Benjamin F . Cheatham Benjamin Franklin Cheatham ( October 20 , 1820 – September 4 , 1886 ) , known also as Frank , was a Tennessee planter , California gold miner , and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . He served in the Army of Tennessee , inflicting many casualties on Sherman at Kennesaw Mountain , but taking the blame for General Schofield ’ s escape at Spring Hill , a major factor in the Confederate defeat at Franklin . Early life and education . Cheatham was born in Nashville , Tennessee on a plantation called Westover , which in its prime consisted of three thousand acres ( 12 km² ) . He was born into two of the finest and prominent families of the middle Tennessee elite of the slave society . His mother was descended from General James Robertson , the founder of Nashville and " father " of Middle Tennessee , who came from Virginia . The Cheathams had been in middle Tennessee for two generations and become established as plantation owners , lawyers , doctors and mayors of the city . Antebellum years . At the start of the Mexican - American War , Cheatham joined the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment as a captain and finished the war having been promoted to Colonel of the 3rd Tennessee . He moved to California in 1849 for the Gold Rush , but returned to Tennessee in 1853 . He managed his plantation and served as a brigadier general in the Tennessee Militia . Civil War . Cheatham joined the Confederate States Army as a brigadier general on May 9 , 1861 , and became a brigade commander in the Western District of Department Number Two , under Maj . Gen . Leonidas Polk . His first test in the war was in Missouri on November 7 at the Battle of Belmont , leading three regiments in Brig . Gen . Gideon J . Pillow ' s division against Union Brig . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant , also in his first Civil War combat . In December , Cheatham and his division received the Thanks of Congress , " for the desperate courage they exhibited in sustaining for several hours , and under most disadvantageous circumstances an attack by a force of the enemy greatly superior to their own , both in numbers and appointments ; and for the skill and gallantry by which they converted what at first threatened so much disaster , into a triumphant victory . " Cheatham was promoted to major general , on March 10 , 1862 , and was appointed commander of the 2nd Division , First Corps , Army of Mississippi . He led his division at the Battle of Shiloh and was wounded , although it is unclear whether this occurred on April 6 or April 7 , 1862 . General Braxton Bragg became commander of the Army ( soon to be designated the Army of Tennessee ) and Cheatham served under him at Perryville and Stones River . At the latter battle , Cheatham performed sluggishly , ordering piecemeal assaults ; observers claimed he had been drinking heavily and was unable to command his units effectively . However , Pvt . Sam Watkins , author of " Company Aytch " , claims to have personally witnessed Cheatham leading a charge on the Wilkerson Turnpike during the battle , indicating that he performed gallantly during that part of the battle , at least . Cheatham continued as a division commander under Bragg at the Battle of Chickamauga and , following that rare Confederate victory in the West , was elevated to corps command on September 29 , 1863 . He was on the right flank of Missionary Ridge when Bragg was defeated by Grant at Chattanooga , engaged to block the Union Army in the final hours of the battle . In 1864 , Cheatham fought well in the Atlanta Campaign under General Joseph E . Johnston , and later Lt . Gen . John Bell Hood , inflicting heavy casualties on William T . Sherman ' s Union Army at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain , and being wounded at the Battle of Ezra Church . He was in corps command for the battles around Atlanta , replacing William J . Hardee , who had resigned when Hood took command . Cheatham ' s most famous service came as a corps commander under Hood in the Franklin - Nashville Campaign . He was engaged in all the major battles of the campaign , receiving notoriety when the Union Army under Maj . Gen . John M . Schofield was able to slip by him and escape from the Battle of Spring Hill , which foiled Hood ' s plan and led to the disastrous Confederate defeat at Franklin . Hood accused Cheatham of dereliction of duty and the enmity between them lasted for the rest of their lives . After the collapse of Hood ' s army at Nashville , Cheatham rejoined Johnston ' s army for the Carolinas Campaign ( as a division commander , the highest position this small army could justify ) , surrendering to General Sherman in North Carolina in April 1865 . Postbellum life . Marriage and family . Shortly after the war , he married in his 40s for the first time , to Anna Bell Robertson of North Carolina ( she was no relation to his line of Robertsons ) . She was the sister of one of his war - time aides . They had five children together : Benjamin Franklin Jr . , Patton Robertson , Joseph Johnston , Medora Cheatham Hodgson , and Alice . Their son Benjamin Franklin Cheatham , Jr . ( 1867 – 1944 ) was a major general in the U . S . Army , serving with distinction in the Spanish - American War and World War I . He served as quartermaster general from 1926 to 1930 . During his tenure in the latter position , he supervised landscaping improvements to Arlington National Cemetery , including restoration of the Lee Mansion and the building of the Tomb of the Unknowns . He is buried at Arlington . Work life . After the war , Cheatham declined an offer of Federal civil service employment from President Grant . He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 1872 . He served for four years as the appointed superintendent of a Tennessee state prison . He was appointed postmaster of Nashville ( 1885 – 1886 ) . He died in Nashville and is buried there in Mount Olivet Cemetery . Legacy and honors . After the war , a camp of the Association of Confederate Soldiers Tennessee Division was named the Frank Cheatham Bivouac in honor of the Confederate general .