Battle of Nashville
(December 15- 16, 1864)
The Angel Of Peace Tops The Battle Of Nashville Monument.
The spirit of youth holds in check the contending forces that struggled here in the fierce Battlw Of Nashville. Dec. 15-16, 1864 sealing for ever the bond of union by the blood of our heroic dead of the world war 1917-1918
A monument like this on such memories, having no refrence to utilities, becomes a sentiment, a poet, a prophet a orator to every passerby.
"Oh, valorus gray, in the grave of your fate, Oh glorious blue in the long dead years, you were sown in sorrow and harrowed in hate, but your harvest today is a nation's tears. For the message you left through the land has sped from the lips of god to the heart of man: Let the past be past, Let the dead be bead,- Now and forever, America!"
Erected A.D. 1926 by the Ladies Battlefield Memorial Association aided by contributions from patriotic citizens, The state of Tennessee and the county of Davidson
Dec. 9 - 14, 1864
Friday Dec. 09, 1864
Major stom hits the nashville area with cruel intensity. A cold dismal dawn gave way to string winds and dark forbidding clouds.
(U.S.)At 10 am a Lt. said it was so dark in his tent that he was not able to see the lines on his stationery upon which to write. Then the rain began , but the temp. was so cold that it began freezing as it fell. Soon the rain turned to sleet and by noon it was snowing. "the south has cought a terrible cold," - observed a cold and grim Michigan officer.
(C.S.) Most men of the AOT burned cedar fense rails to keep warm
Saturday Dec. 10, 1864
Northwest wind continued to blow, and it was so cold that the snow became heavily crusted and frozen.
(C.S.) The AOT's supply of fuel became so depleted that Gen. Hood was compelled to order the withdraw of Lee's and Stewart's corps "a short distance" in order to cut wood Already so many carpets were being taken from, houses and cut into blankets that the entire neighborhood seemed bare-floored.
(C.S.) In ample tents in a grove by John Overtons residence, Gen . Hood's Staff are finding things "quite pleasant" an acting Assistant Adj. Gen reported, "We had an abundance of good food, beef, muton, pork, flour & potatoes. At the door of our tent stood a barrel of Robertson Co. whisky for the solace . . . of our mess."
(C.S.) One of the Confederates army's most serious problems was a lack of shoes. "There were 4,000 + barefooted soldiers in the AOT," estimated one of Gen. Hood's men.
(C.S.) In Bate's Div, marching to Nashville from Murfreesboro on Dec. 10, the want of shoes was so acute, "every pair of shoes which could be found" was impressed. So desperate were Bate's men that civilians began doling out used shoes. At one Brig HQ a shoe shop was etablised, " not to make shoes," but to "take an old worn out pair of shoes and sew moccasins over them of fresh cut Cow hide with the hair side in." Due to heat of the body the hide would eventually dry and shrink to a close fit. Some 20 pairs were turned out each day per brigade, said a staff officer.
Sunday Dec. 11, 1864 "Cold Sunday"
The thermometer dropped to perhaps 10 deg. below zero.. Still a strong Northwest wind continuing to gust across the frozen fields piled with 3 to 4 inces of snow and ice
Monday Dec. 12, 1864
(U.S.) Intense Cold .. .. It was hard work just to stay warm, complained a soldier, and guards had to be posted over every rail or log in the federal camp due to the scarcity of firewood. Fortunatly, "the boys managed to still enough wood... to keep from freezing, " reported an Iowa Sgt.
(U.S.)One Ohio Corp informed his wife that he emanaged to keep "passably comortable" in his tent. Looking out across the frozen terrain at the enemy lines, he relized that "the Rebel soldiers.. are not as well provided for as we are," He noted, "our scouts reported seeing Rebels frozen to death," and added, " I do not feel rejoicing at their sufferings only so far as it tends to prosper our cause For I do not Consider them as personal enimies Only as the enemies of a goverment."
