Illinois 65th Infantry (Union)

Iuka

Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Army of the West main column marched into Iuka, Mississippi, on September 14th. Price's superior, Gen. Braxton Bragg, had ordered Price to prevent Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Mississippi from moving into Tennessee and reinforcing Nashville. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commanding the Army of the Tennessee, feared that Price intended to go north to join Bragg. Grant devised a plan for his left wing commander, Maj. Gen. E.O.C. Ord, to advance on Iuka from the west;…READ MORE

Battle of Corinth

Not to be confused with Siege of Corinth. Also known as Second Battle of Corinth.READ MORE

Resaca

Following his withdrawal from Rocky Face Ridge, the first battle in Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's campaign against Atlanta, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston established a four-mile defensive position protecting the Western & Atlantic Railroad west and north of Resaca, where the railroad crossed the Oostanaula River. On May 13th, Sherman tested the Rebel lines, sending forward divisions to skirmish with the Confederates, with little substantive result. On the 14th, the fighting erupted into a full-…READ MORE

Kennesaw Mountain

Fearing envelopment northwest of Atlanta, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston withdrew his army to a new defensive position astride Kennesaw Mountain near Marietta. Johnston selected this position in order to protect the Western & Atlantic Railroad, his supply link to Atlanta. Prior to taking up this new line on June 19th, Johnston had pioneers working through the night digging trenches and erecting fortifications, turning Kennesaw into a formidable earthen fortress. Having defeated Lieut. Gen. John…READ MORE

Atlanta

Despite the defeat at Peach Tree Creek, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood still had hopes of driving Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Yankees from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow. On the night of July 21, 1864, Hood ordered Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps to make 15-mile night march and assault the Union left flank east of the city, held by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. Joining the attack with Hardee would be the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham. Hood attac…READ MORE

Spring Hill

On the night of November 28, 1864, Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee marched toward Spring Hill to get astride Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's Union army's supply line. Hood was pursuing Schofield as the Yankees withdrew north from Columbia towards Nashville. Cavalry skirmishing between Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson's Union cavalry and Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate troopers continued throughout the day as the Confederates advanced. On November 29th, Hood's infantry crossed the Duck…READ MORE

Franklin (1864)

After allowing Maj. Gen. John Schofield's Army of the Ohio to pass him near Spring Hill, Tennessee, the previous morning, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood led his 30,000-man Army of Tennessee to the outskirts of Franklin on November 30th. Schofield's army had constructed a strong defensive line south of the town. Hood took a position two miles south of Schofield, with open, rolling farm land between them, and prepared to attack. At 4:00 p.m., over 20,000 Confederates moved forward east and west of the Columbia Pike…READ MORE

Brigadier GeneralJacob D. Cox

Nashville

Despite a series of defeats in the closing days of November, 1864, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood continued to drag his bloodied Army of Tennessee, approximately 30,000 strong, north towards Nashville. The city was protected by 55,000 Union soldiers, which should have precluded further offensive operations, but Hood was determined and his situation was dire. Hood reached Nashville on December 2nd and staked out a position south of the city, hoping to draw the Union forces into a costly attack. Ulys…READ MORE