Five Tragic Hours: The Battle of Franklin

Rating:
Summary: Definitive account of the "Gettysburg of the West"
Review: As "A Bridge Too Far" is the definitive account of Arnhem, and Shelby Foote's magnum opus is the definitive account of the Civil War as a whole, so is "Five Tragic Hours" the sine qua non for understanding the significance of this underappreciated battle that spelled the end of the Confederacy in the West.

The authors are eminently qualified to cover this subject; college professor McDonough is a self-appointed historian of virtually all the significant battles fought in Tennessee; Connelly is the author of the controversial and brilliant "The Marble Man", a biography of Robert E. Lee, as well as a two-volume history of the Army of Tennessee.

While the book has minor flaws as a narrative, it is by far the most detailed account of Hood's abortive campaign, and the battle that spelled the Confederacy's Western high-water mark. If you wish to have anything more than a rudimentary understanding of the Civil War endgame, it is a MUST read.

Rating:
Summary: Hood-bashing overkill
Review: As "A Bridge Too Far" is the definitive account of Arnhem, and Shelby Foote's magnum opus is the definitive account of the Civil War as a whole, so is "Five Tragic Hours" the sine qua non for understanding the significance of this underappreciated battle that spelled the end of the Confederacy in the West.

The authors are eminently qualified to cover this subject; college professor McDonough is a self-appointed historian of virtually all the significant battles fought in Tennessee; Connelly is the author of the controversial and brilliant "The Marble Man", a biography of Robert E. Lee, as well as a two-volume history of the Army of Tennessee.

While the book has minor flaws as a narrative, it is by far the most detailed account of Hood's abortive campaign, and the battle that spelled the Confederacy's Western high-water mark. If you wish to have anything more than a rudimentary understanding of the Civil War endgame, it is a MUST read.

Rating:
Summary: Hood-bashing overkill
Review: Authors McDonough and Connelly's venemous vilification of Confederate General John Bell Hood soils this otherwise well written history of the Battle of Franklin. The rage against him is thrust upon the reader on the sixth paragraph of the opening chapter, and persistently distracts and annoys the reader until, literally, the book's final sentence, some 175 pages later. According to the authors, the Confederate defeat at Franklin is attributed solely to an irrational, glory-obsessed, ignorant commander. They ignore the quite simple fact that General Hood was appointed to command of the Army of Tennessee by President Jefferson Davis and ordered to take the offensive, and did so. The authors label Hood's grand strategy for the Tennessee Campaign as "quixotic" in that he hoped to capture Nashville, cut Sherman's supply lines, and perhaps march east to relieve Lee. With Lee's surrender indeed happening some four months later, many historians feel that Hood's strategy was desperate, but that desperation was called for. The authors frequently site factual occurances which they attribute to post-war memoirs of battle participants. Yet when Hood's own views and recollections conflict with the authors theories of blame, they discount the words in his own post-war autobiography and in many cases label them as outright lies. Hood's brilliant combat record at Gaines Mill, Second Manassas, Gettysburg, Antietem, and Chickamauga, and his later attack on Franklin are presented by the authors as actions of a man simply wanting to impress the belles in Richmond. Readers will also notice that the authors curiously ommit footnoting specific sources, and only offer readers a summarized "Commentary on Sources". Had the authors written a history of the battle, instead of an editorial on their opinions of General Hood, the reader would have been better served.

Rating:
Summary: The Western Pickett's Charge
Review: General John b. Hood is almost the canonical example of 'promotion to incompetence'. A bold and successful divisional commander under Robert E. Lee turned into a scheming corps commander under Johnston, and then into a reckless, careless, and catastrophic army commander. To be fair to Hood (admittedly, a hard thing to do), he was clearly incapacitated by wounds, pain and laudanum, as well the pangs of unrequited love, added to (perhaps) the need to prove to himself that he was still a whole man. In modern times, I doubt if he would have been let near the front. In the Civil war, there were army commanders with disabilities (the one-armed Howard, on the Union side, was one) but none with the two crippling wounds of Hood (arm and leg).

McDonough and Conelly are two historians who began a renaissance in Civil War military studies in the 1970s, and perhaps this has been surpassed by Wiley Sword's more recent work on the Tennessee campaign ("Embrace an Angry Wind: the South's Last Hurrah"), but it is still a masterful study that repays reading.

The tragedy of Hood's second last battle is that he had the advice of the Souths best commanders of infantry (Cleburne) and cavalry (Forrest) but ignored their practical suggestions. It was Cleburne's last battle - he was the highlest ranking Confederate general killed at Frankin. You can only feel after reading this (and Sword's) book that he deserved better of his commander.

Rating:
Summary: Let R. E. Lee have the last say
Review: In a telegram to J. Davis dated 12 July 1864 from his headquarters near Petersburg Va

Telegram of today received. I regret the fact stated. It is a bad time to release the commander of an army situated as that of Tennessee.We may lose Atlanta and the army too.

