A Brief History
On November 30, 1864, Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood set what has to be a record for an American general for getting his subordinate generals killed and wounded after ordering an epic fail charge against Union forces led by Major General John M. Schofield at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee during the American Civil War.
Digging Deeper
The opposing forces started out virtually dead even, with 27,000 troops on each side. Hood planned to attack the Union forces with a frontal assault even though his cavalry commander, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, counseled instead for an envelopment of the dug-in Union troops and a cut-off their escape route.
The attack was brave, but ill considered. The slaughter totaled tremendous losses among the Confederate officers not seen in any other battle in U.S. history. Besides the 6 generals killed, another 7 generals were wounded, and 1 was captured. Going down the line of command, 55 regimental commanders were killed or wounded! Although the Union Army suffered over 2,300 casualties, less than 200 of those were deaths. An additional 1,100 Union troops were captured or missing, bringing the number of casualties up to 9% of their total force.
In contrast, 1,750 Confederate soldiers were killed and another 3,800 wounded. Adding in 702 for those captured or missing brings the number up to 6,252, a third of the total number of troops used in the attack (as several thousand Confederate troops were not yet in position to participate in the attack). The action became known as “The Pickett’s Charge of the West,” a comparison to the futile assault on Union lines at Gettysburg a year earlier.
Hood has been accused of acting out of frustration and anger that the Union forces were outmaneuvering his men, and his rash response caused the disaster. Some recent scholars, however, have claimed that Hood was over his anger by the time of the attack and had ordered it with a clear head. In either case, the attack was so determined that a partial breakthrough took place, and the attack almost succeeded. Forrest did try to outflank the Union lines, but was repulsed by a smaller force, some of whom were armed with Spencer repeating rifles, which gave them a decisive advantage against the larger Confederate cavalry force.
Schofield declined the opportunity to counterattack the next day to make his victory complete and instead withdrew his forces, leaving Franklin to the Confederates. Hood’s forces were so depleted and bloodied that when they marched off to fight at the Battle of Nashville, they were so readily and utterly defeated that the Army of Tennessee was no longer a factor in the war.
After the war, Hood moved from Texas to Louisiana where he died of yellow fever in 1879 at the age of 48. As his wife and his eldest child had already died of the disease, his other 10 children were left orphaned. Fort Hood, Texas, is named after him.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Connelly, Thomas L. and James Lee Mcdonough. Five Tragic Hours Battle Of Franklin. Univ Tennessee Press, 1984.
Knight, James. The Battle of Franklin: When the Devil had Full Possession of the Earth. The History Press, 2009.
Sword, Wiley. The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville (Modern War Studies). University Press of Kansas, 1993.
The featured image in this article, Battle of Franklin (1891) by Kurz and Allison (restoration by Adam Cuerden), is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID pga.01852. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6659 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=6659">41 Comments
Brigadier General Patrick Claybourne was among those killed. Born in Cork, Ireland, son of a Physician, had a brother in Cleveland. Fought for independence, not slavery. Considered enlisting black slaves into Confederate army, in exchange for freedom to them and their families, like the British did in war for American Independence. Southern emotions and culture could not accept that. When told that Franklin action was a suicide mission, he replied: “Then let us die like men” and was hit 50 yards from Yankee line. The attack was 2 miles long, (1 mile at Gettysburg), with no cover, against Union artillery, without Confederate artillery support.
I find it shocking that one third of the Confederate troops were killed, wounded, missing, or captured! I did not know the reason or who Fort Hood was named after, so this was an interesting article to read.
I did not know that General John Bell Hood set this “record” of having his troops killed at such large rates. I also did not know why Fort Hood was named “Fort Hood” prior to reading this article.
A lot of people died and it really surprised me as I was reading this article.
AM
It’s sad that 10 of his kids were left orphaned, this story is so unfortunate.
This guy sacrificed so many lives for a futile cause. I doubt he would’ve sent this many people to their deaths if he had a clear head. I wonder if he felt guilt over his decision after the war. There shouldn’t be a city named after him, as he didn’t do anything that deserves recognition.
N.W.
One’s man decision, despite being advised differently, sacrificed so many men. GW
14 generals. That was a heavy hit!
Just the amount of generals alone killed is just amazing. Normally its only one or two at most but 14 is just crazy
Its is amazing how some people don’t listen to others just because they think that there plan was better. If Hood had listened to his cavalry commander he probably would have not lost as many troops and Generals.
Every military is organized under several of their officers
and commanders by taking this big of a blow could be a turning point in any
battle.
