Battle of Franklin

Overview

The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee conducted numerous frontal assaults against fortified positions occupied by the Union forces under Major General John Schofield and was unable to prevent Schofield from executing a planned, orderly withdrawal to Nashville.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Franklin was a severe defeat for the Confederate Army of Tennessee during the Franklin–Nashville Campaign. Hood's forces launched repeated frontal assaults against fortified Union positions and suffered casualties of over 6,000 against the Union's roughly 2,300—a disparity that critically weakened Confederate combat effectiveness in the theater. Despite the tactical pressure applied, Hood failed to prevent Schofield from completing a planned, orderly withdrawal to Nashville. The loss of manpower and the failure to cut off Schofield's force left the Army of Tennessee in a diminished condition heading into the subsequent Battle of Nashville, where it would face further destruction. Franklin thus accelerated the collapse of Confederate military power in the Western Theater.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)