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

!, Are of the Federal interior lire, which
was on ground four or five feet higher
than the outer line occupied by Gist and
xEtrahl2 .ss
In a letter three years later he writes.
II must be remembered that a great
many of Gist's and StrahPs men had
been killed and wounded before. John
son charged. and we may assume that
many men had left the fight in the dark
and gone to- the rear, thus shortening
the Confederate line in the Federal
trenches very much. : {. I have abundant
evidence. both documentary and oral that
Deas' men, like Sharp's, charged through
the locust thicket and came upon the
remnants OF Gistss and Carriers men
to the left OF the Federal battery there. Z
In another letter, differing In date one
year from one Of above quotations and
two years from the other, he says:
That the Federals had a double line Of
trenches On this part OF Che field, and was
a little over 100 feet north OF the outer
or main line This interior line was
stronger than the main line and four or
five feet higher on the hill, which enabled
the enemy to command the entire ap-s
proaches in front, over which Johnson s
| Division charged. On this interior Iinegat
dark were the Federal briSades Of
Strickland and Updyke and the remnants
Of Lane S. and :Conrad's brigades. which
Sad been driven out Of the advance line
of trenches 470 yards in front of the main
line. Judge Thompson, a Union officer.
says they were six or seven deep in that
Interior trench. When Johnson charged
he encountered this fire as he approached
the main line, and his men mingled with
Browns. When they arrived there I
think the darkness was all that saved
Johnson from annihilation. as he ap-
preached fully as much exposed as
Cleburne was. and opposed to stronger,
intrenchrents.'
In another letter he says: There is
an incident mentioned that may be Of
use to you in your article. will give
you the story briefly. When Jotlnsons
men first reached the trenches under
west Of the Columbia Pike. and in the
hot fire at the angle about, 800 feet
rear Of the Carter House. their first
care was to supply the men Of Carriers
they had brought. There were three
demonstrations made to cross the
breastworks and driYe the enemy from
beyond, but as the ereny was powerfully
intrenched in an interior line at that
point, $50 feet northward, these efforts
failed as the efforts of Carriers men had
before. At this time young stripping
lieutenant (Lieutenant Pearle or Earle,
of Deas Brigade) of. Johnson's Division.
leaped on top of the works, sword in
hand, and called to his men to follow;
this they endeavored to do but were hurled
back, by the storm Which burst in their
faces from the enemy's line, but the
young man stood there under the fire of
thousand rifles and appealed to his
men to try again. He was finally pulled
lack In the trenches by Major Wilder,
Of Carter's Brigade. That young mans
name should be rescued from oblivion
SO, without pursuing the matter fur
Their, it appears that Johnson's Division
Of Lees Corps was considerably in evil
dence at the battle of Franklin, and that
Captain Dinkins made most unfortunate
error and omission in his paper when he
says Lees Corps did the fighting with
5000 cavalry under General Farrest.
Another error in Captai. Dinkins's pa.
per in that he says: Bates S Division Of
Cheatt'am's Corps was detached to the
right flank; on the contrary, he was
sent to the extreme le1- Of Browns Di-
vision, his left resting on the Carter Creek
Turnpike, with Chalmers cavalry on the
left. Johnson's Division, In moving for
ward in the night, passed over a part
of Bates's Division between the Bostick
House and the intrenchmsnts OF the enc
my, but II they did they were not seen
by any Of Johnson's Division. which did
reach the intrench1nents. The loss in
-Bates's: Division was 345 killed, wounded,
and missing. which shows severe fighting,
but the division generally was repulsed,
and did not remain in the intrenchrnents
in contact with the enemy, for there were
no Confederat tie troops near the enemy to
Brantley' S left, nor any signs of any hav-5
ing been lnere, as ! examined the field
the next morning after the battle, and
this is my recollection now of that part
Of the field, and it is generally borne out
by General Bates's report:
: It is not inappropriate in this article to
allude to the Spring Hill fiasco for now
that the facts are known it is clear that
the apathy or mistake of subordinate
at Spring Hill caused tho great disaster
to the Confederate cause at Franklin No
ven1ber 80. 1864. In a letter to Major w
T. Walthall MAY 20. 1879, who was as
sistfng Mr.. Davis in his great work, 1.-THE
Rise and Fall of the Confederate Govern
ment," said: Had the army fought at
Spring Hill instead of Franklin, Hoods
Tennessee campaign would have been a
brilliant success" The army Of General
Hood did not fight at Spring Hill, and
some one committed a great blunder or
disobeyed orders. do not think the re-
cord sifted down will place the blame
on either General Hood or General Cheat
ham, who have borne the blame these.
many years.
One thing is now twenty thou
sand infantry and five thousand cavalry
in front Of $3.50 Yanks, who, in slender
skirmish line, q IL miles long, success
fully bluffed them off the great wagon
train from P. NJ. till midnight The
wagon train of the Federals was COM
posed Of the reserve artillery ordnance
supplies, hospital wagons and everything
but the rations in the haversacks, and
cartridges in the boxes on the soldiers
belts in Schofeld's army, and numbered
800 wheeled vehicles.
General Wagner, with his division of
infantry and artillery, numbering $3.50
men, got to Spring Hill about noon on
November 30th, at the same time that
General Forrest arrived there with his
cavalry; and this was all the force Of the
enemy that was there till p. NJ. (after
dark, when General Schofield arrived
with Ruger's Division from Rutherford
Creek (eight miles from Spring Hill and
between Columbia and Spring HID, and
where General Ruger had been posted in
his retreat from Columbia. The divisions
of Wood and Kimball followed in rear Of
Ruger; they were still south of Ruther-
ford Creek, and Cox's Division. which
did not leave the front Of General Lee at
Columbia till after dark, did not arrive
at Spring Hill TIL after midnight Of the
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