4^2
BRIDGE AT FRANKLIN OVER THE IIAEi’ETII RIVER,LOOKING UP-STREAM.
Tlie left of the picture is the north hank of the stream;Franklin is upon the south bank. Fort Granger, whereGeneral Schofield lind his headquarters, occupied thesite of the buildings on the north bank.
works with them,” the triumphant Confederates, now more like a wild, howl-ing mob than an organized army, swept on to the very works, with hardly acheek from any quarter. So fierce was the rush that a number of the fleeingsoldiers—officers and men—dropped exhausted into the ditch, and lay therewhile the terrific contest raged over their heads, till, under cover of darkness,they could crawl safely ' ‘ ’ ' ' ’ nents.
On Strickland’s left, UU LlltJ V7VJ1UI ubia Pike, was posted one of the
new infantry regiments. The tremendous onset, the wild yells, the wholeinfernal din of the strife, were too much for such an undisciplined body. Asthey saw their comrades from the advance line rushing to the rear, theytoo turned and fled. The contagion spread, and in a few minutes a dis-orderly stream was pouring down the pike past the Carter house toward
the town. The guns, posted on eachside the Columbia Pike, were aban-doned, and the works, for the spaceof more than a regimental front, botheast and west of the pike, were de-serted. Into the gap thus made, with-out an instant’s delay, swarmed thejubilant Confederates, urged on byCleburne and Brown, and took pos-session of both works and guns. Fora moment it looked as though, thesetwo enterprising divisions, backed by the mass of troops converging towardthe pike, would sweep down the works in both directions, and, taking Strick-land and Reilly on the flank, drive them out, or capture them. Fortunately,there were at hand reserves of brave men who were not demoralized by themomentary panic. Colonel Emerson Opdycke, of Wagner’s division, asalready stated, had brought his brigade inside the works, and they were nowmassed near the Carter house, ready for any contingency. Two regiments ofReilly’s brigade, the 12th and Kith Kentucky, which had reached Franklinabout noon, had taken position a little in rear of the rest of the brigade, andthrown up works. As soon as the break was made in the lines all thesereserves rushed to the front, and, after a terrific struggle, succeeded in regain-ing the works. Opdycke’s brigade, deploying as it advanced, was involvedin as fierce a hand-to-hand encounter as ever soldiers engaged in. The twoKentucky regiments joined in the fight with equal ardor and bravery. Alarge part of Conrad’s and Lane’s men, as they came in, though wholly dis-organized, turned about and gave the enemy a hot reception. Opdycke’shorse was shot under him, and he fought on foot at the head of his brigade.General Cox was everywhere present, encouraging and cheering on his men-General Stanley, who, from the fort where he had gone with General Schofield,had seen the opening clash, galloped to the front as soon as possible and didall that a brave man could until he was painfully wounded. Some ofOpdycke’s men manned the abandoned guns in Reilly’s works; others filledthe gap in Strickland’s line. These timely movements first checked and then