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Battle of Franklin

30 Nov 1864 — Hood sends the Army of Tennessee across two miles of open ground toward Union entrenchments. The charge is larger than Pickett’s, and six Confederate generals die in an afternoon. The assault devastates the army.

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Map: Battle of Franklin, 30 November 1864
30 NOVEMBER 1864 · THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, 1840–1877

The moment in context

In the summer of 1864, the Confederacy had reason to watch the Northern election as closely as the battlefield. Heavy losses and apparent stalemate had tested the public’s willingness to continue. The Democratic platform declared the war a failure and demanded an armistice. McClellan, its candidate, rejected parts of that platform and wanted to restore the Union. Even so, stopping the fighting while Confederate armies remained intact would have changed the bargaining position sharply. If those armies could hold out until November, Northern politics might offer the South a way to survive.

From 1864 election and March to the Sea, chapter 10 of The American Civil War, 1840–1877 (NOV 1864).

The place: Battle of Franklin — map and full story →

Teach this in 5 minutes

Then ask the room: How should we judge Sherman’s march: its conduct, its effect, and its human cost? The argued answer is on the chapter page →

The atlas that shows it

The American Civil War, 1840–1877
13 CHAPTERS · AN INTERACTIVE SITUATION MAP

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