Texas

Texas. . Remembers the valor and devotion of its soldiers who fought in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864, Following the fall of Atalanta Confederate Lt. Gen. John B. Hood sought to draw Federal Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's forces out of Georgia by moving into Tennessee or further north. Hood's Army of Tennessee included three brigades and an artillery battery of mostly Texas veteran troops in its 1864 Tennessee campaign. During the Battle of Franklin Gen. Hiram B. Granbury’s Texas Brigade was assigned to the center of the Confederate line as the left flank of Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne's Division. Moving up the east side of the Columbia Pike the brigade advanced across nearly two miles of open ground, forced the first line of Federal defenders to retreat, slammed into the Federal breastworks and breached the line. Brutal fighting ensued before the brigade was forced to withdraw by Federal reinforcements. Of the roughly 1,100 men in the brigade over 400 became casualties including Gen. Granbury and eight of his senior officers. Douglas's Texas Battery supported Maj. Gen. John C. Brown's Division on the Confederate left and suffered six casualties including its commander. While Granbury's Brigade and Douglas's Battery were engaged along the Confederate line Gen. Lawrence S. Sul Ross's Texas Cavalry Brigade of Gen. William H. Jackson's Division crossed the Harpeth River in an attempt to draw Federal forces out of Franklin. After repeated charges and counter charges Ross's Brigade was forced to retreat with significant losses. The Battle of Franklin was costly in terms of lost leadership and the volume of casualties among Texas units. On this field Texas soldiers demonstrated exemplary courage and audacity in service to their state.