The fighting 281unhindered right past the Confederate forces
and through Spring Hill. By morning, weary
Federals had stumbled into Franklin, on the
south side of the Harpeth River, 18 miles
(29km) from Nashville. Immediately, officers
put them to work fortifying some old,
overgrown trenches, while engineers built
two pontoon bridges across the river.
When Hood realized that the Yankees had
escaped, he seethed with anger. Everyone was
to blame except, of course, himself. Hood had
long believed that entrenchments stripped
soldiers of their aggressiveness, and he
determined to teach the officers and men of the
Army of Tennessee a lesson. The Rebels pursued
rapidly, and when they came upon Schofield's
troops at Franklin En the mid-afternoon, Hood
ordered them to storm the works.
The relatively open, gently inclined
terrain offered the Yankees an excellent line
of fire. Still, Hood's men struck, and did so
with fury. In the center of the Federal
fortifications, where the Union maintained
an advanced post, Rebels penetrated by
following on the heels of those in flight. A
vicious counterattack restored the line.
Elsewhere, despite extraordinary bravery on
the part of thousands of Confederates,
Schofield's men repulsed the assaults.
On the last day of November, in less than
three hours. Hood's army suffered almost
5,500 casualties. It was not a matter of
courage; these Rebels exhibited plenty of that.
The fact was that, in most instances, attackers
were no match for veteran defenders fighting
from behind breastworks, well armed with
rifled muskets and supported by artillery.
When the Union retreated to Nashville that
evening, they took with them 702 prisoners,
most of them captured as Federal troops
sealed the penetration. The Yankees suffered
2,326 casualties.
At Franklin, Confederate commanders
fought from the front and suffered staggering
losses as a result. Twelve generals went
down, six of them killed, and 54 regimental
commanders fell in the fighting that day.
Among those who lost their lives was
Patrick Cleburne, the great Confederate
division commander.The next morning, Hood's soldiers
marched past the grisly sight of the previous
day's debacle, crossed over the Harpeth, and
began a slow advance up near the Union
defenses of Nashville. At the time, Hood
assumed that Thomas had not received
substantial reinforcements, but he also
believed that the Battle of Franklin had cut
any offensive inclinations out of his army.
Lacking the strength to lay siege to the city,
he stretched his army out to cover the major
roads heading southward and hoped that his
presence might induce Thomas to attack
him. A few days later, Hood detached some
infantry and cavalry under Forrest to harass
a Union garrison at Murfreesboro. It was
Hood's hope that fear of losing those troops
might induce Thomas to abandon his works
and attack the Rebels.
Back in Nashville, Thomas had worried that
he might not have enough soldiers to cope
with Hood's army. But on 1 December, as
Schofield's columns entered the city,
A. J. Smith's and Steedman's troops arrived as
well. Now all Thomas needed was enough
good mounts and saddles so that Wilson's
cavalry could compete with Forrest's vaunted
horsemen and some good fighting weather. Yet
just before Wilson accumulated enough horses
and equipment, snow and sleet descended on
Middle Tennessee, and for five days it scarcely
let up. A thick sheet of ice blanketed the
ground, making it nearly impossible for land
movement by man or beast.
Meanwhile, Grant and officials in
Washington had become increasingly uneasy
over Thomas's delay. By the Union
commanding general's calculation, Hood
possessed fewer than 30,000 infantry and
artillery, and while he thought it was
possible that Forrest had more cavalry,
Wilson's men carried repeating carbines
which gave them an incredible firepower
advantage. At one point, Grant nearly
removed Thomas. He feared Hood would
swing around Nashville and raid northward,
wreaking havoc wherever he went. Only
when Halleck balked did Grant yield. After
Grant implored him to attack, Thomas
declined. The ice storm prevented