The Battle of Franklin: Five Hours in the Valley of Death

Starring:Richard Fatherly; Rob Hodge
Director: The Chitwood Bros.
Studio: Wide Awake Films
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
On the afternoon of November 30, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood peered through his field glasses at the well-entrenched Union Army camped next to the Harpeth River near the small town of Franklin. Despite the protests of Hood's subordinate generals, and for reasons still debated even to this day, Hood made the ill-advised decision to attack the Yankees straight-on.

Hood's orders set off one of the largest infantry attacks ever in North America, leading to five of the bloodiest hours of the entire Civil War. More than 9,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, including six Confederate generals killed or mortally woundedthe largest number of generals killed at any battle during the war.

Created from over 100 hours of footage, Franklin: Five Hours in the Valley of Death was three years in the making. From footage gathered at a national level re-enactment and highly-crafted specialty shots, this documentary highlights thousands of "soldiers" shot in a variety of media formats, from the crystal clear look of high-definition to the gritty realness of archival-looking film. The DVD also includes 40 minutes of bonus content shot at the national re-enactment, a short documentary on Franklin battlefield preservation, and an interview with noted Franklin historian, Thomas Cartwright.

Product Description

The Battle of Franklin is the winner of a 2007 Midsouth region Emmy for Best Historical Documentary.

On the afternoon of November 30, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood peered through his field glasses at the well-entrenched Union Army camped next to the Harpeth River near the small town of Franklin. Despite the protests of Hood s subordinate generals, and for reasons still debated even to this day, Hood made the ill-advised decision to attack the Yankees straight-on.

Hood s orders set off one of the largest infantry attacks ever in North America, leading to five of the bloodiest hours of the entire Civil War. More than 9,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, including six Confederate generals killed or mortally wounded the largest number of generals killed at any battle during the war.

Customer Reviews:

Good Video, Bad History.......2007-06-09

The film is a marvelous visual and audio production, but from a historical perspective, there is no balance whatsoever. The writers of the film seem to have adopted the historical interpretation of the Battle of Franklin from Wiley Sword's highly subjective and fact-filtered book, The Confederacy's Last Hurrah. Sword set the standard for selective disclosure and historical concealment in his otherwise eloquently written award winning book.

The name "Hood" is mentioned 54 times in the 68 minute production, making him the most prominent character in the film. Although the film relies heavily on verbatim quotes from Battle of Franklin veterans and others, of the 58 total quotes in the documentary, the oft mentioned Hood is allowed only three quotes. One quote concerns his relationship with his fiancé, which is unrelated to anything else in the film, and the other two quotes are followed immediately with derisive comments from the narrator.

The film states that Hood conspired to replace Joseph Johnston as commander of the AOT. The film doesn't reveal that William Hardee, AP Stewart, Leonidas Polk, and Joe Wheeler also disapproved of the retreating tactics that cost Johnston his job. Hardee wrote to Jefferson Davis in June 1864, "If the present system continues we may find ourselves at Atlanta before a serious battle is fought." Hood wrote similar letters, yet he is the only Johnston subordinate accused of backstabbing his superior.

The film's writers only included quotes from Hood's critics, while concealing words of support and admiration for Hood from both Confederate and Union veterans, as well as Confederate governors and presidents. Pvt. Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee Infantry wrote of Hood in his memoirs, "He (Hood) was a noble, brave and good man, and we loved him for his virtues and goodness of heart." "We all loved Hood; he was such a clever fellow, and a good man." "Every impulse of his (Hood's) nature was to do good and to serve his country as best he could." No such comments appear in the film.

Hood is portrayed as a commander who preferred frontal assaults, when in fact Franklin was the only frontal attack Hood ever ordered as a commander.

The film paints Hood as a cold and ruthless commander, saying he "bled his boys" in Virginia when witnesses recorded Hood openly grieving for his men at every one of his previous battles.

