Civil War Battles in Tennessee

Tennessee Civil War Battles - Page 2

<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >>

Joint Operations Against New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Memphis (February-June 1862) - Also called the Joint Operations on the Middle Mississippi River, this campaign officially consisted of three battles to defend the Mississippi River. The first two battles were fought in Madrid, Missouri, one in the city itself, and the other on an island in the Mississippi River called Island No. 10. The third battle of the campaign was fought in Memphis, Tennessee. However, after United States Navy Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote had taken Island #10, another battle was fought at Plum Run Bend in Tennessee.

Plum Run Bend (May 10, 1862) - After Union Major General John Pope and Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote had taken Island #10 on the upper Mississippi River, only a Confederate gunboat fleet at Fort Pillow, Tennessee provided protection for the Mississippi River.

War on the Mississippi River, H. Lovie., 1862

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

Pope and Foote planned to take the fort but Pope was ordered to join Major General Henry W. Halleck's army at Shiloh, Tennessee. Without adequate troops, Foote could only threaten Fort Pillow. In response, Confederate Colonel M. Jeff Thompson's River Defense Fleet, commanded by Captain James E. Montgomery, attacked the Union troops with a makeshift fleet on May 10, 1862. Though the Confederates were outgunned, they took the Union fleet by surprise and were able to sink two U.S. Ironclads -- the Cincinnati and Mound City. After just 30 minutes, the Confederates withdrew to Fort Pillow. Both of the Federal war ships were sunk in shallow water and were soon put back into commission. Later, Fort Pillow was discovered abandoned and when the Battle of Memphis took place the following month, the Confederate fleet would be destroyed.

Memphis (June 6, 1862) - After the Confederate River Defense Fleet, commanded by Captain James E. Montgomery and Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson of the Missouri State Guard, bested the Union ironclads at Plum Run Bend, Tennessee, on May 10, 1862, they retired to Memphis. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard ordered troops out of Fort Pillow and Memphis on June 4th, after learning of Union Major General Henry W. Halleck’s occupation of Corinth, Mississippi. Thompson’s few troops, camped outside Memphis, and Montgomery’s fleet were the only force available to meet the Union naval threat to the city. From Island No. 45, just north of Memphis, Union Flag-Officer Charles H. Davis and Colonel Charles Ellet launched a naval attack on Memphis after 4:00 am on June 6th. Arriving off Memphis about 5:30 am, the battle began. In the hour and a half battle, the Union boats sank or captured all but one of the Confederate vessels; General Van Dorn escaped. Immediately following the battle, Colonel Ellet’s son, Medical Cadet Charles Ellet, Jr., met the mayor of Memphis and raised the Union colors over the courthouse. Later, Flag-Officer Davis officially received the surrender of the city from the mayor. The Indiana Brigade, commanded by Colonel G.N. Fitch, then occupied the city. Memphis, an important commercial and economic center on the Mississippi River, had fallen, opening another section of the Mississippi River to Union shipping. Estimated casualties of the battle were 1 Union and 180 Confederate

Confederate Heartland Offensive (June-October 1862) - Also called the Kentucky Campaign, this series of maneuvers and battles took place in East Tennessee and Kentucky in 1862. From June through October, Confederate forces under the commands of Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith launched a series of movements to outflank the Union Army of the Ohio and draw the border state of Kentucky into the Confederate States of America. Though the Confederates gained some early successes, their progress was stopped decisively at the Battle of Perryville, leaving Kentucky in Union hands for the rest of the war.

Battle of Chattanooga, , L. Prang and Co, 1880.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

Chattanooga (June 7-8, 1862) - The first battle of this campaign took place in Hamilton County, Tennessee and City of Chattanooga. In late Spring, the Confederacy split its forces in Tennessee into several small commands in an attempt to complicate Federal operations. The Union had to redistribute its forces to counter the Confederate command structure changes. Major General Ormsby Mitchel received orders to go to Huntsville, Alabama, with his division to repair railroads in the area. Soon, he occupied more than 100 miles along the Nashville & Chattanooga and Memphis & Charleston Railroads. In May, Mitchel and his men sparred with Major General Edmund Kirby Smith’s men. After Mitchel received command of all Federal troops between Nashville and Huntsville, on May 29, he ordered Brigadier General James Negley with a small division to lead an expedition to capture Chattanooga.

This force arrived on June 7th and Negley ordered the 79th Pennsylvania Volunteers out to reconnoiter. It found the Confederates entrenched on the opposite side of the river along the banks and atop Cameron Hill. Negley brought up two artillery batteries to open fire on the Rebel troops and the town and sent infantry to the river bank to act as sharpshooters. The Union bombardment of Chattanooga continued throughout the June 7th and until noon on the 8th. The Confederates replied, but it was uncoordinated since the undisciplined gunners were allowed to do as they wished. On June 10, Smith, who had arrived on the 8th, reported that Negley had withdrawn and the Confederate loss was minor. A Union victory, the assault resulted in and 23 Union and 65 Confederate casualties.

Murfreesboro (July 13, 1862) - The second battle of the campaign took place in Rutherford County, Tennessee. On June 10, 1862, Major General Don Carlos Buell commanding the Army of the Ohio, started a leisurely advance toward Chattanooga, which Union Brigadier General James Negley and his force threatened on June 7-8. In response to the threat, the Confederate government sent Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest to Chattanooga to organize a cavalry brigade. By July, the Confederate Cavalry under the command of Forrest and Colonel John Hunt Morgan were raiding into Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Perhaps, the most dramatic of these cavalry raids was Forrest’s capture of the Union Murfreesboro garrison on July 13, 1862. Forrest left Chattanooga on July 9th with two cavalry regiments and joined other units on the way, bringing the total force to about 1,400 men. The major objective was to strike Murfreesboro, an important Union supply center on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, at dawn on July 13th. The Murfreesboro garrison was camped in three locations around town and included detachments from four units comprising infantry, cavalry, and artillery, under the command of Brigadier General Thomas T. Crittenden, who had just arrived on July 12th. Between 4:15 and 4:30 am on the morning of July 13, Forrest’s cavalry surprised the Union pickets on the Woodbury Pike, east of Murfreesboro, and quickly overran a Federal hospital and the camp of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment detachment. Additional Rebel troops attacked the camps of the other Union commands and the jail and courthouse. By late afternoon all of the Union units had surrendered to Forrest’s force. The Confederates destroyed much of the Union supplies and tore up railroad track in the area, but the main result of the raid was the diversion of Union forces from a drive on Chattanooga. This raid, along with Morgan’s raid into Kentucky, made possible Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s concentration of forces at Chattanooga and his early September invasion of Kentucky. Resulting in a Confederate victory, the estimated casualties were 890 Union and 150 Confederate.

The Confederate Heartland Offensive continued into Kentucky at the Battle of Richmond on August 29-30, resulting in a Confederate victory; to the Battle of Munfordville on September 14-17, also resulting in a Confederate and victory; and finally, to the last battle of the campaign at Perryville on October 8, 1862. This last battle resulted in a strategic Union victory. The Confederate offensive was over, and the Union controlled Kentucky.

Continued Next Page

<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >>

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Historic Maps on CD - From historic maps of the United States and North America, to the Civil War, Native American, Railroads, the Revolutionary War and numerous States & Cities, you'll find dozens archival maps in this product offering. Great for locating old towns and locations of places that have changed names. Digital images of maps are usually quite large. Shipped on CD's and affordably priced at just $13.99. Or get whole collections at greater savings. To see them all, click HERE!