The National tribune., 1901-05-02
FIGHTING THEM OVER.
What the Veterans Have TO Say
About Their Campaigns.
BATTLE OF FRANKLIN.
Superb valor of the Reserves Saved the
Day. r..

10Y. no 30
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: After
reading the article published in The Ma
tional Tribune of April 4, ON the battle
of Franklin, Tenn, written by Comrade
A. A. Jones, of the Sth Tenn, as well as
articles written by others in regard to this
and other battles, / find that it is not an
uncommon thing for participants to have
seen differently, owing to the fact that
there is too much going on at the time
to engage the attention without stopping
to take notes 10 build history upon after
wards.
Comrade Jones says that the Twenty
third Corps was composed of the Tooth
and 10th Ohio. the 10th and 18th Ky,
and the Sth Tenn. BY referring to White,
law Reid's History of Ohio i'll the War
he viii find that the 10th Ohio, n new
regiment that had been in the field but
short time (and probably the new regi-
ment Comrade Jones refers to-, was tenn
porarily assigned in that battle to the
Twenty-third Corps, and placed in re-
serve.
To this regiment l belonged. and we
were, as l said. placed i'll reserve proba-
bly, 200 yards i'll rear of the works, the
18th Ky. next, and the 10Th Ky. in the
rear, with the Sth Tenn. in the rear of
that.
In our immediate front / learned was
placed the Tooth and the 1O4th Ohio.
Some distance in front of our works Gen.
Wagrer was placed with two brigades, as
history Il think and the friends of Gen.
Schoiield claim with positive orders that
if the rebels were seen advancing in
force to at once fall back behind the
works and the troops in front were TO
make way and let them in.
1t is claimed that Gen. Wagner did not
comply with this order in time, and that
! 100 of his men were captured. and with
the remainder the enemy tried TO get over
the works at the same time, and many
of them came near doing so. The troops
at the works were not new, rs Comrade
Jones says, but old, and, as stated, only
gave way to let Wagner's men in, not
from terror, or from being overpowered
although a few of them did find the rear
at the time the safest place.
The four regiments in reserve were at
once ordered up, and by almost superhu-
man effort drove the enemy back, and by
desperate valor for hours held them in
check, and saved the day. AS stated, our
regiment was in front of the other three
in reserve, and we fought between the
historical cottOn-gin and the Franklin and
Columbia pike, and remained there until
near II o'clock that night when we start
ed for Nashville. Where the 10th and
18th Ky. and Sth Tenn. participated ! do
not know, but feel sure that they did
their duty, as well as all engaged, as it
took the whole of Gen. SchOfield's 10000
to check Hoods $4,000. ] will add that
Gen. Wagner's friends claim that, when
placed in front, he had positive orders to
hold Hood in check at all hazards until
our works could be completed. AS an
apology for the disaster that befel his
troops it is claimed that he was trying
to do this when the enemy came upon
him in force, with the result as stated.
As to this l have no way of knowing
which is correct. AS it was there was
bad management on the part OF one side
or the other.
The enemy, seeing the advantage it
would give them If they could reach the
works with Wagner's men, started at
once, and ran with them, expecting to
cross over and by this means succeed in
capturing the works, which would at once,
as they supposed, give them an open road
to Cincinnati. They met the reserves,
who had promptly rushed to the res
cue. Gen. Cheatham said, in q letter to
the writer, that he had passed through
many of the battles of the Mexican war,
and all through the rebellion, but for the
time it lasted never saw anything that
was so deadly as the battle of Franklin.
Then, with the drubbing given by Thorn
as at Nashville, Hoods army was among
the annihilated-W. 7. WOLF, Captain,
Co. G., 10th Ohio, Wilmington, o.