Five Tragic Hours: The Battle of Franklin (review)

book reviews281 dices of so much of the population until his martyrdom, The Lincoln Image conveys an unbalanced impression of the image of the living Lincoln in the popular mind. With this exception, however, Hölzer, Boritt, and Neely have fashioned a splendid study of a most important phenomenon. Thoroughly researched, gracefully written, and superbly illustrated, The Lincoln Image constitutes a major contribution to the historical scholarship of Lincoln and the culture of his era. Roger A. Fischer University of Minnesota, Duluth Five Tragic Hours: The Battle of Franklin. By James Lee McDonough and Thomas L. Connelly. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1983. Pp. xiii, 217. $17.50.) Of all engagements in the Civil War, few can provide more pathetic instances of senseless slaughter than the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. Here, on November 30, 1864, Confederate General John B. Hood sent 20,000 infantry in a forlorn frontal assault on entrenched Federals. The Southerners suffered 1,750 killed, and thousands more wounded or captured , without seriously threatening the enemy position. The next day both armies moved on toward Nashville, as they had planned all along. Five Tragic Hours is the first comprehensive study of this pointless butchery. Professors McDonough and Connelly, well known for their previous studies of the war in the West, here combine diligent research with intelligent perspective. Their narrative is particularly strong in several areas: describing the Confederates' bleak prospects after the fall of Atlanta; analyzing the leadership of Hood and his Northern counterpart, GeneralJohn M. Schofield; and recounting the controversy surrounding the Confederates' lost opportunity at Spring Hill. In the battle itself, the authors make clear how the Southerners suffered such heavy casualties, notably among officers. Some special touches add to the appeal of this book. Because both authors grew up in the vicinity of Franklin, they are able to draw on local lore as well as their familiarity with the terrain. A nice array of pictures, well-placed to complement the text, is a feature not generally found in scholarly monographs. McDonough and Connelly's work, in fact, seems oriented to both the academic and non-academic. For instance, almost a fourth of the bibliographic essay refers the reader to manuscript repositories , but the text is not annotated. The most serious weakness of Five Tragic Hours is the authors' occasional lapse of perspicacity in making provocative but quite questionable statements. Drawing apparently on local legend, McDonough and Connelly hint that Hood missed destroying the Union army at Spring Hill because his generals were partying with the notorious Mrs. Peters. Such suggestions, made even quippishly, are more irksome than edify- 282civil war history ing. An offhand comment on the paradoxical nature of Southerners reminds us of one of Connelly's themes in his previous book; but the statement, without amplification, seems awkward here. Similarly out of place is a remark that Schofield's organizational talents typified "middle class America on the rise" (p. 24). Better supported is the authors' judgment concerning the major question about Franklin: why did Hood order the assault? McDonough and Connelly go beyond tactical considerations to find their answer in Hood's personality. A reckless fighter who liked risky attacks, Hood "wanted to be a Robert E. Lee," as the authors put it (p. 66). But in late 1864 he found his dreams shattered, and vented his frustrations in one last vengeful outburst at Franklin. The plausibility of this view, however , is diminished by McDonough and Connelly's overemphasis of Hood's irrationality and their exaggerated contention that at Franklin "he was too emotionally unhinged to command" (p. 59). Well-researched, sometimes controversial, Five Tragic Hours is thus as solid and scrappy as the soldiers who fought at Franklin. It is a fine history of their service and sacrifice. Steve Davis Atlanta, Georgia Recasting: "Gone with the Wind" in American Culture. Edited by Darden Asbury Pyron. (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1983. Pp. x, 232. $12.95 paperback.) For nearly fifty years, Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of the South, Gone with the Wind, has endured in the hearts and minds of the American public. Whatever its merits or shortcomings, it is safe that there has never been another book (and film...