Battle of Nashville

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Battle of Nashville
Part of the American Civil War
Battle of Nashville.jpg
Federal outer line on December 16, 1864.
Date December 15, 1864 (1864-12-15) – December 16, 1864 (1864-12-16)
Location Davidson County, Tennessee
Result Union victory[1]
Belligerents
 United States (Union) Confederate States of America Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George H. Thomas John Bell Hood
Units involved
IV Corps
XXIII Corps
Army of the Tennessee		 Army of Tennessee
Strength
55,000[2] 30,000[2]
Casualties and losses
3,061
(387 killed
 2,558 wounded
 112 missing/captured)[2]
 approx. 6,000
(1,500 killed/wounded
 4,500 missing/captured)[2]

The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood and Federal forces under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas. In one of the largest victories achieved by the Union Army during the war, Thomas attacked and routed Hood's army, largely destroying it as an effective fighting force.

Contents

[edit] Background

Further information: Franklin-Nashville Campaign

Hood followed up his defeat in the Atlanta Campaign by moving northwest to disrupt the supply lines of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman from Chattanooga, hoping to challenge Sherman into a battle that could be fought to Hood's advantage. After a brief period of pursuit, Sherman decided to disengage and to conduct instead his March to the Sea, leaving the matter of Hood's army and the defense of Tennessee to Thomas. Hood devised a plan to march into Tennessee and defeat Thomas's force while it was geographically divided. He pursued Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's army from Pulaski to Columbia and then attempted to intercept and destroy it at Spring Hill. Because of a series of Confederate command miscommunications in the Battle of Spring Hill (November 29, 1864), Schofield was able to withdraw from Columbia and slip past Hood's army at Spring Hill relatively unscathed.[3]

Furious at his failure at Spring Hill, Hood pursued Schofield to the north and encountered the Federals at Franklin behind strong fortifications. In the Battle of Franklin on November 30, Hood ordered almost 20,000 of his men to assault the Federal works before Schofield could withdraw across the Harpeth River and escape to Nashville. The Union soldiers repulsed multiple assaults and inflicted over 6,000 casualties on the Confederates, which included a large number of key Confederate generals, doing heavy damage to the leadership of the Army of Tennessee.[4]

[edit] Opposing forces

Principal Union commanders
Principal Confederate commanders
Further information: Confederate order of battle and Union order of battle

[edit] Union

Schofield withdrew from Franklin during the night and marched into the defensive works of Nashville on December 1, there coming under the command of Thomas, who now had a combined force of approximately 55,000 men.[2] By and large, his troops were veterans, the IV Corps under Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood and Schofield's XXIII Corps having fought in the Atlanta campaign and Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith's "Detachment of the Army of the Tennessee" (the XVI Corps was redesignated with this unusual name on December 6) having fought at Vicksburg, in the Red River Campaign, at the Tupelo against Forrest (one of the very few times that Forrest was defeated), and in Missouri against Sterling Price. While Wilson's cavalry had combat experience, most of it had been of the wrong kind at the hands of Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Hunt Morgan, or Joe Wheeler. Only Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman's Division lacked experience. It was composed of garrison troops and railroad guards from Tennesee and Georgia and included eight regiments of United States Colored Troops.

Union forces had been constructing defensive works around Nashville since the time the city was occupied in 1862.[5] By 1864 a 7-mile-long semicircular Union defensive line on the south and west sides of the city protected Nashville from attacks from those directions. This line was studded with forts, the largest of which was Fort Negley. The trench line was extended to the west after December 1.[6] The Cumberland River formed a natural defensive barrier on the north and east sides of the city. Smith's troops had arrived by river on November 30 and their transports had been escorted by a powerful fleet of tinclad and ironclad gunboats; thus, the river barrier was well-defended.

From east to west the defensive line was manned by the Steedman's division, the XXIII Corps, the IV Corps, and Smith's XVI Corps Detachment. [7] Given the fact that the Federal Army was composed of troops from the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the Ohio, the Army of the Tennessee, the District of Etowah, and the Post of Nashville, the force in Nashville had no official name. [8]

[edit] Confederate

Hood's army arrived south of the city on December 2 and took up positions facing the Union forces within the city. Not nearly strong enough to assault the Federal fortifications, Hood opted for the defensive. Rather than repeating his fruitless frontal attack at Franklin, he entrenched and waited, hoping that Thomas would attack him. Then, after Thomas smashed his army against the Confederate entrenchments, Hood could counterattack and take Nashville.[9]

