The National tribune., 1904-02-04

gloomy. Then looking fiercely at Lee,
me-" He replied: General. two of my
divisions are badly cut up. but / have one
and, if yon say so, in the morning | will
take them and charge with the bayonet."
| Hood saw. of course, that there was no
use in attempting offensive operations
again, but decided right there at daylight
they would mass their artillery and hurl
shot and she'll at our works and the town
during the entire day. and make as bold a
show as possible preparatory to getting out
of the bad situation into which his foolhardy
intepidity had led him. There is no doubt
that when in the early morning he discov-
cred our troops were withdrawn. there
never lived man more surprised. He fully
expected that We would take advantage of
his crippled condition. and move out to
crush him knowing full well that he could
only fall back TO the hills and rely upon
his artillery and cavalry to hold rs in
check. while he withdrew his shattered army
back across Duck River
| In fact, instead OF at once pursuing, he
remained there, not knowing what to do.
and it was not until the Sd of December
that he moved up to Nashville and estab-
lished his lines. Even this timid movement
was doubtless intended only to cover his
retreat, and give him a chance to fix mp
the railroad and bridges. so as to get his
transportation safely back on the south
side of the river. How well he succeeded
in this was demonstrated from the fact
that Notwithstanding our rapid pursuit
no wagons or equipment were captured on
the road from Nashville to Columbia af-
ter we passed through the camps south OF
the town. After so many facts had been
learned. there is no doubt that Gen. Cox
was right when he first advised against the
retreat from Franklin. Although the re-
suit at Nashville has been considered glo-
rious still. if the "Old Rock of Chicka-
mauga' could for once have been turned,
and sent the 5000 of Smiths command
who were at Nashville on the Goth of No
vember. by forced march to Franklin. anil
the balance with Steadman's troops as soou
as they could have been forwarded. the re-
suit at Franklin could have been far more
glorious We would have had the enemy
III the open field instead Of behind intrencIl-
r'ents. and we would have found Them
that morning in the most thoroughly de-
noraiZed state i'm which an army could b..
placed We would. to say the least, have
saved: the losses of the first day of the bat
tie of Nashville, and would have captured
very much more i'm the way of prisoners.
US the opportunity to bury our dead as sol
dicrs. and not have them thrown i'm the
bitches as carrion and covered with only a
foot of earth. Perhaps the most importan ut
advantage. though, to our side would have
been the fact that their army would be
SO deficient in leaders. so many of their
best Generals. field officers and commanders
in the line having been killed and dis
abled and there would not have been time
| for the reorganization that was accom-
plished in the next fortnight at Nashville
Besides they would have been burdened
with their thousands of wounded and the
ab@ence in the line of the able-bodied men
| who would have to accompany them to the
rear would still farther weaken their ef-
| fective force. 1t required full day to
get the seriously wounded in field hospi-
tails and those who were able to travel
loaded in wagons for the rear.
| AMONG THE PRISONERS.
Among the prisoners that we captured
| there were a large number that were slight
| ~ wounded and able to accompany us to
Nashville.
| Just before starting on our midnight
| march north of the river i alighted from
| my reserve horse TO give him rest for he
was slightly wounded. and visited with n
group of prisoners and guards that had
| been halted on the road by IA hillside. where
overhanging roots and boughs concealed
| them sufficiently. so that they had made
| small fires. and were preparing coffee. The
big hearted guards were sharing literally
from their haversacks with the prisoners
1t was an impressive incident to witness
such coinradeship and listen to their jokes.
| In the red Pickering light and blue smoke,
with dark background. it was pic
| turesque sight that would have delighted
| a Salvador to study. Some of the prisoners
were grimy, had long hair and black stub
| bed boards with bIood-stained bandages
| over scalp wounds, and arm sings of yell
| low and red bandannas.
| All were ragged and dirty, mostly in
butternut homespun, and nearly all wore
| black or gray SLOUGH hats, several markell
with bullet holes. Some of the older ones
were silent and thoughtful, but the young
err men We're cheerful and apparently en-
| joying their captive life.
They were cOngratulating themselves
that their guns and accouterments, which
| had been tossed into army wagons. would
| be no longer n burden to them: and there
was an evident feeling of relaxation after
| the fearful ordeal that had SO thoroughly
tried their splendid courage.
| 1t was plainly noticeable in the faces of
nearly. all of them that they had lost
heart in their cause but there were excep-
| tons, for some were still defiant and full
of fight, as shown by their bold and logged
| expressions.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BATTLE.
| The battle of Franklin was without
doubt the most decisive engagement of the
campaign, and perhaps tended more than
| any other towards terminating general
hostilities in the West; for on this bloody
| field the strongest army of the Confederacy
in this section of the country was so thor
oughly cut-up and weakened that it was no
longer feared in offensive operations.
The heroic stand made by the Twenty
third Corps and Opdycke's Brigade of the
! Fourth Corps, with the magnificent valor
displayed by the sturdy veterans of these
orga nizations, was the cause of their down
fall. After the completion of the campaign
at Nashville and the subsequent rout of
the Confederates, it was decided that Gen
Schofeld's army was no longer needed in
the West, and it was transferred to and
became a part of the grand army i'll the
East. The Fourth and Sixteenth Corps,
under the able leadership of Gen. Thomas,
were considered strong enough to wipe out
the last vestiges of the rebellion in the
West.
1t would seem proper, perhaps, before
terminating this story of the retreat. to
give some account of what happened sub
sequently at Nashville. But this paper has
already been drawn aut too long, and as
our first two weeks besiegement was of a
very monotonous character, beieaguered by
an army that we knew was crippled to
death, almost by defeat, it would hardly
be interesting to you to hear a descrip-
ton of our chatting and uneasiness-partic
ularly the last week, which would appear
as slipsnod to you as it did to us.
The authorities at Washington were very
uneasy because of our inactivity, and Gen.
Logan had been sent by Halleck with an
| Y,lo .ho-