After the battle of Stone’s River at the beginning of the year, both armies remained relatively quiet in winter quarters. As Spring approached, military activity began to pick up. Union Colonel John Coburn left Franklin, Tennessee with a reinforced infantry brigade and attached cavalry and artillery on March 4 to reconnoiter south towards Columbia, Tennessee. He encountered and skirmished with the cavalry division of Brigadier General W.H. “Red” Jackson. Pressing on at first light on March 5th he ran into the entire Cavalry Corp of Earl Van Dorn a mile north of the hamlet of Thompson’s station and he foolishly attacked. Easily repulsing the attack, the Confederates went on the offensive.
Dismounting his cavalry division, Brigadier General W.H. “Red” Jackson carried the hilltop position, after several attempts occupied by the Union force. Simultaneously, Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his brigade around the left of the Union brigade and into its rear, capturing the Union supply train and cutting off the Union line of retreat. The entire Union infantry force, minus two officers surrendered. The Union cavalry and artillery had withdrawn prior to the surrender and got back to Franklin. Union casualties in this debacle were 1906 to 300 for the Confederates.
No account of this battle would be complete without mentioning 17 year old Miss Alice Thompson. When the 3rd Arkansas lost its color bearer and its attack was in jeopardy of failure, Miss Thompson ran from the house where she was staying, picked up the flag and led the regiment to victory, to the cheers of her Union adversaries. No man was braver on the field that day than that female patriot.
Donald R. McClarey
Paul Zummo
OT again, but this might interest you: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/feb/08/rorycarroll
Its interesting Fabio although I am skeptical as to whether such an offer was made. I have never heard of it and I have done a fair amount of reading on both Lincoln and the Civil War. Placing a foreigner at the head of the Union armies I don’t think would have been politically possible, and Lincoln, master politician, always had a keen eye on the politics of his decisions. However, I will look into this and probably write a post on it. It raises some fascinating questions if true.
What I have read is that Garibaldi was offered a Major General’s commission and that an American official, without authorization from Lincoln or Seward, offered Garibaldi Supreme Command:
http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/biography/garibaldi.htm
Frankly, I regard the case as proven. Garibaldi was in an unique position with respect to all the forces of liberalism and democracy in the west; the notice that he would take command would have caused nothing but a storm of perhaps excessive hope (Garibaldi had never commanded forces as large as the Union had). And if he said it to the King, then it was true. He was in some ways a simple man, alien from lies and intrigue, and in spite of his republican beliefs was a good friend of Victor Emmanuel’s, the King often mediating between him and Cavour. He would not make things up – why should he? A man with his record? From my position, it seems not only credible but almost inevitable. The man who, already in his old age, drew the sword one last time to defend the French Republic from Prussia, and who considered going to the aid of the Greeks against Turkey, was certainly not going to ignore the American struggle. He had even lived in the USA, and, like all Italian liberals, regarded them as the home of mankind’s hopes. But Garibaldi also had an inflexible streak, as shown by the fact that he waited till the Emperor was overthrown – and the war lost – before he tried to rescue France. That is entirely in character with the man who claimed he would only fight if the war were explicitly to free the slaves.
‘He would not make things up – why should he?”
From what I have cited Fabio he wouldn’t have been making things up, but merely been misled by a Union diplomat who did not have the authority to make the offer of Supreme Command. I find it unlikely that Lincoln would seriously have entertained the idea of Supreme Command. A major generalcy, yes, several foreigners were given that rank during the Civil War, but Supreme Command during the Civil War? I doubt it.
An article which appeared on this subject in Century Magazine in 1907:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/bully-for-garibaldi/