The Confederate line of about 4 miles of fortifications faced the southerly facing portion of the Union line (the part occupied by Steedman and Schofield). From right to left were the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham, Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, and Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart. Cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers was off to the southwest of the city.[10] The Confederate left flank was secured by five small detached redoubts, each having two to four guns with garrisons of about 150 men each. [11]

Hood made a strategic error of considerable proportion before the battle. On December 2, he sent the three brigades of William B. Bate's Division of Cheatham's Corps to attack the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad between Nashville and Murfreesboro as well as the Federal garrison in the latter city.[12] Three days later he sent an additional two brigades of infantry and two divisions of cavalry, all under Forrest's command, to reinforce Bate.[13] Hood believed that this diversion would draw Thomas out of the Nashville fortifications, allowing Hood to either defeat Thomas in detail or to seize Nashville by a coup de main once its garrison was depleted. [14] While the railroad between Nashville and Murfreesboro was broken in a number of places, the Murfreesboro garrison drove off the Confederates in the Third Battle of Murfreesboro (also called the Battle of the Cedars) on December 7. [15] Thomas was not fooled by this diversion, and remained in his fortifications until he was ready too attack on his own terms. Though Bate's Division and one of the two attached infantry brigades returned to Nashville, Hood had further diminished his already weaker force, and also deprived his army of its strongest and most mobile unit, Forrest and his cavalry.[16]

[edit] Thomas prepares to attack

Although Thomas's forces were stronger, he could not ignore Hood's army. Despite the severe beating it had suffered at Franklin, Hood's Army of Tennessee presented a threat by its mere presence and ability to maneuver. Thomas knew he had to attack, but he prepared cautiously. His Cavalry Corps, commanded by the energetic young Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson was poorly armed and mounted, and he did want to proceed to a decisive battle without an effective cavalry corps to protect his flanks. This was particularly important since Wilson would be facing the imcomparable Forrest. Refitting the cavalry took time.[17]

In the meantime, Washington fumed at the seeming procrastination. When Sherman proposed his March to the Sea, Grant and Halleck had objected to it on the basis that Hood would use the opportunity to invade Tennessee. In response, Sherman airily indicated that this was exactly what he wanted and that if Hood "continues to march North, all the way to Ohio, I will supply him with rations." However, when the ever-confident Sherman disappeared into the heart of Georgia, Grant once again became concerned about an invasion of Kentucky or Ohio. Grant later said of the situation, "If I had been Hood, I would have gone to Louisville and on north until I came to Chicago." His concern doubtless reflected Lincoln's concern; Lincoln had little patience for slow generals and remarked of the situation, "This seems like the McClellan and Rosecrans strategy of do nothing and let the rebels raid the country."[18] Unbeknownst to Thomas his subordinate Schofield was apparently feeding Grant a steady stream of negative reports, probably in the hope that he would be named to succeed Thomas. [19].

While pressure from Washington continued, a bitter ice storm struck Nashville on December 8 which precluded any offensive action. Sub-freezing weather continued through December 12.[20] This was explained to Grant, but when Thomas had still not moved by December 13, Grant directed that Maj. Gen. John A. Logan proceed to Nashville and assume command if, upon his arrival, Thomas had not yet initiated operations. Logan made it as far as Louisville by December 15, but on that day the Battle of Nashville had finally begun.[21] Grant himself left Petersburg on December 14 to take personal command and had only gotten as far as Washington when the battle began. He proceeded no further.[22]

[edit] Battle

[edit] Naval Actions.

On December 7, 1864 the USS Neosho, a powerful river monitor, engaged the Confederate batteries at Bell’s Bend. This sketch shows the ironclad moving upstream, firing on the batteries on the north bank of the river.

The Confederates set up batteries at Bell’s Bend on the Cumberland River below Nashville on December 2, 1864. They met with immediate success, capturing that day two Federal transports carrying horses, mules and fodder. The Federal naval squadron at Nashville responded on the night of December 3 – 4. While the bulk of the squadron engaged the upper battery, two ships, the ironclad Carondelet and the tinclad Fairplay, proceeded to the lower battery where they recaptured and brought off the two transports.[23]

The Federal squadron commander, LTCDR LeRoy Fitch was directed to break the river blockade. On December 7 he took his two heaviest ships, the ironclad Carondelet and the river monitor Neosho downstream to engage the batteries. The action was inconclusive though the Neosho sustained considerable superficial damage. Two Neosho sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for going out onto the shell swept deck and raising the ship’s flag that had been knocked down. [24]

The Confederate batteries effectively closed the river below Nashville to supply traffic until they were driven off by Federal cavalry on December 15.

