It was the bloodiest five hours in Tennessee history. On November 30, 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee charged into a well-entrenched Union force on the outskirts of the town of Franklin. Wave after wave of men in gray uniforms came, shoulder to shoulder, straight into musket, rifle and cannon fire. Some of them made it close enough to fire back and engage their enemy in hand-to-hand combat. Some of them even broke through for a brief time but were repulsed.