At 4 o'clock a. m. November 30, by direction of General Stanely, the division took up the line of march for Franklin, and was charged with the duty of protecting the rear of the army. For this purpose I caused the Second and Third Brigades to march in parallel columns along the road and directed Colonel Opdycke to move in line of battle to bring up the rear, and in doing so to bring forward all stragglers belonging to the army. The command moved off in good order. The enemy began skirmishing with the rear of Colonel Opdycke early in the morning, but we reached the vicinity of Franklin without accident or loss. When the rear of the division reached Stevens' Hill, two miles south of Franklin, General Stanely sent me an order to halt and allow the troops to get breakfast. I placed Colonel Opdycke's brigade in position in the gap and on the high point east of the pike, with a section of artillery, to check the advance of the enemy, who was pursuing us at this time-Colonel Lane's brigade being put in position on Colonel Opdycke's left, and Colonel Conrad going into line ot the left of Colonel Lane, General Whitaker's brigade, of the First Division, occupying the heights on the right of the pike. The enemy soon appeared in our front in heavy force, and the command was put under arms to be ready to repel an attack. Soon after these dispositions were made I observed the troops from its advanced portion on the heights and followed on toward town. When within half a mile of town I met a staff officer from General Stanley, with written orders directing me to reoccupy the heights and hold them unless too severely pressed. In obedience to this order I returned to the position from which I had just withdrawn my command, except that I now detached one regiment from Colonel Lane's brigade. These dispositions were scarcely completed when Colonel Opdycke sent a messenger to report to me that the enemy was moving two heavy columns of infantry against outline, one by each of the two pikes leading into Franklin, one column turning my left flank. I thereupon again withdrew my command and retired toward the main line of our troops, which surrounded the town, and sent an officer of my staff to notify General Stanley of my movement. I directed Colonel Lane's brigade and section of artillery to go into position on the hill to the right of the pike, about one mile north of Stevens' Hill, where he remained skirmishing with the enemy till his right flank was about to be turned, when I directed him to leave a heavy line of skirmishers to hold the hill as long as possible, and to withdraw his brigade and go into position on the right of the Third Brigade, which had been formed on the left of the pike about 400 yards in advance of our main line, at the same time placing a section of artillery on the pike between these two brigades. The commanders of the Second and Third Brigades, Colonels Lane and Conrad, were now directed to hold their position long enough to develop the force of the enemy, but not to attempt to fight if threatened by the enemy in too strong a force. The skirmishers in Colonel Lane's front elf their ground that quarter and did not reach his lines till after they had made their attack upon Colonel Conrad.

At about 4 p. m. the enemy had driven in our skirmishers and began the attack in heavy columns; their onset was so sudden that Colonel Conrad found his brigade heavily engaged and about to be flanked before he could withdraw his line. His men fought gallantry, refusing to retire till completely flanked and driven out of their hastily thrown