Regarding the Tennessee Campaign, Spring Hill, and Franklin, the film gives many quotes and testimony from characters, but silence Gen. Hood completely. He recorded the reasons for his decisions in his Official Reports and memoirs, but the film censors him. Hood wrote in his OR, "I learned from dispatches captured at Spring Hill, from Thomas to Schofield, that the latter was instructed to hold that place till the position at Franklin could be made secure, indicating the intention of Thomas to hold Franklin and his strong works at Murfreesboro. Thus I knew that it was all important to attack Schofield before he could make himself strong, and if he should escape at Franklin he would gain his works about Nashville. The nature of the position was such as to render it inexpedient to attempt any further flank movement, and I therefore determined to attack him in front, and without delay."

At Spring Hill, many Confederates held Hood blameless for the Federal escape, yet the film states that Hood "allowed" the Union army to escape. Franklin veteran S.A. Cunningham wrote in 1893, "...the march to Spring Hill, where the Federal retreat was so nearly cut off, a failure for which it was understood General Hood was not to blame, created an enthusiasm for him equal to that entertained for Stonewall Jackson after his extrordinary achievements...The soldiers were full of ardor, and confident of success. They had unbounded faith in General Hood, whom they believed would achieve a victory that would give us Nashville." Such testimony is absent in the film.

At Franklin, the film outrageously says that Hood "sacrificed" his men, when many veterans-Union and Confederate-supported Hood's decision to attack, but like others, they too are silenced.

Perhaps Hood's performance in the Tennessee Campaign was best summarized by Tennessee Gov. Isham Harris, who accompanied the AOT on the campaign. Harris wrote to Jefferson Davis, "I have been with General Hood from the beginning of this campaign, and beg to say, disastrous as it has ended, I am not able to see anything that General Hood has done that he should not, or neglected anything that he should have done which it was possible to do. Indeed, the more that I have seen and known of him and his policy, the more I have been pleased with him and regret to say that if all had performed their parts as well as he, the results would have been very different." Like other Hood supporters, Harris isn't quoted in the film.

The final words of the documentary include, "At Franklin, it (the Army of Tennessee) had almost wrecked itself in an attack that should never have been ordered." Union veteran L.A. Simmons of the 84th Illinois wrote that at Franklin, "He (Hood) was playing a stupendous game, for enormous stakes. Could he have succeeded in breaking the center, our whole army was at his mercy. In our rear was a deep and rapid river, swollen by recent rains- and to retreat across it an utter impossibility. To break the center was to defeat our army; and defeat inevitably involved a surrender, and Nashville was at his mercy, and could be taken in a day. His army well understood that they were fighting for the possession of Nashville. Ours knew they were fighting to preserve that valuable city, and to avoid annihilation." Although the battle was a tragic and decisive defeat for Gen. Hood, the decision to attack was not without justification.

If the documentary was intended to be purely entertainment, it is successful; if the intent was to educate, it has only given one side of the story.

One of the best out there.......2005-09-08

I am probably a little biased considering I took place in the reenactment in which they filmed many of their shots. When I saw the finished result I was very impressed. They brilliantly captured the horror of the battle of Franklin, and showed why it was truly the valley of death.

They also give you a very good look at the men who fought this battle. By taking excerpts from letters and eyewitness accounts, you see the battle from the fighting man's perspective. You also see why this battle may have been the most horrifying battle throughout the entire war. I would definitely recommend this documentary for any history buff's collection, or for anyone wanting to learn more about the Civil War.

Their best documentary yet........2005-06-03

This is Wide Awake Films most recent documentary project and their best to date. They have reinvented the documentary after Ken Burns did the same in the 1990's.

The style and storytelling of this DVD is superb and will make a welcome addition to your Civil War library. The Battle of Franklin is one of the most compelling chapters in our Civil War Between the States. This DVD will help you to learn about this tragic battle.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

White Palace

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Secret Weapon/Terror By Night (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: The Legend of Bruce Lee

Vampires Vs Zombies