[edit] December 15

Battle of Nashville
  Confederate
  Union

Thomas finally came out of his fortifications on December 15 to start a two-phase attack on the Confederates. Although troop movements began as early as 4 a.m., heavy fog in the area delayed the first enemy contact until 8 a.m. The initial, but secondary, attack was by Steedman on the Confederate right flank. His division included two brigades of United States Colored Troops. Steedman's attack was repelled in short order, but his presence on the Confederate flank kept Cheatham on the Confederate right occupied for the rest of the day. The main attack was by Smith, Wood, and Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson (commanding two cavalry divisions) against the enemy's left flank, which was exposed because Hood had sent most of Forrest's cavalry to Murfreesboro. The one cavalry division remaining -- under Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers -- was scattered by Wilson's cavalry. The main attack wheeled left to a line parallel to the Hillsboro Pike. By noon, the main advance had reached the pike, and Wood prepared to assault the Confederate outposts on Montgomery Hill, near the center of the line. Hood became concerned about the threat on his left flank and ordered Lee to send reinforcements to Stewart. Wood's corps took Montgomery Hill in a charge by Brig. Gen. Samuel Beatty's division.[25]

At about 1 p.m., there was a salient in Hood's line at Stewart's front. Thomas ordered Wood to attack the salient, supported by Schofield and Wilson. By 1:30 p.m., Stewart's position along the pike became untenable; the attacking force was overwhelming. Stewart's corps broke and began to retreat toward the Granny White Turnpike. However, Hood was able to regroup his men toward nightfall in preparation for the battle the next day. The Union cavalry under Wilson had been unable to put enough force on the turnpike to hamper the Confederate movement, since many of its troopers were participating as dismounted infantry in the assault. The exhausted Confederates dug in all night, awaiting the arrival of the Federals. The new line was in the Brentwood Hills, extending from Shy's Hill to Overton Hill, covering his two main routes of retreat—the Granny White Pike and the Franklin Pike. Hood moved troops from Cheatham on the right flank to reinforce his left.[26]

[edit] December 16

It took most of the morning on December 16 for the Federals to move into position against Hood's new line, which had been reduced to about 2 miles in length. Once again, Thomas planned a two-phase attack but concentrated on Hood's left. Schofield was to drive back Cheatham, and Wilson's cavalry was to swing to the rear to block the Franklin Pike, Hood's only remaining route of withdrawal. At noon, Wood and Steedman attacked Lee on Overton's Hill, but without success. On the left, Wilson's dismounted cavalry was exerting pressure on the line.[27]

At 4 p.m., Cheatham, on Shy's Hill, was under assault from three sides, and his corps broke and fled to the rear. Wood took this opportunity to renew his attack on Lee on Overton's Hill, and this time the momentum was overwhelming. Darkness fell, and heavy rain began. Hood collected his forces and withdrew to the south toward Franklin.[28]

[edit] Aftermath

Casualties from the two-day battle were 3,061 Union (387 killed, 2,558 wounded, and 112 missing or captured) and approximately 6,000 Confederate (1,500 killed or wounded, 4,500 missing or captured).[2] The Battle of Nashville was one of the most stunning tactical victories achieved by either side in a major engagement in the war. The formidable Army of Tennessee, the second largest Confederate force, was effectively destroyed as a fighting force. Hood's army entered Tennessee with more than 30,000 men, but left with 15–20,000.[29]

The Union army set off in pursuit of Hood. The rainy weather became an ally to the Confederates, delaying the Union cavalry pursuit, and Forrest was able to rejoin Hood on December 18, screening the retreating force. The pursuit continued until the beaten and battered Army of Tennessee recrossed the Tennessee River on December 25. On Christmas Eve, Forrest had turned back Wilson's pursuing cavalry at the Battle of Anthony's Hill.[30]

The Battle of Nashville marked the effective end of the Army of Tennessee. Historian David Eicher remarked, "If Hood mortally wounded his army at Franklin, he would kill it two weeks later at Nashville."[31] Although Hood blamed the entire debacle on his subordinates and the soldiers themselves, his career was over. He retreated with his army to Tupelo, Mississippi, resigned his command on January 13, 1865, and was not given another field command.[32]

[edit] Battlefield Preservation

The Nashville battlefield is huge by Civil War standards, encompassing almost all of south and west Nashville. Nashvillians who live in the Green Hills, Forest Hills, Oak Hill, Lipscomb, or Brentwood neighborhoods are living on top of a battlefield.