(C.S.)"We were without tents, and but one old worn blanket to each man with to cover at night," wrote a Confederate soldier of the 19th Tn Inf. "Our haggard ranks are thinly clad and most with out overcoats.. All sleep without cover on the frozen ground and some have nothing whatever to keep on our sore and bleeding feet."
(C.S.)Out on the wind swept olain in front of nashville the men of Cheatham's Corps listed to the city clock strike on the hr. throughtout the long and frigid night. Visible along the the picket line in front were the bodies of several dead Confederate soldiers killed in skirmish firing. Their bodies were to exposed to recover and they remained visible for all to see, "Frozen as as hard as a log."
(C.S.) Bate's infantrymen, nearly one-fourth of whom are still barefooted, upon the return to the army about Dec. 12 had trudged across the ice- ground, "Leaving a bloody trail along the way"
Tuesday Dec. 13, 1864
(U.S.) Two Brigades of Federal troops under Col. Malloys and Col. Thompson (abt 3000 men combined) marched out of Murfreesbro and skirmished with with Cheatham's men .
(U.S.) "We should almost have . . . cut steps in the icy covering of the hillside to get to the enemy. . . I should have got along gaily on skates today," wrote an officer of Thompson's command.
Wednesday Dec. 14, 1864
(U.S.) "The ice having melted away today, the enemy will be attacked tomorrow morning. Much as I regret the apparent delay in attacking the enemy, it could not have been done before with any resonable hope of success because of the Storm," Gen Thomas
After the battles for Chattanooga, Union troops pursued the Confederate forces to Atlanta, Georgia. After four unsuccessful attacks against the Union, Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood abandoned Atlanta in September 1864 and retreated into Alabama. There Hood devised an ambitious plan to cut off Union supply lines coming south from Tennessee and starve the Union troops in Georgia into surrender. He planned to take Nashville, which had been occupied by the Federals since early 1862, and then move toward Louisville before joining Gen. Robert E. Lee in Virginia for the Confederacy grand assault on Washington, D.C.
If Confederate General John Bell Hood had intentionally tried to destroy his army and lose the campaign to take back Tennessee, he could hardly have done a more efficient job. He entered the state with an effective force of about 34,000 men, including Forrest cavalry.
After the Battle of Franklin (Nov. 30, 1864), he had just 26,000 left. Before arriving outside Fortress Nashville,he further weakened his small army. He sent Forrest with most of the cavalry, reinforced by detachments of infantry, to deal with U.S. forces at Fortress Rosecrans outside Murfreesboro. He even sent a depleted brigade of Missouri Confederate regiments off to build a fort on the Tennessee River.
This left only about 21,000 men at Nashville. He knew the city had been heavily fortified by the U.S. Army, and he could not make another offensive strike like at Franklin. Instead, he threw up defensive works, roughly parallel to today I-440, and waited to be attacked.
He hoped to defeat any attacks, then counterattack, and retake the city. Even a victorious defense typically results in enough confusion to rule out immediate counterattacks. So, his plan had very little chance of success.
Hood worsened his situation by making his lines too long. To repel an assault it is desireable to maximize firepower along your lines. Hood main line was about five miles long. There were about 20,000 men behind it as his remaining cavalry was detached on his flanks. He had an average of about 4,000 men per mile.
In comparison, at Gettysburg, the U.S. Army had four times as many men in only three miles, for an average of 27,000 men per mile. Hood might have learned a lesson about maximization of firepower, as he had attacked those lines at Gettysburg and had his arm shattered by a bullet.
George Thomas The Federals Concentrate in Nashville
Opposing Hoods thin, ragged line was U.S. General George Thomas and his large, well-equipped army. During this time, Sherman was carrying on an incendiary campaign against the citizens and businesses of Georgia, but before setting on, he had detached Thomas to deal with Hood. Thomases job was to assemble an army to hold Nashville and destroy Hood.
