There were several engagements in Franklin and the immediate vicinity during the Civil War. One such battle occurred on June 4, 1863. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest led two cavalry brigades north from Spring Hill on a reconnaissance to determine the size of the U.S. force at Franklin. Forrest encountered Union pickets about three miles south of town along the Columbia and Lewisburg Pikes. Gen. Frank C. Armstrong's Brigade advanced up the Lewisburg Pike to the edge of town until halted by U.S. cavalry and artillery fire from Fort Granger. Forrest hit the enemy cavalry with artillery fire from Winstead Hill and attacked the Union cavalry positioned between the two pikes with part of Col. James W. Starnes's Brigade. A short time later, Forrest moved with two artillery pieces along Carter's Creek Pike to approach Franklin from the west using the town's structures to cover his men. This successful move largely cleared Franklin of Union soldiers, and Forrest occupied the town. At this time, Forrest ceased firing with his artillery after he thought he saw a white flag on the fort but was informed that it was a signal flag. While in town, Forrest freed Confederate prisoners in the jail and found "numerous sutlers' stores" which were "thoroughly sacked." In the meantime, Armstrong sent part of his brigade to cross the Harpeth River southeast of town to cover the main road from Franklin leading east to Triune. Armstrong's small force was later attacked by Col. Archibald P. Campbell's U.S. Cavalry Brigade and quickly fell back across the river. Campbell's attack was the result of U.S. commander Col. John P. Baird's use of signal flags to request help from Gen. Gordon Granger at Triune. Forrest withdrew his command back to Spring Hill. (fb)

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant forced Gen. Robert E. Lee to retreat to Cold Harbor, VA, ten miles from the Confederate capital of Richmond by the end of May 1864. After a June 1 attack made a brief breakthrough in Lee's lines, Grant decided to try again with his entire army. However, the end result was an uncoordinated, piecemeal attack by units from only three of Grant's five available corps with over half of the available men in these three corps having no significant involvement in this attack. Soldiers in the II, VI, and XVIII Corps attacked Lee's entrenched lines about 4:30 a.m. on the foggy morning of June 3, but the attack was repulsed in less than an hour. Although orders came to renew the attack, the men and corps commanders had had enough with some essentially refusing to attack again. Unlike some generals, Grant was able to admit he made a mistake. "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made," Grant later wrote adding that "no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." For years it was asserted that Grant's losses on June 3 were around 7,000 men or more over a time period of a few minutes to an hour. Perhaps this is in part due to personal accounts describing this battle as not war but murder. Although estimates vary, modern studies suggest this June 3 morning attack resulted in almost 4,000 casualties. The overall U.S. loss for that entire day was around 6,000 men with Confederate losses of perhaps 1,500 men. Regardless, the attack on the morning of June 3 at Cold Harbor was indeed a costly assault but not nearly as much as once believed. (fb)