Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-28

Iohnson.s division). slowly, bringing up
4 the trains and artillery OF the army with
| him. while the two corps of Stewart and
/ Chatham. unencumhered, followed the
enemy more rapidly in pursuit. General
!! Lee arrived near Franklin late tn the
| afternoon. having marched from Golumbia
to Franklin. t2$ miles), during the day.
He went little ahead OF his corps and
| reported his arriya, and progress to Gen
! eral Hood. IT was at this time that Gen
4 eral Hood ordered him ito so forward
/ and in person to communicate with Gen.
eTal Cheatha1n. and if necessary, TO put
Johnson.s division in the fight as re-
| lated in General Lees report, General
| Lee found General Cfcatlam about dark
! (Which. on November 30th, was a little
| after S o'cIoci). General Cheatham said
that assistance was needed at once, and
Jehnson's division was hurried up and
1 put In line for moving forward in the
| night to reinforce General Cheatham on
the left of the Columbia pike. General
Cheatham was much wrought up over
the terrible baltic and scene and slaughter
/ of his corps. AS neither General Lee nor
any one with him Knew the, ground Q1av-
Ing arrived after darlf). General Lee ask
ed General Cl1eatham for staff officer
/ to guide the division. or some enc to give
| him an idea Of the direction and ground
over which the division was to charge or
llioNG ever - Isllerala SuedllaGl replied III
| effect, that he had no one to give him.
| Let the division move to the left of the
Columbia pike; have no one; they are
| all in front, bearing orders or are dead.'
and pointing to the front, said: "Yonder
line Of fire at the breastworks is where
you are needed and wanted at once. There
! is the place your division is to go, and
| the sooner you put your men in the better,
as the slaughter has been terrible with
| my brave men
The scene then was certainly not an
/ inviting one. TO the front, about half
n mile distant, was death struggle go
| ing on, for mile in length. occasionally
q cannon shot, but continuously the line
was lit up by infantry fire on both sides
Of the entertainments. The engagement
| was SO close that only an OCCASIONAL use
was made of artillery. The terrible scene
OF the battlefield was in full view, while
the shouts and groans, and wounded men
coming to the rear were being waited
back to my division. waiting the order to
move out in the darkness, over rough
ground towards the lighted line Of breast
works.
Before starting forward, both Generals
Chea than and Bate warned the division
not to fire into their friends contending
in front with the enemy. The noble vet
Grams Of Johnsons division needed not all
carrying succor and fresh supply Of am.
munition to their struggling comrades IN
front, at the command, moved forward
over ground they could not sec, not know
ing its character or obstacles to be met
on it. The darkness caused by night and
smoke Of battle was almost intense, with
the blazing line III front as the only guide,
It was difficult to preserve tho alignment,
as the division moved forward in the
darkness, and It was necessary for the
officers by voice to try and preserve 1t.
The enemy soon became aware OF the ad-
vanciDg reinforcements, and all OF a
sudden the artillery opened ali along the
line, but especially on the west OF Column
bia pike; and the infantry fire Of the
enemy doubled and trebIed as they fired
to their front into the darkness, in the
direction Of the approaching division.
There was a second line Of entrenchrnents
occupied by the enemy, in rear OF their
main line and the artillery and infantry
in this line fired over their own men in
the line in front of them. II it can be SO
expressed in imagination, after the ap-
proach of the division was discovered by
the enemy, it looked as If the division was
moving into the very door Of hell, lighted
up with its sulphurous flames.
The division moved steadily forward
until they reached the intrenchn1ents
They found a good many Of Browns men
Of Cheatham's Corps heroically fighting,
but they did not find any Of the men
Of General Bates divison: they never
reached that part of the intrenchments
in their front or if they did, they did not
stay there. They found part OF the in
trenchments not occupied by any living
Confederates fighting. but occupied by
many dead and wounded ones. General
Brantley's brigade was on the extreme
left. There We're no Confederate troops ON
his left. It was supposed his left would
have been covered by Bates men; his
brigade was entiladed by the enemy firing
into his left flank down the entrenc hments
OF Cheatham's corps, and Johnson, Of
occupied by the two divisions OF Brown,
Lees Corps. 1t was a terrible charge or.
march over that unknown ground on that
dark and terrible night. Johnson's divi-
sion struck the intrenchment, drove the
enemy into another interior line, and tried
to drive them out of that, and held their
ground fighting heroically till after mid
night. when they reported that the enemy
had disappeared and retreated. General
Sharps Brigade and part Of General Deas'
went through the celebrated locust grove.
General Sharp captured three stands of
colors from the enemy, driving them from
their works: 50 far as know, the only
colors or trophies captured on that eu-
sanguined field.
" -
page 69l. serial No. 49, we find a report
of casualties In Johnson's Division, sign
ed by Ed. Johnson, major general com
handing. giving total Of 5s7 men killed,
wounded. and missing, his division by the
November 9Th return being numerically
less than the numbers shown in the divi-
sions OF Generals Brown, Cleburne and
Loring. three Of the Ave divisions espe-
cially named by Captain Dinkins, Again,
on page, es4 serial No. s. We find: .List
OF division. brigade, and regirnental COM
manders killed and wounded, missing and
captured in the battle OF November S0th,
at Franklin. Tenn that Johnson's Divi-!
sion shows a loss Of ten such command
ers. more than shown In Browns Lor-'
ing.s. French's. and Bates divisions,
while Walthalps Division shows a loss
of eleven and Cleburne fifteen, the only
two out of the six divisions that showed
greater loss Of commanders than John
sons Division.
A distinguished Confederate soldier,
and writer has devoted from ten to fifteen
years Of his life to the study of Hoods
Tennessee campaign, and has collected a
mass OF accurate detail and material.
which could only have been aecorupl lsh-.
ed by a skilled and discrtH3natin mind
and Iaborious industry. It will be mis-
fortune if his MS, Is not published, It
was my privilege, In measure, to con-
suit with him and aid him IN the col.
lection OF material in his work. The fol-
Hlnxyfnr- extracts from his correspondence