John Bell Hood sought to defeat John Schofield’s Union force at Franklin

After being informed that Union general William Sherman will turn east in his “March to the Sea" after taking up Atlanta, Confederate general John Bell Hood led the Army of Tennessee north out of Georgia and towards the supply and communications hub of Nashville, Tennessee, aiming to draw Sherman into a fruitless pursuit before swinging through Kentucky and joining Robert E. Lee in Virginia with a legion of new recruits and cartloads full of Yankee food and munitions. John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. During the Battle of Franklin, he stood against William Sherman and John Schofield. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank.

General John Schofield, commanding Sherman’s rearguard, parried Hood’s thrusts in a series of small engagements as both forces raced toward Nashville. Hood’s hopes for a decisive campaign lay on defeating Schofield before the Union general reached the city, where another 25,000 Federals under General George Thomas waited. Hood caught Schofield at Franklin on November 30, 1864, about twenty miles south of Nashville. As the sun began to set, Hood ordered an attack. This attack causes casualties for both sides, and the attack did not work out well on John Bell Hood's side.