So many people were killed in such a short period of time, especially generals. That’s insane.
The confederates suffered tremendous loss in Tennessee. After reading the amount of casualties during these battles it is no surprise that Tennessee was no longer a fact of the war.
its crazy how many generals died. that doesnt even include all of the other casualties
It’s crazy that the Confederates had casualties of 14
Generals and 55 Regimental Commanders in just one battle.
I never realized that Fort Hood was named after General Hood. On a side note, it is sad that he set the record of getting the most generals killed. His aggressive leadership did a lot of good for the Civil War; however, it led to many lives being lost.
6 generals killed, 7 generals wounded, and 1 captured in only one battle? No one can ever think straight when they are angry. I think that was also the case with Hood. He made a rash decision and it ended up in a tragedy. I am sure that is not his intention. I wonder if he would have thought of another plan under different circumstances.
14 generals seems like a lot to loose in one battle. I also did not know that Fort Hood was named after John Hood.
I think that Hood’s intentions were simply to be brave and charge the enemy, but that it just wasn’t a very thought out plan. I have to wonder if by the end of the war that the Confederates were getting desperate and becoming more prone to rash decisions such as this.
This aritcle tells a tale of a man who let the dream of being a gallant war soldier crowd his judgment. Hood made a fatal mistake when he tried to charge the enemy and bring home a gallant win for the confederate south. Sadly, he let his pride get in the way and made a fatal war mistake that cost home 1/3 of his troops.
Hood took a gamble to try and put his troops on top. Like most of the battles we have read about the risks do not pay off and cause more deaths that should of been.
Hood’s poor decision sealed the fate of the Confederate Army in Tennessee. The army never recovered, and did not play a huge factor in the rest of the Civil War. Losing so many leaders in the Confederate Army must have been crippling for the army as well.
One thing all of these short articles written about the Civil War have in common is that the number of deaths always stands out. I give Hood credit for doing what he believed in, but I think his pride clouded his decision making thought process. As a result, nearly 1/3 of his men were lost.
It’s terrifying that one man’s decision can lead to such a large death toll. I wonder if there were others who urged him either to or not to carry out this plan.
Losing 14 generals in one battle would be a tough pill to swallow. I can’t imagine any circumstance where the Confederates would bounce back and win especially on top of that losing 1/3 of the men in battle.
Hood acted on impulse and did not consider all of his options available. The option Forrest presented to him probably could have been a win for the Confederates and would have saved them from losing so many generals and 1/3 of their troops.
Another battle with crazy casualty statistics. There does not seem to be much else to expect from the Civil War. But this time it was the fault of a Confederate officer. Hood’s poor planning and rushed decision making cause him to loose not only soldiers but a large group of officers as well.
It is not that surprising that emotions go the best of someone and it ended up that there were more casualties because of it, but it is sad that those emotions came from an officer (a person that is supposed to be a leader). Nothing good comes from a decision made with emotions and rushed plans.
It goes to show that one order can lead to so many casualties. I’d have to agree with what Erin was saying, when someone makes a decision off emotions it tends to be the wrong one and in this case it show. 6 generals killed, 7 wounded and 1 captured, thats crazy.
There had to be something else going on with Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood that his decision cost so many lives. This shows how serious all decisions are in war. 14 Generals gone at once has to be some kind of sad record.
Some battles one wins and some battles one looses. No matter what the number of casualties is high. It is interesting the six generals died, seven wounded and one was captured.
As we have seen in other articles, sometimes strategy beats numbers. In this case, Hood failed to follow his orders for a certain strategy, and it cost him.
I give Hood credit for being brave enough to make such a bold move, but it cost him 1/3 of his men in the process. I think his head got the best of him and he did not make a clear judgment call. I never knew Fort Hood, Texas was named after him.
Not only did so many soldiers get either killed or wounded, but 55 commanders were killed. Additionally Hood made risky decision that eventually cost him.
It is amazing how many Confederate leaders were lost in this battle. This had to have created a big vacuum and been a blow to Confederate morale. All of this due to a risky decision.
Incredible how many generals were killed, captured, and wounded.
It is amazing how many leaders were lost in this war. It had to have been hard for the Confederates to have a chance to win when losing so many leaders.
Frustrated or not, Hood made a poor decision.
Hood making bad decisions eventually caught up to him. Couldn’t believe so many commanders died or wound
This goes to show how frustration and denial can lead to poor decision making. I find it interesting that despite his poor judgement, Hood got a place named after him in the end of it!
This demonstrates the horrible outcome that will occur from bad decisions during a war.