It's Good To Get Out Of The Century

The Co. L 1st Texas Volunteer Infantry's order of battle has been published for the 2004/1864 reenactment year. Looks like the big engagement of the season will be the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. Not one of John Bell Hood's finer moments. As a commander he did extremely well in command of the 4th Texas Volunteer Infantry, the Texas Brigade, and Hood's division. However, as an Army commander he seems to have been over matched. The 1st Texas was not engage at Franklin. They were in the Western theater when Longstreets Corps was detached to the Army of the Tennessee in late 1863. They participated in the Battle of Chickamauga and the siege of Knoxville. However they were back with the Army of Northern Virginia by the time the Battle of Franklin occurred. I wonder who we will be portraying, several Texas regiments served with the Army of the Tennessee such as the famed soldiers of Hiram Granbury's Texas Brigade. This engagement is also interesting to me because it is where Major General Patrick Cleburne was killed. Legend has it, General Cleburne died without his boots because he gave them to one of his line officers who was marching toward Franklin barefoot. Couldn't vouch for the truthfulness but it makes for a nice story. There is even a song about it called "He'll Not Need Them Again". You can find that on Bobby Horton's Homespun Songs of the CSA Vol 6.

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD