- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
We on CivilWarTalk are all armchair quarterbacks to a certain extent. In hind sight we all know what happened at the Battle of Franklin. But did Hood have any other viable options?
How Hood could have evaluated this was ask three of his staff to pick a different option and list three good points to the option. The staff given the the other options are allowed to point out three negative points for each option. After hearing all three options discussed Hood could pick the best option.
So what I am looking for is a military staff type study. Some/many of us have did these staff studies more than once. So we know what option Hood used, attack as soon as possible. What might be the other two options?
1. Have an infantry Corps follow Forrest to Hughes Ford while the rest of his army locked the Union Army in place. This would avoid attacking the defense works at Franklin. This might end up being a race to see if the flanking Confederate Corps,that crossed at Hughes Ford, could drive into the Union forces north of the Harpeth River before the Union forces there could be reinforced. The Union forces on the south side of the Harpeth River would be cut off. The major draw back of this plan was spiting your forces in the face of the enemy.
2. Hood could wait until most of the Union forces crossed the Harpeth River and there were to few to Union men to man the defensive works at Franklin, then attack what Union forces had yet to cross the river. The advantages is that part of the Union forces would be captured and the morale of the Union forces would drop while the victorious Confederates would get a boost. It is possible that Hood could have crossed the river after capturing the Union forces left south of the river, and then pounced on the retreating Schofield. The major down point of this option is that small Confederate victories was not what Hood was looking for. A night pursuit would be very difficult, so Hood could have a strung out army ripe for a counter attack in the morning.
How Hood could have evaluated this was ask three of his staff to pick a different option and list three good points to the option. The staff given the the other options are allowed to point out three negative points for each option. After hearing all three options discussed Hood could pick the best option.
So what I am looking for is a military staff type study. Some/many of us have did these staff studies more than once. So we know what option Hood used, attack as soon as possible. What might be the other two options?
1. Have an infantry Corps follow Forrest to Hughes Ford while the rest of his army locked the Union Army in place. This would avoid attacking the defense works at Franklin. This might end up being a race to see if the flanking Confederate Corps,that crossed at Hughes Ford, could drive into the Union forces north of the Harpeth River before the Union forces there could be reinforced. The Union forces on the south side of the Harpeth River would be cut off. The major draw back of this plan was spiting your forces in the face of the enemy.
2. Hood could wait until most of the Union forces crossed the Harpeth River and there were to few to Union men to man the defensive works at Franklin, then attack what Union forces had yet to cross the river. The advantages is that part of the Union forces would be captured and the morale of the Union forces would drop while the victorious Confederates would get a boost. It is possible that Hood could have crossed the river after capturing the Union forces left south of the river, and then pounced on the retreating Schofield. The major down point of this option is that small Confederate victories was not what Hood was looking for. A night pursuit would be very difficult, so Hood could have a strung out army ripe for a counter attack in the morning.