BATTLE OF FRANKLIN.

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officers killed and wounded gives terrible significance to therecriminations which the affair at Spring Hill had excited.We have seen that Brown and all four of his brigadiers weredisabled or killed. In Cleburne’s division, Cranberry be-sides himself fell. In Loring’s division they lost Generals John Adams and Scott. In French’s, Cockrell; in Walt-hall’s, Quarles; and in Johnson’s, Manigault; twelve gen-erals in all, besides Stafford, and a long list of colonels andfield officers who succeeded to brigade commands.

On the National side the losses were 2,326, of which morethan one thousand were in the two brigades of Wagner,which were so unnecessarily compromised at the front. Nearthe centre, where the line was temporarily broken, the losseswere naturally much heavier than on the flanks, where ourmen stoutly held the breastworks and fought under goodcover. The result well illustrates the fearful odds at whichthe bravest troops assault a line of earthworks over openground, even when a grave fault of a subordinate has giventhem an exceptional and unlooked-for advantage. GeneralWagner’s place of duty was with the two brigades of hisdivision which were exposed in front, and the order to bringthem in without fighting had been sent through the FourthCorps’ head-quarters, and had been received by him. He wasat the Carter house when the message came from the frontthat Hood was forming in line of battle, and, in a moment ofexcitement, forgetting himself and his orders, he sent back acommand to fight. 1 The overwhelming of the two brigadesand the peril to the whole line were the necessary conse-quence. He rallied the disorganized brigades at the river,but they were not again carried into action.

During the battle and in preparation for any contingency

1 This is stated to the writer by two officers who were present and heard it.

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