Murfreesboro, Tennessee (1st day of battle)

After Shiloh, Grant campaigned to gain control of the Mississippi, while Buell advanced from Corinth toward the vital Confederate rail junction at Chattanooga. To draw Buell away from his intended target, the Confederate Generals Edmund Kirby Smith and Braxton Bragg …

1863-12-31

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After Shiloh, Grant campaigned to gain control of the Mississippi, while Buell advanced from Corinth toward the vital Confederate rail junction at Chattanooga. To draw Buell away from his intended target, the Confederate Generals Edmund Kirby Smith and Braxton Bragg moved north toward Kentucky. Buell was forced to give chase. Gen. William S, Rosecrans replaced Buell in late December, and soon succeeded in bringing Bragg to battle by the icy Stones River near the town of Murfreesboro. As the two armies deployed, both commanders planned to attack the enemy’s right flank. Bragg’s attack was launched first, forcing Rosecrans to call off his own assault. The Confederate troops, under the command of Hardee, pushed back the federal right flank. As the day wore on, the Confederates continued to push the Union forces back, and by midafternoon the Union line was a rough V shape. Although the Confederates attacked furiously, William Hazen’s brigade held the position until nightfall. Bragg believed he had won a major victory, despite being outnumbered. Therefore, he was surprised to find the federal troops still deployed for battle the next day.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

The Battle of Stones River was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, the Union Army's repulse of two Confederate attacks and the subsequent Confederate withdrawal were a much-needed boost to Union morale after the defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and it dashed Confederate aspirations for control of Middle Tennessee.

Wikipedia: Battle of Stones River

the Confederacy

the Union