The Battle of Franklin 150th Anniversary

[Sean Thornton]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwaqnR7WOHU[/youtube]The National Henry Rifle Company participated in the 150th Anniversary of Franklin. It was a bit cold Friday night camping out at 17 degrees.

[matt45]

So where on the battlefield was that?  Could you give us a quick review as to #'s of reenactors vs #'s @ that point in 1864?  The smoke you folks generated is a real teachable moment, reckon I'll show the kids down at our little school out here.  great job- thanks for the post

[Sean Thornton]

So where on the battlefield was that?  Could you give us a quick review as to #'s of reenactors vs #'s @ that point in 1864?  The smoke you folks generated is a real teachable moment, reckon I'll show the kids down at our little school out here.  great job- thanks for the post

The reenactment actually took place on the Carnton Plantation. That was the plantation that was used as a hospital during the battle and 7 dead Confederate generals were laid out on the front porch. they limited the number of reenactors since that had limited area .  there were around 800 reenactors. Our unit had men from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, PA, TN, KY and even one coming from Canada. The original battle there were over 20,000 engaged.

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[matt45]

Cool- kids will enjoy it

[Sean Thornton]

Here is the longer version of about 31 minutes of the drone video.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nlKD65CLWY[/youtube]

[Sean Thornton]

I always find it interesting the amount of firepower that the Henry rifles can generate. Too many people think that a Henry armed soldier just blasted away. The truth of the matter is that they took aimed shots. This forum should know more than any how fast you can take an aimed shot. I know when I have used my Henry rifle, or any of my lever guns, at a Cowboy Action shoot I can easily fire 10 shots in 12 seconds or less. Soldiers shot at the enemy, the enemy usually came charging in mass. At Franklin charge after charge yielded a lot of dead and wounded men. The Henry rifle contributed to the US victory in the American Civil War, although a small part. However the concept of repeating fire in great amounts is still used today in the military. However this lesson was slow to be learned by the government,

[matt45]

... and to beat on my particular dead horse a little more.  Considering the tactical acumen of the soldiers by the end of the war, I think it safe to say that the true beginning of the open, small unit tactics began in this war.  That it doesn't get the credit is more to a total lack of a historical research process during the war (they were interested in fighting and winning it, not writing about it).  So there is a lack of what we call "after action reviews"- but I'll stand my ground on this point.