The National tribune., 1882-09-28

ers to the rear, captured ten battle-fags and
lett others on the ground, retook the flag Of a
friendly regiment that had lost it, and forced
the enemy from the eight cannon so recently
fallen into their hands. Opdycke's men then
worked these guns upon the enemy, and Bridges
brought forward battery of reserve artillery.
thus, the line was restored; on our side of the
works there remained no confederates except
the dead, the wounded, and the prisoners. Still
the struggle continued some time longer, the
men tercely contending on opposite sides of
the breastworks, before the whole of the eX-
terlor slope of the parapet was yielded to us.
Lane had heroically held some of his men to
the works on the right of the gap, and White
gailantly led forward his command to strength
en- the main line in his front and received a
severe wound. Gen. Cox ordered the One
Hundred and Twelfth Illinois from the cx
treme left to support the reserve brigade. Soon
after the battle began Gen. Stanley forgot his
illness, left SchOfield beyond the river, and
riding to Carter's Hill, added his efforts to
those that Gen. Cox and other officers were
heroically making under heavy fire of mus
kerry to rally the scattered troops to the sup
port of the men now at the regained works.
Soon after coming under fire Stanley's horse
was shot under him. and he himself wounded,
and SO compelled to leave the field. Gen. Wag
ner was carried to the rear in the rush of dis
ordered troops, and, like Schofeld, did not
again find his way to the front.
The attacks on the other parts of the line,
although vigorous and severe, were firmly re-
pulsed with little loss to our side, Reilly and
Lane taking some flags and prisoners. The
enemy soon gave his principal attention to
maintaining and developing his advantages on
Carters Hill. Having been expelled from the
works, Hood now brought forward JOhnsOn's
division of the reserve corps and so re-
enforced his line as to partly inclose our posi-
tion on Carters Hill. The reserve brigade thus
became exposed to cross and direct fire of
great severity but it was re-enforced by the
inspiring and commanding efforts of Gen. Cox
to return to duty many of the routed soldiers, so
that the successive assaults that followed were
met by mass of fire so destructive that no
troops could maintain their organization with
in its range. Granberry's brigade, with its
brave leader, nearly all fell dead in or near the
ditch on their side the parapet. The battle
SOApAiluOu1 hIl!I my tHCiSy, IllI dbOuO ~
p. m. Then, having failed in repeated and
fierce attempts to again break our line, and
having lost 1,75O killed, $500 wounded, and
over 1000 prisoners, the confederate general
withdrew his army beyond the range of our
guns. The battle of Franklin was ended.
Hood says, (Adv. and Retr., page 29l):
These soldiers had been glOriously led by
tIeir officers, many of whom had fallen either
upon or near the Federal breastworks. = .
The conflict continued to rage with intense
fury; our troops succeeded in breaking the
main line in one or more points, capturing and
turning some guns on their opponents. Just
at this critical moment brigade reported to
have, been Stanley's gallantly charged and
restored the Federal line, capturing almost
LOCO of our troops within the enemys in
trendhments. Still, the ground was obstinately
contested, and at several points upon the i'm
mediate sides Of the breastworks the combat
ants eudeavored to use the musket upon one
another by inverting and raising it perpendic-
ularly in order to fire. 1t was re-
ported that soldiers were dragged from one
side. of the breastworks to the other by men
reaching over hurriedly aud seizing their enc
mYhy the hair or collar" Gen. Joe Johnston
called it " the useless butchery at Franklin"
Jefferson Davis wrote: "This was one of the
bloodiest battles of the war. - 3 & The engage
ment4 was close and fierce, many of our men
being killed entirely inside the enemys works.
Some of the Tennesseeans after years of absence
saw again their homes and strove with desper-
alton to expel the invader from them The
contest continued till near midnight"
Though under fire LIS days during the war,
and participating in a number of bayonet
charges, this was the only conflict in which I
saw bloody bayonets. After firing all the shots
of my revolver, l used it in the melee as a club
till it broke in two. Col. G.. w. Smith, com
manding the Eighty eighth and Seventy-fourth
Illinois, whose GOODNESS and courage were con-
spicuous, lost his horse by rebel shot; and
the gallant young Macarthur, commanding the
Twenty fourth Wisconsin, received the second
ugly wound before he would consent to leave
the field. His standard bearer, Blake, had be-
come so attached to the regimentai flag that he
declined a promotion that would separate him
from the emblem of martial glory, probably the
only instance of the kind in the history of war.
Colonel Olson, of the Thirty-siXth Illinois, fell
with a mortal wound as he reached the main
parapet. The flagstaff of this regiment was
broken into fragments, and its steady bearer,
having wrapped the flag around his body, but
toned his blouse over it to prevent the enemy
forcing it from his hands; he then used a
musket with his comrades. After the with
drawal, when the men were lamenting the loss
of their flag, this gallant soldier stepped to the
front, unwound the Stars and Stripes, and lid,
" Here is your flag, boys" The effect may be
imagined but not described
Gen. Schofeld officially reported our losses
as follows:
Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total.
ith Corps.................."67 COZ 69i 1858
23d Corps.......-.......7S 327 232 G37
I'D Illinois signed. ~ % 40 '-i
Totals als.........1S9 1893 1lOi 1926
Besides the artillery of the Fourth Corps,
only nine brigades of our army had fired q
shot, and, as we have seen, two of the nine
were, in consequence of the position assigned
them by Schofeld, of great service to the enc
my and damage to us. SO it is fair to say that
seven brigades of our troops behind breast |
infantry, and compelled them to
from q conflict of their own choosing
Kind Words for The Tribune.
From the Martins Ferry CO., Timesl
One of the most welcome exchanges which |