men quietly drew out of their defenses, and followed; until, about noon, our weary, sleepless heroes were safe within the defenses of Nashville. was done entirely on his own judgment), the promptness and readiness with which he brought his command into action at the critical and decisive moment, and the signal personal gallantry he displayed in a counter assault on the enemy. when he had broken our lines, disaster instead of victory would have fallen on us at Franklin." Our guns were recovered; Rebel battle-flags taken; our line was restored, and Opdycke's headquarters established here on the pike; 17 An official recommendation to promotion, indorsed by Gen. Thomas, thus testifies: "At the battle of Franklin, Opdycke [formerly Col. 125th Ohio] displayed the very highest qualities as a commander. It is not saying too much to declare that, but for the skillful dispositions made by Gen. Opdycke (all of which HOOD BELEAGUERS THOMAS IN NASHVILLE. 683 Forrest had followed sharply since of a full sixth, not of its numbers, daylight, but to no purpose. Our loss in this sanguinary encounter was officially reported at 189 killed, 1,033 wounded (including Maj.-Gen. D. S. Stanley, severely), and 1,104 missing (many of these doubtless wounded also, and nearly all captured): total, 2,326. Not a gun was left behind in our retreat. Gen. Thomas reports the Rebel loss in this struggle at 1,750 killed, 3,800 wounded, and 702 prisoners: total, 6,252. but of its effective force-a loss which it had no means of replacing. Hitherto, Thomas had resisted very considerable odds; but, when Hood sat down" before Nashville, the case was bravely altered. The Rebel army had by this time been reduced, by the casualties and hardships of an offensive and unseasonable campaign, to 40,000 at most; A. J. Smith's command, transported from Missouri on steamboats, had just arrived," and Hood, in a conversational account been posted on our right; while Gen. of the battle, says: "The struggle lasted till near midnight; when the enemy abandoned his works and crossed the river, leaving his dead and his wounded in our possession. Never did troops fight more gallantly. During the day, I was restrained from using my artillery, on account of the women and children remaining in the town. At night, it was massed, ready to continue the action in the morning; but the enemy retired. We captured about a thousand prisoners, and several stands of colors. Our total loss, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was 4,500. Among the killed were Maj.-Gen. P. R. Cleburne, Brig.-Gens. Gist, John Adams, Strahl, and Granbury. Maj.-Gen. Brown, with Brig.-Gens. Carter, Manigault, Quarles, Cockrell, and Scott, were wounded, and Brig. Gen. Gordon captured. The number of dead left by the enemy on the field indicated that his loss was equal to or near our own. The next morning at daylight—the wounded being cared for and the dead buried—we moved forward toward Nashville: Forrest with his cavalry pursuing the enemy vigorously." The loss of Pat. Cleburne-'the Stonewall Jackson of the West' would of itself have been a Rebel disaster. He was an Irishman by birth, who had served as a private in the British army; and who left behind him no superior as a rough and ready fighter. By the carnage of this day, Hood's army was depleted 18 Dec. 2. Steedman, with 5,000 of Sherman's men and a Black brigade, had come up by rail from Chattanooga. Add the garrison of Nashville, and a division organized from the employés of the quartermaster's, commissary's, and railroad departments, now working diligently on the defenses, and it was clear that Thomas's infantry outnumbered that which affected to besiege him, in a city which had already been extensively fortified. Still, he was so deficient in cavalry that he paused to mount a few thousand men before challenging the enemy to a decisive conflict. This perplexed Gen. Grant; who, chafing at the idea of such a display of Rebel audacity in the heart of Tennessee, had left his camp on the James and reached Washington on his way westward, when he was met by telegraphic reports which convinced him that his Tennessee lieutenant, like Sheridan, needed no supervision. Thomas, reluctant to relax his hold on the railroad to Chattanooga, had left Gen. Rousseau, with 8,000 men, in Fortress Rosecrans, at Murfreesboro': the railroad being further de 19 Nov. 30-Dec. 1. fended by a block-house at Overall's creek, five miles north, which was attacked" by Bate's division of Cheatham's corps, but firmly held till Gen. Milroy, with three or four regiments, came out from Murfreesboro', and repelled the assailants. During the next three days, a division of Lee's corps and 2,500 of Forrest's cavalry rëenforced Bate, and Fortress Rosecrans was threatened, but not really assaulted; Buford's cavalry finally shelling and charging" into Murfreesboro', but being promptly driven out by a regiment of infantry. The Rebel cavalry moved hence north to Lebanon, and threatened to cross the Cumberland, but found it patroled by gunboats and drew off. Gen. Milroy, being this day sent out from Murfreesboro' with 7 regiments of infantry, attacked the Rebels on the Wilkeson pike, driving them and taking 207 prisoners, with 2 guns; losing 30 killed and 175 wounded. Morning broke" auspiciously. The weather was still mild, and a dense fog, lasting till near noon, concealed our movements. Gen. A. J. Smith, with his thinned corps, with Wilson's cavalry on his right, now moved out on the Hardin pike, to flank the left of the enemy's infantry; while Johnson's cavalry division, advancing on the Charlotte pike, struck at Chalmers's cavalry on that wing and a Rebel battery, posted at Bell's landing on the Cumberland, which he attacked late that afternoon, in conjunction with our gunboats under Lt.-Com'r Fitch. They did not carry it; but it was evacuated during the ensuing night. Hatch's division of Wilson's cavalry first struck the enemy; driving him from his position, and taking prisoners and wagons. Swinging slightly to the left, Hatch, dismounting his men, assaulted and carried a redoubt, taking four guns, and turning them on their late possessors. A second stronger redoubt was soon reached; and this, too, was carried: the spoils being four more guns and 300 prisoners. McArthur's division of Smith's infantry, closing on the left of the cavalry, cooperated in these assaults, so far as the impetuous charges of the cavalry allowed them a chance to do so. Hood had established" his lines south of Nashville, with his salient on Montgomery hill, opposite our center, and but 600 yards distant. Wilson, with cavalry, was across the river at Gallatin, watching for raiders from Forrest's command. And now ensued a week of severe cold, wherein both armies were nearly torpid: the Rebels, worse clad and more exposed, probably suffering more sensi- The 4th corps, Gen. T. J. Wood bly. When at length the temperature commanding (because of Stanley's softened," Thomas issued orders for a wound), had moved parallel with general advance on our right next Smith, closing on his left, and had day; to cover which, Gen. Steedman, also, about 1 P. M., assaulted Monton our left, sharply and successfully gomery hill: the assault being im attacked the enemy's right that even-mediately delivered by Col. Sidney ing: pushing it back toward Hood's P. Post, 59th Illinois, with the 3d center, and causing a movement from brigade of the 2d (Wagner's) divithat center to its support. sion, who gallantly carried the work, |