Oh what a night for any but veterans. The weather drizzled til about 3 p.m. when it set in to rain in earnest and continued to pour down till late this afternoon. The first thing I saw on waking up was a sea of mud and water all around me, and when I got up water soon ran into the depression where I had slept. As soon as the men began moving around, the soft earth became a perfect lob, which we had to cook, eat and stand around near 4 p.m. when we moved over to Franklin and camp on the old battleground which is dotted with many graves of the slain of 18 days ago. I went up to see the old works where we lay during the fight. We are camped on solid grassy ground. The night is cool and I think freezing but we are made comfortable by our camp stove which my boy carries and we have a plank to sleep on. Crossing the bridge a man fell off but was near enough to shore to scramble out safe but was bad scared.
A,L. Ewing diary entry for Dec 19, 1864
Source: The Eli Lilly Library, Indiana University
The Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864 
I have followed this battle fervently, I have read the book ”The Widow of the South,” By Robert Hicks. What fabulous Americans both sides were. What a woman Carrie McGavock was and all the people who participated in that era and location. Thank you for the information you have given me. Lee T. Martin. Akron,ohio.