Battle of Franklin Reenactment October 2010

The "Battle of Franklin" was one of the worse defeats suffered by the Confederate forces during the Civil War but for the reenactors assembled in Franklin, Tennessee, on October 16th, bright sunny skies provided a lovely setting for the 140th anniversary reenactment of the battle. The video begins with a slideshow detailing facts of the battle and ends with period Civil War photos of the commanders who fought in the battle. Photos from other battlefields of the Civil War are also included. The video was shot about 1/8th mile from the battle and mostly at full telephoto. Because of the distance to the battle, the audio track suffers but I left it in because I wanted the viewer to hear the canons and muskets and other sounds of battle rather than cover the original audio track up with music as is commonly done.

The reenactment was held on the grounds of Harlinsdale Farm where Confederate and Federal camps were setup by the reenactors. Camp life, musket and artillery demonstrations as well as period food was available to the public.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• battle of franklin
• civil war
• reenactment
• civil war battle
• confederate
• rebels
• rebel yell
• yankee
• tennessee
• army of tennessee
• franklin tennessee
• john bell hood
• patrick cleburne
• stonewall of the west
• Pickett's charge of the west
• carnton house
• carter house
• canons
• muskets
• cavalry charge
• battle of nashville
• nathan bedford forrest
• civil war battle reenactment
• reenactor
• artillery

[fbrunt]

@lightningsailor123

Thanks for the info, lightningsailor123. The photo was sourced with this caption:

"Nashville Tennesee Confederate Boy Soldier photo taken in Nashville

Circa: Civil War

Photo Courtesy Library of Congress Archives Nashville Tennessee Collection". I'll try and check more on this. BTW, the Lightning is a great sailboat.

[hollywoodwerewolf]

if only the Army of Tennessee was more capably led at the top. Bragg never capitalized on success, Johnston was too cautious and Hood was too destructive.

[fbrunt]

@hollywoodwerewolf

I agree with your assessment of Braxton Bragg and J.B. Hood.

[Butternut731863]

This seemed very small! And it happened 147 years ago today! How come there were so few? Is it because it is so unknown? I heard it was given the nickname "The Worst Civil War Battle you never heard about" Thanks for uploading btw :)

[fbrunt]

@Butternut731863

You're right, the battle of Franklin is not well known. In the April 2005 edition of the "National Geographic", in an article called "Civil War Battle Fields, Adam Goodheart writes " Of all the Civil War's major engagements, the Battle of Franklin is the most unjustly forgotten. It was a struggle at once magnificent and hideous." I think that pretty well sums it up.

[sojournervv]

well done thank you for sharing

[fbrunt]

@sojournervv

Thanks for your comments, I appreciate your taking the time to view the video.

[AUG351]

@ambrosius I think reenactments never really do a good job showing what these battles were like, they always fight in lines and fire back and forth which were almost never the way they fought as at Franklin thousands of men attacked three lines of Federal trenches and fortifications and were slaughtered. I myself like to walk arround the actual battlefields and try to imagine what happend and see the ground where it took place.

[AUG351]

@fbrunt Also what is sad is that the spot where Patrick Cleburne was shot through the heart used to be covered by a pizza hut and the battlefield was not as preserved. Also did you know the night before the battle Nathan Bedford Forrest told Hood "If you were a whole man i'd kill you" Its a shame that a battle as bloody as Pickett's Charge is not well known and not even tought in school where instead kids get tought biased history when these brave men died fighting for their home.

[ambrosius]

Wow how sad it is that there are so few reenactors. It does not do justice to the magnitude of the battle

[sockettuem]

@456ken A far wiser man than I once said, in order to know where we are going, we must first understand where we have been. It is a thought you should consider before condemning those who strive to understand our past. You call it shameful. No, it was no such thing, it was a period that defined us as a nation and as a people. Perhaps if you understood it better, you might come to view it in a different light.

[sockettuem]

@hollywoodwerewolf John Bell Hood proved himself grossly inadequate as an army commander. His chief proponent was Braxton Bragg, a general famous for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Much is made of poor federal commanders, but these two confederate general officers probably did as much to assure the defeat of the Confederacy as Jefferson Davis himself, who refused to sack Bragg. Had Clebourne been in command the outcome of the entire campaign may have been quite different.

[lightningsailor123]

the person you have listed as "confederate soldier boy" is a federal soldier boy - johnny clem

[Manassascreek1861]

This is the farbiest excuse for a reenactment i've ever seen.