The Herald-Chronicle September 3, 2004 The fighting was fierce, rifles gave way to bayonets and bayonets gave way to hand-to-hand combat at the man-made earthworks of Franklin -with U.S. soldiers earning 12 Medals of Honor for their actions under fire in the five-hour battle. The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest military award. It was first created in 1863 to honor actions above and beyond the call of duty on the battlefield............. .............."Tennessee had a number of native recipients of the Medal from the Civil War. In the Tennessee campaign of 1864, you had a Naval recipient named John Ferrell from Bedford County and Harrison Collins from Hancock County - the only Melungeon in U.S. history to ever receive the nation's highest award." http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12843583&BRD=1614&PAG=461&dept_id=51 5334&rfi=6