Maj. Gen. Frank Cheatham

[jkBluesman]

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Cheatham (b. 1820, d. 1886). Usually called Frank, Cheatham was a capable officer who rose early to the rank of major general though he was not military educated. Born in Nashville, Tennessee he quit his plantation work to fight in the Mexican-American War as volunteer officer. The Gold Rush of 1849 brought him to California, however, he returned after four years to Tennessee, where he became a planter again. Cheatham was involved in local politics and in the state militia, in which he held the rank of major general at the outbrake of the Civil War. Commissioned brigadier general of the Confederate States Army on July 9, 1861, he saw first action at Belmont, Missouri. There, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had successfully attacked Confederate forces on November 7, but the Southern reinforcements forced him to withdraw; Cheatham receiving the Thanks of Congress for his performance. In March 1862 the promotion to major general followed. At Shiloh, Cheatham led a division in Gen. Leonidas Polk’s corps and was wounded in the bloody battle. Returning in time for the defence of Corinth, Mississippi Cheatham and his division participated subsequently in the invasion of Kentucky. While the general performed well at the lost Battle of Perryville, he was criticised for his ill-coordinated actions at Murfreesboro after the army’s retreat to Tennessee. At Chickamauga (September 18-20, 1863), Cheatham’s division was held in reserve and saw only slightly action before the close of the Confederate victory. Its commander rose to corps command one week later nevertheless. In that capacity he served from the battles for Chattanooga through the Atlanta Campaign of 1864 being wounded in the fighting around Ezra Church (July 28, 1864). Cheatham recovered in time to command a corps during Gen. John B. Hood’s invasion of Tennessee. He played a conspicuous role in the Battle of Spring Hill (November 29), where Union Gen. John Schofield’s almost trapped forces slipped away during the night. Hood blamed his corps commander, but he had contributed himself to the Federal escape by issuing unclear orders and retiring too early from the battlefield. After the defeats at Franklin and Nashville, Cheatham served under Gen. Joseph Johnston in the Carolinas for the rest of the war, surrendering on April 26, 1865. In his postwar life Cheatham ran unsuccessfully for a Congress seat in 1872, served as superintendent of the Tennessee state prison and postmaster of Nashville until his death in 1886. He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Ldr: 4
Tact: 4
Init: 3
Cmd: 4
Cav: 0

Teaches: Steady, Chargers

[Gil R.]

Thanks.