The basis of this army was Schofields forces,which had battled Hood at Franklin. While they delayed Hood, Thomas had time to pull in various detachments scattered about Tennessee and surrounding states. An entire Army corps was brought from Missouri by a fleet of steamboats. A huge cavalry corps of over 12,000 effectives was organized. Their critical role in the battle was enhanced by a new invention, repeater rifles.
In all, U.S. forces exceeded 70,000 soldiers. Over 55,000 men were used offensively against Hood, while the rest held the fortifications around Nashville.
Yet, for two weeks this army was unable to move, being held up by an early, unseasonable storm of ice and snow. While they waited for a thaw, housed in barracks and tents, Hoods army waited as well, though with less favorable surroundings.
Suffering and Hardships in the Cold
Valley Forge has long symbolized the pain and suffering endured by the Continental Army in the American colonists successful attempt to gain their independence from Britain. Similarly, the Battle of Nashville and the subsequent retreat from Tennessee may well symbolize the Confederate soldiers misery in their unsuccessful attempt to secure independence from the United States.
Consider that George Washingtons men lacked sufficient food and clothing. He estimated that about 26 percent of his men lacked shoes while snowbound there. Some estimates of shoeless Confederates at Nashville range up to 33 percent. A Mississippi colonel said his heart almost bled seeing the traces of blood on the ground, left from the barefoot feet of our brave soldiers.
A Georgia lieutenant had a detail of 80 men, and said, "Not a man in that company had shoes on his feet, and many were without a blanket." A Tennessean said, "We bivouac on the cold and hard-frozen ground, and when we walk about, the echo of our footsteps sound like the echo of a tombstone. The earth is crusted with snow, and the wind from the northwest is piercing our very bones. We can see our ragged soldier, with sunken cheeks and famine glistening eyes.
While camped at Valley Forge, the Continental Army fought no battles, and found enough timber to contruct log cabins. The unlucky Confederates found themselves encamped on cleared agricultural land, previously stripped of most of its remaining timber by the U.S. Army.
How did they survive?
In 1983, archaeologists digging along the I-440 route provided some answers. They found hearths at only six foot intervals. It is easy to believe a Florida Confederate who said he experienced the coldest weather of his life at Nashville. Civilians See Soldiers as Their Saviors Another similarity between Nashville and Valley Forge is the commitment of soldiers from a wide geographic area. The Continental Army had men from all 13 colonies at Valley Forge. Of the eleven Confederate states, only Virginia was not represented at Nashville.
The Old Dominion state had troubles of its own in the city of Richmond. Robert E. Lee knew his ragged army could not hold out indefinitely. Though Virginia was not represented, her sister state of Maryland was, with an artillery battery. Actually, Maryland wanted to be a Confederate state, but Abraham Lincoln had jailed their pro-secession legislators, and even the mayor of Baltimore, to prevent it.
One sad dissimilarity between Valley Forge and Nashville was the citizenship. The determined colonial solider found the region about their camp, outside Philadelphia, unfriendly to them. The citizens around Nashville, on the other hand, were quite friendly. Having endured the occupation by U.S. troops for more than two-and-a-half years, they viewed the Confederate soldiers as their saviors.
Homes all across the countryside welcomed the army. General Hood had excellent accommodations at Travelers Rest. Mrs. John Overton said having the Confederate generals dine at her table was the proudest moment of her life. Over at Belle Meade, the cavalry general Chalmers and his staff were treated to snow ice cream.
Haunting Memories of Slaughter
With so many hardships to endure, the Confederate soldier was also burdened with the haunting recent memory of Franklin. They had previously suffered high casualties. In the two days of fighting at Shiloh, the Confederate army had 1,728 killed. Two days of Chickamauga left 2,312 killed. These battlefields covered over 4,000 heavily wooded acres, so that the full impact of the carnage was diluted.
But at Franklin, 1,750 Confederates were killed in one evening, and nearly all in one relatively small, open space, the Carter House lawn and farmyard. After seeing this pointless waste of their friends and relatives, they were expected to fight the Battle of Nashville.