In the earlier part of the twentieth century there was some talk of creating a National Battlefield Park in Nashville. This movement failed due to lack of support from Nashville’s civic leaders, who as Southerners were not particularly interested in commemorating a battle that was such a profound Confederate defeat. [33] As a result, much like Atlanta, most of the Nashville battlefield has been lost to development. However, the battle is memorialized and small parts of it have been preserved.

Battlefield memorials.

The Battle of Nashville Monument is now located at the intersection of Granny White Pike and Clifton Avenue

A Battle of Nashville monument was created in 1927 by Giuseppe Moretti, who was commissioned by the Ladies Battlefield Association. Erected in the years immediately following World War I, the monument honors the soldiers of both sides and celebrated a united nation. The monument was severely damaged by a tornado in 1974, and during the 1980s interstate highway construction left the monument landlocked on a small plot of ground overlooking the massive highway interchange of I-65 and I-440. [34] In 1999 the monument was relocated to the Nashville Battlefield Park at the intersection of Granny White Pike and Clifton Avenue, just north the Confederate line on the first day of the battle.

The Minnesota Monument at the Nashville National Cemetery.

Minnesota Monument. In 1920 the State of Minnesota erected a large monument in the Nashville National Cemetery honoring its soldiers who were buried there. Minnesota lost more men at the Battle of Nashville than in any other Civil War battle.

The monument to the United States Colored Troops at Nashville National Cemetery

United States Colored Troops Monument. In 2006 a group of private citizens erected a monument in the Nashville National Cemetery honoring soldiers of the Unted States colored Troops buried there, many of whom fought in the Battle of Nashville.

Shy’s Hill Memorial. Erected by the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, this honors the troops of both sides who fought on and around Shy’s Hill. The memorial consists of three flags, an American flag, a Confederate national flag, and a Minnesota state flag (honoring the four regiments of Minnesotans who were instrumental in capturing the hill).

Historic Homes and Buildings.

Belle Meade Plantation. Served as Confederate General James Chalmers’ headquarters. A skirmish was fought in the front lawn, and bullet marks are visible on the columns at the front of the home.

Belmont Mansion. Served as Union General Thomas Woods’ headquarters.

Travellers Rest. Served as headquarters of the Army of Tennessee.

Sunnyside. This ante-bellum home in the 12 South District of Nashville lay between the Union and Confederate lines. It was used as a hospital after the first day's battle. It is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Historical Commission and has not been restored.

Glen Leven. This Greek Revival home on Franklin Pike was built in 1857. It was used as a hospital by the Federals during and after the battle. The home and the surrounding 65 acres were donated by the Thompson family to the Land Trust for Tennessee in 2007. It is closed to the public except for special events.[35]

Downtown Presbyterian Church. Served as a hospital after the battle.

Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation.

Fort Negley. This large masonry fortification was built in 1862 -1863 by African-Americans forcibly impressed by the Federal military government. Guns placed there fired the first shots in the battle. [36] The fort is a ruin, but has been stabilized and interpreted.[37]

Nashville City Cemetery. Union dead from the battle (and some Confederate dead) were buried in an annex to this beautiful ante-bellum cemetery.[38]

Kelley’s Point. This is a short but attractive greenway that runs from a Lowe’s Super Center parking lot on Charlotte Pike at its intersection with Davidson Road to the site of a Confederate battery on the Cumberland River. The remains of gun revetments are faintly visible.[39]

Privately owned but publically accessible sites.

Granbury’s Lunette. Owned by the Joseph E. Johnston Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Located at 190 Polk Avenue. Played an important role in repelling the Federal attack on the Confederate right on the first day of the battle. Although the lunette was partly destroyed by railroad construction in the early 1900’s, what remains is very impressive.[40]

Redoubt No. 1. Owned by the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society. Captured in the first day of the battle by troops from the IV Corps and XVI Corps. Located on Benham Avenue in Green Hills. This has been preserved and interpreted. Earthworks are clearly visible.[41]

Redoubt No. 4. The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society has an historic easement on the remnants of this fortification, consisting of the remnants of its northern face. It is located in the Abbottsford development off of Abbott – Martin Road in Green Hills. The remainder of the redoubt, which extended to Hobbs Road, was destroyed during home construction in the 1950’s.

