Rhea Cole
Major
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2019
- Location
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Could Hood Have Taken Nashville?
As the anniversaries of the Battles of Spring Hill, Franklin, Third Battle of Murfreesboro & the Battle of Nashville concentrate the mind amongst those of us interested in the Civil War here in Middle Tennessee, have a lot to discuss.
A friend who has recently retired & been reading about the Civil War during his COVID isolation asked me if Hood could have captured Nashville. I said no. He asked me what in the historic record made me so sure of that.
Good question, that. His new interest in military history has left him with way more questions than answers.
We share a background in graphic arts & advertising. I thought hard about what would make an impact.
I turned to The Nashville Daily Union news paper, Browse Issues, Library of Congress.
Hood's army made its fatal Franklin charge on the same day that ladies in Nashville
shopped for glassware at Campbell & Squires.
They could have had their secret diseases eased by the purchase of Helmbolts Extract Buchu.
Whatever the heck that was.
Defenders in the trenches could have had a meal at all hours of every seasonable article known to the epicure. Afterward, the very best brands of Tobacco, Cigars, &c. were always on hand at moderate prices.
Because of transportation restrictions,
the Howe & Norton Champion Circus performed three shows a day for the duration.
Hood's exposed men who were shivering from a shower of frozen rain heard the calliope playing
into the dark of short December days.
Had things gone a little wrong in an encounter with one of Nashville's licensed prostitutes,
Dr. Richards could dose your private disease in the old style.
While my friend is only beginning to grasp what the military consequences of a botched battle at Spring Hill; the immolation at Franklin; Forrest getting thumped at Murfreesboro; the arrival of an army corps guarded by heavy hitting gunboats from the Mississippi Flotilla; & a brilliantly executed attack, he can understand that having the Gold Pen Depot ready to provide you with nibs to write down your impressions of the battles
means something profound.
We know that desertions by Hood's ragged & starved veterans was rampant.
Picketts traded tobacco for the Daily Nashville Union.
Gazing down from their water filled trenches, they could clearly hear the echoing call of church bells, train whistles, the deep hoots of riverboats & the calliope at the circus.
Archeologists have excavated small fire pits dug into the face of trenches occupied by Hood's soldiers.
Imagine what must have gone through their minds as they read these ads
by the light of a fire of smoking wet wood.
Is it any wonder that so many of the Tennesseans simply walked home?
There are volumes of military reasons why Hood's "siege" of Nashville was doomed to failure.
On a purely human level, the ads in the Daily Nashville Union paper are all you need to know fate of Hood's army.
When the COVID thing ends, my friend & I will have some long day trips discussing what happened militarily.
It will not include reenacting a 24 hour pass to indulge in a fine meal,
attend a circus performance & finish up the day enjoying the favors of a lady of the evening.
I suppose a car full of old geezers will know just how Hood's veterans felt.
As the anniversaries of the Battles of Spring Hill, Franklin, Third Battle of Murfreesboro & the Battle of Nashville concentrate the mind amongst those of us interested in the Civil War here in Middle Tennessee, have a lot to discuss.
A friend who has recently retired & been reading about the Civil War during his COVID isolation asked me if Hood could have captured Nashville. I said no. He asked me what in the historic record made me so sure of that.
Good question, that. His new interest in military history has left him with way more questions than answers.
We share a background in graphic arts & advertising. I thought hard about what would make an impact.
I turned to The Nashville Daily Union news paper, Browse Issues, Library of Congress.
Hood's army made its fatal Franklin charge on the same day that ladies in Nashville
shopped for glassware at Campbell & Squires.
They could have had their secret diseases eased by the purchase of Helmbolts Extract Buchu.
Whatever the heck that was.
Defenders in the trenches could have had a meal at all hours of every seasonable article known to the epicure. Afterward, the very best brands of Tobacco, Cigars, &c. were always on hand at moderate prices.
Because of transportation restrictions,
the Howe & Norton Champion Circus performed three shows a day for the duration.
Hood's exposed men who were shivering from a shower of frozen rain heard the calliope playing
into the dark of short December days.
Had things gone a little wrong in an encounter with one of Nashville's licensed prostitutes,
Dr. Richards could dose your private disease in the old style.
While my friend is only beginning to grasp what the military consequences of a botched battle at Spring Hill; the immolation at Franklin; Forrest getting thumped at Murfreesboro; the arrival of an army corps guarded by heavy hitting gunboats from the Mississippi Flotilla; & a brilliantly executed attack, he can understand that having the Gold Pen Depot ready to provide you with nibs to write down your impressions of the battles
means something profound.
We know that desertions by Hood's ragged & starved veterans was rampant.
Picketts traded tobacco for the Daily Nashville Union.
Gazing down from their water filled trenches, they could clearly hear the echoing call of church bells, train whistles, the deep hoots of riverboats & the calliope at the circus.
Archeologists have excavated small fire pits dug into the face of trenches occupied by Hood's soldiers.
Imagine what must have gone through their minds as they read these ads
by the light of a fire of smoking wet wood.
Is it any wonder that so many of the Tennesseans simply walked home?
There are volumes of military reasons why Hood's "siege" of Nashville was doomed to failure.
On a purely human level, the ads in the Daily Nashville Union paper are all you need to know fate of Hood's army.
When the COVID thing ends, my friend & I will have some long day trips discussing what happened militarily.
It will not include reenacting a 24 hour pass to indulge in a fine meal,
attend a circus performance & finish up the day enjoying the favors of a lady of the evening.
I suppose a car full of old geezers will know just how Hood's veterans felt.
Last edited: