The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, by
John K. Shellenberger

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Title: The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee
November 30, 1864; A statement of the erroneous claims
made by General Schofield, and an exposition of the blunder
which opened the battle

Author: John K. Shellenberger

Release Date: March 2, 2010 [EBook #31468]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE BATTLE OF FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE

THE BATTLE OF FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE

November 30, 1864

A statement of the erroneous claims made by
General Schofield, and an exposition
of the blunder which opened
the battle

BY
CAPTAIN JOHN K. SHELLENBERGER

One hundred, twenty-five
copies privately printed for the author by
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
CLEVELAND: 1916

PREFACE

This monograph on the Battle of Franklin was read first at a meeting of
the Minnesota Commandery of the Loyal Legion, December 9, 1902. Written
after an exhaustive investigation begun many years before, the
straightforward truth was told without fear or favor. The disgraceful and
costly blunder with which the Battle of Franklin opened should have been
investigated by a court of inquiry. The only action taken, however, was
the deposing of General Wagner, the junior in rank and the weakest in
influence among the generals implicated, from the command of his division,
with the statement that the blunder was due to his disobedience of orders.
With this action the matter was hushed up.

I have no personal grudge against General Schofield, whose obstinate
reliance on his ability to foresee what General Hood would do, was the
prime cause of the blunder. My feeling towards him is the same that any
honest student will experience when he becomes convinced that an
undeserved promotion was secured by dishonest methods. I began my
investigation with no thought o