The Carter Farm

The Carter Farm. Death of Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne. , Just before sundown on November 30, 1864, 3,000 Confederate soldiers charged past here and smashed into the main Federal line fewer than 200 feet ahead of you. They belonged to Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne’s Division, the most battle-hardened unit of the Army of Tennessee. Beginning in 1862 with the Battle of Shiloh, Cleburne’s Division fought in most major battles in the Western Theater, including Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Atlanta., Cleburne’s brigade commanders, Gens. Hiram G. Granbury, Mark P. Lowrey, and Daniel C. Govan, were disciplined combat leaders. At Franklin they initially led their men toward Union Col. Joseph Conrad’s brigade, which was part of an advanced Federal position. Conrad’s men resisted but then fell back toward the main line with Cleburne’s Division in rapid pursuit. Cleburne saw that the moment as the best opportunity to break the main line and he quickly advanced on horseback with his men. His horse was shot beneath him, and as he mounted another it was also killed. He then advanced on foot, his sword held aloft as he encouraged his men to push ahead in the face of withering Union fire. Then a single bullet tore into Cleburne’s chest and he fell near this spot and died almost instantly. His men plunged into the teeth of the Federal position and momentarily broke through. Their success was short-lived, however., After the battle, Cleburne was buried south of Columbia, Tennessee, at St. John’s Episcopal Church. In 1869, his body was reinterred at his pre-war residence, Helena, Arkansas.