Despite John Bell Hood’s defeat at the Battle of Franklin, his advance to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee panicked the Union War Department. Ordering General George Thomas at Nashville to immediately attack Hood, both the War Department and Ulysses Grant believed that Hood ultimately might attempt to bypass Nashville and push to the Ohio River. Grant encouraged Thomas not to wait to reorganize his cavalry and threatened to replace him if he (Thomas) did not quickly attack Hood’s army. With Thomas agreeing to attack but informing Grant that his cavalry would not be ready to take to the field before December 11 at the earliest, Grant wired the War Department, expressing his disappointment with Thomas and his desire to replace him, if he would not promptly go on the attack.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.