Hood is a bold fighter.
I am doubtful as to other qualities necessary

Rating:
Summary: The Haunting Battle of Franklin
Review: In my opinion the Battle of Franklin is THE most haunting and interesting battle of the Civil War. What a great waste. Connelly and McDonough put forth a very solid effort on the battle. Their preface to the book is actually worth the price of the book itself. Each man had experience as young men on the battlefields of Tennessee and they do a wonderful job describing how it effected them. For drama and color, Wiley Sword's work on Franklin is best, but for pure military analysis "Five Tragic Hours" can't be beat.

Rating:
Summary: The Haunting Battle of Franklin
Review: In my opinion the Battle of Franklin is THE most haunting and interesting battle of the Civil War. What a great waste. Connelly and McDonough put forth a very solid effort on the battle. Their preface to the book is actually worth the price of the book itself. Each man had experience as young men on the battlefields of Tennessee and they do a wonderful job describing how it effected them. For drama and color, Wiley Sword's work on Franklin is best, but for pure military analysis "Five Tragic Hours" can't be beat.

Rating:
Summary: Meeting the Controversy Concerning General Hood Head On
Review: It is difficult to review Five Tragic Hours without dealing with the quality of the generalship of John Hood. Was Hood simply carrying out his orders from Jefferson Davis to take the offensive or was he a man who had been promoted beyond his competence and who refused to acknowledge his limitations? The authors of Five Tragic Hours unquestionably adopt the latter approach. They are correct.

The sad truth was that Hoods adventure was doomed before it began. His objective, the capture of Nashville, was an impossible task given the size of his the Army of Tennessee, its lack of supplies, the extensive defensive fortifications at Nashville, and the fact that the Army of the Cumberland was commanded by George Thomas, arguably the Union's ablest general. Furthermore, whatever chances Hood had evaporated when he allowed General Scofield and his train to escape unscathed at Spring Hill.

The authors most pointed and just criticism of Hood was his failure to accept the advise of his subordinates. If he had listened to General Nathan Bedford Forrest he could have outflanked Scofield at Franklin and forced the Union troops to fight outside set fortifications. Instead, Hood forced a battle without the benefit of his artillery that should have know could not succeed. The charges at Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor and Gettysburg, as well as Hoods multiple unsuccessful attacks during the Battle of Atlanta should have informed Hood of the results of his "plan."

The Battle of Franklin was a waste of men occasioned by a general who had not learned that the days of the successful frontal assault were gone. Hood was a commendable divisional commander. But as a leader of the Army of Tennessee he was a disaster.

Rating:
Summary: "HISTORY REVISED, OBJECTIVITY DENIED"
Review: The legacy of one of the Civil War's greatest leaders is shamelessly misrepresented in this book about one of the war's forgotten battles. Rather than present the reader with an unbiased and accurate depiction of the Battle of Franklin, the authors relentlessly rant about John Bell Hood, smothering
unsuspecting readers with unqualified speculation, rumor mongering, and unflattering conjecture under the guise of historical fact.

Hood's almost superhuman accomplishments as a brigade and division commander under Lee and Jackson, and his short but successful tenure as a corps commander at Chickamauga made him Jefferson Davis' candidate to save the fading fortunes of the Confederacy in late 1864. Replacing the tentative
Joe Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee, Hood launched several bold attacks on Sherman in an unsuccessful attempt to save Atlanta.

Burdened by disloyal and incompetent subordinates, and troops unaccustomed to offensive warfare, Hood nevertheless embarked on an ambitious invasion of Tennessee, in a last ditch effort to destroy Sherman's supply lines, and provide relief for R. E. Lee's exhausted Army of Northern Virginia. At Franklin, with the Federal army fleeing to the safety of Nashville, and having absolutely no other realistic alternative, Hood ordered a frontal
attack. The assault failed, with the Confederates suffering frightfully high casualties.

Authors McDonough and Connelly deny readers the mountain of historical record that clearly and concisely details the quite rational and logical reasons for the attack. They mislead readers with overt mischaracterization of historical facts, and present opinions that are not supported by facts or statistics.

It is bad enough when readers invest time in nonfiction literature and gain no knowledge, it is even worse when readers are provided inaccurate information and propaganda that results in incorrect knowledge. Reading this work will result in an inaccurate understanding of the Battle of Franklin, and General John Bell Hood.

This book, awash in prejudice and misrepresentation, should be avoided!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Account of a Really Tragic Battle
Review: This is a well written, easy to read account of the Battle of Franklin. The authors put the battle into focus, not only in a geographic sense but from the state of mind of the men and commanders who fought there. This work helps to explain much about General Hood (a proven leader and fighter of the war's earlier days) and his decisions made there. From this book it is easy to see the "why" and "how" of the fight at Franklin.