Wanted to let everyone know Franklin is hosting an important event June 21-24 which will explore the preservation and interpretation of Franklin, Tennessee's Civil War history. For more info please visit www.franklinscharge.com where a schedule and list of scholars attending can be found.
Franklin is finally beginning to get the attention it so deserves. Please consider joining us for this important event.
Of course, Franklin is very historic. Not that the Confederacy ever had reason to remember. Not only did Hood leave Georgia to Sherman's March, Franklin was the first installment in the destruction of a Confederate army.
Much as I revere my Confederate ancestor who was at Franklin 30 Nov and 1 Dec 1864, it should never be forgotten and hopefully will eventually be better presented to the public, that there were also Union soldiers on the field at Franklin. GG Grandpa would want me to mention that!
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
Very good point about Federal soldiers. Part of why Franklin is indeed important is that the battle did involve two armies, both of which have critical stories to tell. They were all veterans (expect for a few green Federal units) who had been battling one another for nearly two years. Contemporary sources, especially Federal, indicate how important Franklin really was. It was not the hopeless, suicidal effort some in the 20th century made it out to be. Federal soldiers, who knew better than anyone, understood how close Hood came to pulling off something which could have dragged the war out into the summer of 1865. Franklin fast forwarded the conclusion of the war in the Western Theater. Hopefully everyone who attends will have a much better understanding of this critical part of Civil War history.
Thanks Larry. My singular goal has been to tell the story of the men who fought at Spring Hill and Franklin, both in my book and every day that I visit with people at Carnton. How about this? Today 114 years John McGavock was laid to rest in the family cemetery at Carnton, adjacent to the Confederate cemetery. He died June 7, 1893. When his wife Carrie died in Feb 1905 a Nashville newspaper said "generations will rise up to remember her." The fact is, they didn't. Most forgot about her, John, the soldiers who fought at Franklin, and what happened there. Once again this story is being told and remembered, not thru the old legends and myths, but the facts. Hopefully those who endured the hell at Franklin, soldier and civilian alike, would appreciate that their stories are being brought back so that generations in the future will know the truth.
The futility of it all, proving that the Confederacy not only wasn't winning the war, but that the war was coming to a close, and all the deaths were but wasted.
Hood and the Confederate government never took the great blame for launching a winter campaign into Tennessee. In 1864, no Confederate army was capable of supplying a winter offensive campaign.
Franklin and Nashville raise one important question. Why did the Confederate founding fathers ever think they could win independence? For ignoring that question, one might have good reason to ignore the battle of Franklin and the total exercise in futility offered by the Confederate army.
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