I'm obviously no expert on the Civil War, but last week was "Civil War Week" at Lakeside, Ohio, and I attended two presentations by Mel Maurer of Cleveland who spoke on the Battle of Franklin. And yes, Ft. Hood is named for the guy who would have lost the war for the South, if it hadn't already been lost. Is that why we have a military base named for him?
- "John Bell Hood destroyed the Army of Tennessee. After bleeding it dry fighting the Yankees around Atlanta- attacking a foe that was superior in numbers and entrenched, he marched away from the main threat to the South- General Sherman's Army of the Tennesse. He then launched an ill-considered offensive into central Tennesse. When his army failed to destroy the Yankees at Spring Hill, in true political general fashion, he blamed his troops.
He then decided to attack the Yankees at Franklin. Again, they were entenched. With only one battery of artillery in support, he ordered a frontal assault. Good soldiers they were, the men of the Army of Tennessee advanced, and almost took the town, thanks to their courage and Yankee blundering. But the Yanks soon stopped the advance and slaughtered the Rebs. A Union battery commander remembered two sounds- the discharge of cannister and a split second later, the sound of bones breaking.
The Yanks retreated to Nashville. Although his troops were tired, hungry, and outnumbered ( though he didn't know it at the time), Hood laid siege to the city. When Union General Thomas attacked, the Confederate lines were too thin to stop the assault. The Army of Tennessee broke and many were killed or captured covering the retreat.
As they retreated to Alabama, many of the Rebel soldiers had no shoes. It was winter, and the temperature was about 10 degrees F. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the rebellion, but I feel for those guys. Barefoot in that weather is a horror.
When Hood got back to Alabama, there were about 6,500 effectives in his army. They numbered over 20,000 when the offensive began. Once again he blamed his soldiers for the failed offensive." Armchair General
NOTE: The above excerpted piece is NOT from Maurer but from "Armchair General," a site on the internet.
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6 comments:
John Bell Hood was one of the fiercest fighters and bravest soldiers ever to wear a uniform in the Civil War. His reputation as a soldier and a man has been savaged by modern writers such as Wiley Sword, who filtered records and distorted facts relative to Gen. Hood's life and career.
Hood was given an almost impossible task and came close to pulling off miracles at both Atlanta and Franklin. He was recognized by both Federals and Confederates as a great commander and leader.
I don't know who Mr. Maurer is but he should do more than read one or two eloquently deceptive books before representing himself to be an expert on Hood and the Battle of Franklin.
Interested persons should read the newest and best book on Hood, 'For Cause and For Country' by Eric Jacobson or visit www.swordexposed.com.
I didn't intend to confuse. The pasted article is from another writer on the Civil War, not Mr. Maurer. Maurer was the lecturer that got me interested in the Battle of Franklin.
"A premier example of the Peter principle is the case of John B. Hood who excelled as a brigade and division leader, was uncooperative as a corps commander, and was an unqualified disaster at the head of an army, which he all but destroyed. . . . Besieging the Union forces in Nashville, he attacked in mid-December 1864 and his army was annihilated. Retreating into the deep South with the fragments of the army he relinquished his command and his temporary commission in January 1865. After the war he settled in New Orleans and was a prosperous merchant until an 1878 financial crisis. He died the next year in a yellow fever epidemic. His memoirs are entitled Advance and Retreat."
http://www.civilwarhome.com/hoodbio.htm
Be careful. Fort Hood is probably named after John Bell Hood because as leader of the "Texas Brigade" he's one of those traditional Texas heroes that we Texans like to point to in order to say that we're bigger and badder than any other state. Texans take their heroes seriously, and we ignore inconvenient truths about flaws in their abilities or character.
Might better ask why any United States military installation is named after a traitor.
I know a lot bout my family and Jonh Bell Hood may not of won a lot of battles but he was one brave SOB. He deserved to have have places named after him, all the pain he must of been in fighting for what he believed in. So ppl who say he didn't deserve to have Fort Hood named after him, well what was ur fam named after? Probably nothing.
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