Today is also the anniversary of the Battle of Franklin in 1864, a major defeat for John Bell Hood who was hoping to recapture Nashville. Six Confederate generals were killed in the battle including Major General Patrick Cleburne, born in Ireland as a British subject, became a US citizen and died a citizen of the Confederacy.
The Confederacy’s last hope lay in electing a Democrat President in 1864. Lincoln’s re-election with an increased Republican majority meant that the end was near. Sherman was marching for the sea through Georgia in November, but the Confederates were still able to attack in Tennessee. Their decisive defeats ended the war in the West.