The National tribune., 1894-11-22
Union Ground at Franklin, West OF the CO.
lumbIa Pike.

devour with greedy appetite every fTaE
ment concerning the bIttle of Franklin thai
comes in my way, and my palate has beer
lately uckled with the rich mursel OF Gen
SherwoOds letter, and W tn The comments
on that letter by Il. \. Spohr, OF the 1880
Ohio. As Comrade SpOhr has poi I, d out
so fully the inaccuracies contained In Gen
SherwOod's lelt,T, little further need be said
on that subject.
want to call attention to another matter
in connection with the battle OF Franklin
that has been overlooked or evaded IN a
most surprising manner by all the wrl c
who have ATTEMPTED 10 describe the bllile.
1t is the important fact that a part OF
our line on the west side of the CO.
lumbia pike, which WAS captured by tht
Conitderaies in their first Iush, Was never
ye!aken by our army, bu remained IL their
possession TIL the close Of the fight. The
writers of the Twenty-third Corps, VINO
sught TO be the best posted on his matter,
are always very reiicent about that break n
their line, and never describe IL fully or
fairly.
When wrote of this battle some years ago,
had such imperfect information concern
ing the important fact stated above that
could not describe it intelligenLy, and
therefore let it alone.
During the month of May, 1890, / revisited
the BATH field in company with Capt. W.
ID. Thompson, OF the 9Th Ohio, who was
wounded at Franklin about the close of
the battle, and near that part OF The line of
which / speak. We made this subject a
matter of particular inquiry. We went
over the battlefield In company with Col.
Carter, the owner of the Carter house and
the cotton-gin, which figure so cOnspicuuusy
in all accounts of the battle, aud OF the
plantation on which the battle was fought.
Col. Carter, with bus family, was IN the
cellar Of his house while the battle was GO
ing on. He remained on the ground after
the battle and helped bury the dead and
care for the wounded. Later on he leveled
the breast works behind which our army had
fought. Consequently, he was fully informed
as 10 where those breastworks were located.
Gen. Sherwood says that the troops which
gave way were new soldiers, who had never
been under FIRE before. This is Only partly
true. Perhaps the greater part of the troops
who gave way had fought on the same
$50 % battlefields," and were of just as
good quality as the troops comma nded by
Gen. Sherwood.
By the way, it would interest good many
OF as TO see list of those 80 bautlefieds.
There is every reason 10 believe that if the
tl1th Ohio had been where the 50th OHIO
Or where the Tooth OHIO were, it would
have abandoned the line a. those regiments
AID. The fault was not in the troops but in
the stupidity of Schofeld and Cox in keep
ing the brigades of Lane and Conrad in
front until hey had TO come running back
with the enemy at their heels, so that the
troops behind the breastworks could not
open fire. do not think anyone who was
there believes that any part Of the line
would have given way # the front had been
cleared when II ought 20 have been cleared,
90 that all The line could have opened fire as
soon as the enemy came within range.
The break extended from the immediate
vicinity o. the cotioD-gin, on the east side of
the Columbia pike wei over toward the
righi ) rickland's Brigade, which occupied
the line Immediately west of the pike.
Strickland's Brigade WAS posted in two lines,
and AZ The ground aScended slightly from
the first line TO the second the troops occupy
ing the latter had constructed a slight line
Of bTeastworks to project themselves from
any bulie;s which might pass over tue front
line.
According to the best information, both
these lines were carried by the enemy. My
recollection is that Col. Carter stated that
the next morning the bodies OF some of the
Confederate dead were lying in his door
yard inside this second line.
The accompanying sketch, which will
help explain the situation, locates approx
mately the spot pointed out by Col. Carter
as the place where the Confederate Gen.
Gordon was captured and this spot probably
marks the extreme advance OF the Conied-
crate troops.
When Opdycke's Brigade charged forward
on the west eide of the pike, il did not ad-
vance beyond this interven NJ line OF Strick-
lands Brigade. Probably Opdycke's men
die not then know there was another line in
front. In any event, they stopped on the
west side Of the pike at this line The Con.
federates tell back and took post on the out.
side of SIrickland's front line and they heid
that position during The remainder Of the
battle. Carter's garden lay between til, 81
two opposing lines, and have been Informed
that the 18TH Ill. aud the 44lh Mo. lost
heavily IN trying TO charge across this gar
den and reoccnpy Strickland's front line
The ground slopes from the pike toward
the east, and taking advantage of the pro
tection afforded by this slope and by ths
grade OF the pike during the progress of IN,
battle, the Union troops constructed a rud.
barricade with whatever materials The,
could gather, which connected the line OF
the east side of the pike with that on III,
west side.
During the same time they also strength
ened Sirickland's second line, which the,
were b ldlng, and which was at best yer,
crude affair, as Col Carter describes it.
II some competent writer Of the Twenty
third Corp-, who knows the location of tht
several regiments along the part of the lin
OF that corps which gave way, would turr
his attention 10 an honest effort al describin,
fully what took place when the break oc
CURED, instead OF denying that there wa
any break that amounted TO ANYTHING. or il
trying TO dem' nstraie that their .ine wa
re-established by themselves and withou
any assistance from Wagner's Division. q
the Fourth Corps, as is tie habit of III
writers Of the Twenty-third Corps, he nigh
do an important service toward establishin
the truth OF history. But it is probably 10
much TO expect any such service from an
member OF that corps. They all seem L
have taken their cue from tie example G
sklillul Misrepresentation set by Schofel
and Cox, and no writer OF the CORPS that
know OF has treated of this incident fairI,
JOHN K. SHELLENBFRGER, Gath Ohit
Station A, Springfield, Mo.
"DOD't TObaccO-SpIt or Smoke Your Iif
Away"
Name Of the little book just received-tell
about NotO5ac. the wonderful. harmless &c,
aomicsl cure for chewing, smokIu cigaret c
tnul nablL. You run no physcAl or financis