Before sunrise, on Thursday, December 15, 1864, General Thomas walked down to the lobby of the Hotel Saint Cloud. He checked out, paying his bill, as if he didn't anticipate returning. He stepped out onto Church Street, where gas lights burned amidst a heavy fog.
After much strategic planning, with Hood having the courtesy to wait outside the fortifications, Thomas was prepared to go and drive him away. This fog would steal more of the valuable daylight he needed.
At six-thirty, 7,600 U.S. troops began moving out Murfreesboro Pike. The right end of the CS line was anchored in a small dirt fort near the pike, along todays Polk Avenue, where it can still be seen. It was named Granburys Lunette, in honor of the Texas general killed at Franklin. Over 300 of Granburys men were there, but so was the corps commander, Nashvilles own General B.F. Cheatham.
As the blue-clad troops approached, Cheatham had the Texans hold their fire until the last possible moment. They unleashed a volley that settled the dispute almost instantly.
But most of the attack force, untested U.S. Colored Troops, went around the lunette and across the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad just below the cut, also visible from Polk Avenue. The Confederates watched them in the fog and arranged a trap. As they crossed the tracks, they were approaching the rear of the CS line. These men did an about-face, as another brigade lit their flank. The result was a panicky retreat which ended this sideshow to the main attack.
Main Thrust Comes Against the Left Flank
Across town, on Charlotte Pike, the primary attack was coming out of the fog. U.S. cavalry, assisted by the U.S. Navy on the Cumberland, would attempt to drive CS cavalry off the pike. Most of the U.S. cavalry, however, swung over to Harding Pike, and moved with three corps of infantry toward Hoods left along Hillsboro Pike around todays Green Hills Village.
As they approached the pike, an isolated dirt fort named Redoubt Four, stood in their path. It was manned by only 148 Alabamians, with four cannons, but the attackers came to a halt. Bringing up more than 24 cannons, they pounded the tiny fort, still visible today off Abbott Martin Road, for three hours. Then, 7,000 U.S. troops overwhelmed it. Shortly, they would move on, and outflank Hoods left.
Hood Reforms His Lines
Hood had watched his left giving way from on top of Shys Hill. The sun was low on the horizon, out past Charlotte Pike, where his cavalry was still lunging on. His opponents figured he would retreat that night. But this was the same Hood who had his arm shattered at Gettysburg, and lost a leg at Chickamauga. He would stay, and Shys Hill would anchor the left end of his new line.
The new line was much shorter, stretching from Shys Hill, alongside todays Harding Place, over to Peach Orchard Hill, which now overlooks I-65. Thomas would use a similar plan on December 16 to overlap the CS left, around Shys Hill, but first, he would test Peach Orchard Hill.
Second Day Opens On the Right
Peach Orchard Hill, also known as Overton Hill, derived its name from being used as a peach orchard on the property of John Overton, of nearby Travelers Rest.
Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lees corps held this right end of the CS line with about 2,000 men on and around the hill. As the afternoon began, over 6,000 U.S. infantry began forming for an assault. After a massive artillery barrage, they moved forward at about three oclock.
As they approached Lees line they became entangled in fallen tree tops, laid out to slow them down. As they struggled to get through, CS artillery opened fire, and the infantry rose up and poured out a deadly fire. The attackers were confused, and broke for the rear, ending their part in the battle. Local legend says it would have been possible to walk across the slope of the hill, stepping from one dead Yankee to another.
Decisive Encounter at Shys HillYet the decisive encounter of the battle was just about to unfold at Shys Hill. Two U.S. infantry corps, and their cavalry, had been maneuvering for an assault. This force totaled over 40,000 men. About 5,000 CS infantry were on the left flank, with less than 1,500 around Shys Hill.
U.S. artillery had already made the hill a trap during the wet, misty afternoon. CS General William Bate said the shells were passing each other over the hill, coming from opposite directions.
His small force on top of the hill, mostly Tennesseans and Floridians, were likely disgusted with their predicament before the four oclock assault. As the blue-clad troops began crossing open cornfields, they lost men quickly in killed and wounded.
