The South’s General Hood was determined to destroy the Union Army before it reached Nashville. General Hood knew that his army would never be stronger and that the Union forces would never be weaker. His 23,000 men made a frontal attack against the Union’s 15,000 fortified forces on the commandeered Carter property. The Carter Family took refuge in their basement as the battle raged above them. The battle that began on that beautiful Indian Summer afternoon on November 30, 1864 lasted five hours. It was the only night battle of the Civil War, and in addition it was one of the smallest battlefields (only 2 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide). The Battle of Franklin saw the bloodiest and fiercest fighting of the Civil War. There were over 9,000 casualties between the two Armies. The fighting was brutal, hand-to-hand combat. The outer trenches were heaped with bodies five or six deep. The Union forces in spite of their overwhelming victory in an unprecedented move left their wounded. That night the temperature dropped and the wounded soldiers left on the field suffered terribly.
My imagination was captured as I toured the Carter House in Franklin Tennessee this past month. This historic home in an affluent area had been saved from the wrecking ball and revitalized as a museum—artfully restored.
My mind drew immediate comparisons between the Battle of Franklin and the current battle that rages in our culture for life, today.
1. The significant number of casualties. Since Roe V. Wade Supreme Court decision there has been 49.551.703 lives lost.
2. One of the wounded Union soldiers that managed to escape despite being wounded was Arthur MacArthur. Arthur MacArthur is US Army General Douglas MacArthur’s father. General Douglas MacArthur led America to victory against the Japanese forces in World War II. We leave our wounded and compromise our future by not speaking up for life. “Life is a lively process of becoming.” General Douglas MacArthur
3. The size of the battlefield. The battle for life rages in the heart of every man. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is the most deceitful thing there is, and desperately wicked. No one can really know how bad it is!” (The Living Bible) Today, the horrific scenes played out in and around the Carter property can only be imagined. However, historically scientifically the destruction and loss of life is well documented. “ I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.”
Douglas MacArthur
Resolve to speak up for life at every opportunity. This month people—the 54% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should not be legal can speak up by sending an empty red envelope to President Obama in protest to his pro-abortion policies. The empty envelope represents a life perhaps a Douglas MacArthur unable to make it to safety and left on the battlefield.
“One cannot wage war under present conditions without the support of public opinion, which is tremendously molded by the press and other forms of propaganda.” ---General Douglas MacArthur
