Franklin was one to miss if you were going to miss one allright. The unit I am most interested in, the 63rd Virginia Infantry, was guarding the ordinance train during the fight along with the rest of Palmer's Brigade. Accounts by some of its members tell of hearing the noise of the battle and seeing the results the next day, Dec. 1.

Pvt. Calvin Livesay, co. C, 63rd virginia Infantry wrote many years later:

“I knew there was severe fighting going on, for I had never heard such cannonading.” Livesay was on the battlefield the following day and saw the vast numbers of dead and “was able to step from one to the other without touching the ground.” “This was one of Hood’s rash moves, not caring how many men he sacrificed. He was a born general, but inhumanly heartless when it came to the battlefield.” according to Livesay

Although the 63rd Va. Inf. Regt. , as a whole, was not an active participant in the Battle of Franklin, some of its men were detailed as stretcher bearers and sustained casualties.

A Tennessee soldier wrote:
"Daylight has come there is no enemy near us and we now look for ded and wounded which are many oh how bad I feel to look at my comrades torn to peaces by those missels of death one of my old company was killed ded they are all buried side by side and ech grave was marked it is horable thought ti think of the many friends we leave on the battle field the enemys loss was very heavy we killed a great many the ground was covered with blew coats we have got our men all buried we now take a little rest as we have not taken any in two days and nights."

Resinor Etter...Co. H, 16th Tenn. Vol. Inf. Regt.

Any unit not involved at Franklin was fortunate. But these units later suffered dearly at Nashville and in the retreat.

Len