Shy’s Hill. This is owned by the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society and is located just off of Battery Lane on Benton Smith Drive. Its fall on the second day of the battle precipitated the Confederate rout. It is well-interpreted. Earthworks on top of the hill were destroyed when a water tower (now removed) was erected in the early 1950’s; Confederate trench lines on the east and south slopes are clearly visible.[42]

Mount Olivet Cemetery. Under the direction of the Ladies' Memorial Society of Nashville, Confederates killed or mortally wounded in the battle were removed from battlefield graves and City Cemetery in 1868 and reinterred at Confederate Circle at Mount Olivet. A large manument was erected on the site in 1889.

Driving tour.

The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society has published a downloadable self-guided driving tour.[43]Members of the Society provide guided battlefield tours for a fee.[44]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ NPS
  2. ^ a b c d e f Eicher, p. 780.
  3. ^ Kennedy, pp. 389–95.
  4. ^ Kennedy, pp. 395–96; Esposito, text to map 152.
  5. ^ McDonough, pp. 132 - 133
  6. ^ Sword, pp. 274 - 276
  7. ^ Welcher, p. 600; Sword, p. 449; Eicher, pp. 775–76
  8. ^ Welcher, pp. 611; Sword, p. 448; Jacobson, p. 452.
  9. ^ McPherson, p. 194.
  10. ^ Welcher, p. 601; Eicher, p. 776; Niven, p. 121; McPherson, p. 195; Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Armies, vol. XLV, p. 764.
  11. ^ McDonough, pp. 181 - 182
  12. ^ Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Armies, vol. XLV, p. 744
  13. ^ Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Armies, vol. XLV, pp. 745, 755.
  14. ^ Sword, p. 281
  15. ^ Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Armies, vol. XLV pp. 617-618, 746, 755
  16. ^ Sword, pp. 293–95; McPherson, p. 195; Niven, pp. 125–26; Kennedy, p. 396; Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Armies, vol XLV, p.747.
  17. ^ McPherson, p. 195; Sword, p. 289; Niven, p. 123; Eicher, p. 776.
  18. ^ Sword, p. 278.
  19. ^ Bobrick, B, (2009) "Master of War: The Life of General George H Thomas"
  20. ^ Sword, pp. 302 - 303
  21. ^ Kennedy, p. 397; Sword, p. 312; Welcher, p. 602; Eicher, p. 776; Esposito, map 153.
  22. ^ Sword, pp. 319 - 320
  23. ^ Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Navies, Series 1, Vol. XXVI, pp. 641 – 643
  24. ^ Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Navies, Series 1, Vol. XXVI, pp. 649 – 652]]
  25. ^ Niven, p. 126; McPherson, pp. 196–97; Welcher, pp. 602–05; Sword, pp. 321–29; Eicher, pp. 776–77;
  26. ^ McPherson, pp. 197–203; Welcher, pp. 605–08; Sword, pp. 331–44; Niven, pp. 130–33; Esposito, map 153; Eicher, p. 777; Kennedy, p. 397.
  27. ^ Sword, pp. 348–65; McPherson, pp. 203–05; Welcher, pp. 608–09; Esposito, map 154; Eicher, p. 779; Niven, pp. 134–37.
  28. ^ McPherson, pp. 205–07; Niven, pp. 137–44; Sword, pp. 369–80; Welcher, pp. 609–10; Eicher, p. 779; Kennedy, p. 397.
  29. ^ Jacobson, p. 428: the field returns for Hood's army on January 20, 1865, listed 20,700 effectives. Jacobson surmises that missing men from Franklin and Nashville gradually rejoined the army during and after its retreat.
  30. ^ Welcher, p. 610; McPherson, pp. 207–8.
  31. ^ Eicher, p. 775.
  32. ^ Esposito, map 153; Niven, p. 144; Kennedy, p. 397.
  33. ^ [Smith, Timothy B. "Civil War Battlefield Preservation in Tennessee: A Nashville National Military Park Case Study," Tennessee Historical Quarterly, vol. LXIV (2005), 236-247]
  34. ^ [McDonough, pp.277-279]
  35. ^ http://www.bonps.org/glen-leven-estate/
  36. ^ [McDonough, p. 158; Sword, p. 328]
  37. ^ http://www.bonps.org/fort-negley/
  38. ^ http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/
  39. ^ http://www.bonps.org/kelleys-battery/
  40. ^ http://www.bonps.org/features/granburys-lunette/
  41. ^ http://www.bonps.org/confederate-redoubt-no-1/
  42. ^ http://www.bonps.org/shys-hill/
  43. ^ [1]
  44. ^ [2]

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 36°05′17″N 86°48′35″W / 36.0881°N 86.8098°W / 36.0881; -86.8098
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