The Third Battle of Murfreesboro, also known as the Battle of Wilkinson Pike or the Battle of the Cedars, was fought December 5–7, 1864, in

Rutherford County, Tennessee Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of a 2023 estimate, the population was 367,101, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the Univer ...

, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Background

In a last, desperate attempt to force Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

's Union army out of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Gen.

John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the decision to replace ...

led the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...

north toward

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in November 1864. After suffering terrible losses at

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

, he continued toward Nashville. Hood recognized that Federal forces at Murfreesboro posed a significant threat to his right flank, his supply line and his possible retreat route. On December 4, 1864 he sent Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest with two

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

divisions and Maj. Gen. William B. Bate's

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

division to

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

Opposing forces

Union

District of Tennessee – Maj. Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau *Defenses of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad – Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy **1st Provisional Brigade – Col. Minor T. Thomas *** 8th Minnesota Infantry: Col. Minor T. Thomas, Ltc Henry C. Rogers *** 61st Illinois Infantry: Lt. Col. Daniel Grass *** 174th Ohio Infantry: Col. John S. Jones *** 181st Ohio Infantry: Col. John O'Dowd *** 13th New York Light Artillery: Cpt. Henry Bundy **2nd Provisional Brigade (Post of Tullahoma) – Col. Edward Anderson *** 177th Ohio Infantry: Col. Arthur T. Wilcox *** 178th Ohio Infantry: Col. Joab A. Stafford ***12th Indiana Cavalry: Col. Edward Anderson *** 5th Tennessee Cavalry: Col. William Brickly Stokes

Confederate

Forrest's Cavalry Corps Forrest's Cavalry Corps was part of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and commanded by Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Formed during the summer of 1862, it took part in the various battles in the Western Theater ...

: Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest *Buford's Division: Brig. Gen.

Abraham Buford Abraham Buford (July 21, 1747 – June 30, 1833) was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, rising to colonel and best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws. After the war ...

**Bell's Brigade: Col. Tyree H. Bell *** 2nd/22nd Tennessee Cavalry (Barteau's) ***19th Tennessee Cavalry ***20th Tennessee Cavalry: Col Robert M. Russell ***21st Tennessee Cavalry ***Nixon's (22nd) Tennessee Cavalry **Crossland's Brigade: Col. Edward Crossland *** 3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry *** 7th Kentucky Mounted Infantry *** 8th Kentucky Mounted Infantry ***12th Kentucky Cavalry ***Huey's Kentucky Battalion *Jackson's Division: Brig. Gen.

William Hicks Jackson William Hicks "Red" Jackson (October 1, 1835 – March 30, 1903) was a career United States Army officer who graduated from West Point. After serving briefly in the Southwest and resigning when the American Civil War broke out, he served in th ...

**Armstrong's Brigade: Brig. Gen. Frank C. Armstrong *** 1st Mississippi Cavalry *** 2nd Mississippi Cavalry *** 28th Mississippi Cavalry ***2nd Mississippi Partisan Rangers **Ross's Brigade: Brig. Gen. Lawrence S. Ross *** 3rd Texas Cavalry *** 6th Texas Cavalry *** 9th Texas Cavalry ***(1st Texas Legion) 27th Texas Cavalry Attached Infantry: *(From Cheatham's Corps) Bate's Division: MG William B. Bate **Tyler's/Smith’s Brigade: BG Thomas Benton Smith ***37th Georgia ***4th Georgia Sharpshooters Battalion ***2nd Tennessee ***10th Tennessee ***20th Tennessee ***37th Tennessee ** Finley's/Bullock’s Brigade: BG

Robert Bullock Robert Bullock (December 8, 1828 – July 27, 1905) was an American lawyer, judge, state legislator, and United States representative from Florida. He was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Early li ...

(w); Major Jacob A. Lash ***

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

- 3rd Florida *** 4th Florida & 1st Florida Cavalry (dismounted): Major Jacob A. Lash ***6th Florida ***7th Florida **Jackson's Brigade: BG Henry R. Jackson ***36th Georgia (1st Georgia) Confederate ***25th Georgia ***29th Georgia ***30th Georgia ***66th Georgia ***1st Georgia Sharpshooters Battalion *(From Lee’s Corps) Stevenson's Division: BG Joseph B. Palmer **Brown's & Reynolds' Brigade: BG Joseph B. Palmer ***58th North Carolina ***60th North Carolina ***54th Virginia ***63rd Virginia ***3rd-18th Tennessee ***23rd-26th-45th Tennessee: Col Anderson Searcy ***32nd Tennessee: Col John P. McGuire *(From Stewart’s Corps) French's Division: BG Claudius W. Sears **Sears' Brigade: BG Claudius W. Sears *** 4th Mississippi ***35th Mississippi *** 36th Mississippi ***39th Mississippi *** 46th Mississippi *** 7th Mississippi Battalion Artillery: *Slocomb's Louisiana Battery: Lt. Joseph E. Chalaron

Battle

On December 2, Hood had ordered Bate to destroy the railroad and blockhouses between Murfreesboro and Nashville and join Forrest for further operations. On December 4, Bate's division attacked Blockhouse No. 7 protecting the railroad crossing at Overall's Creek, but Union forces fought it off. On the morning of December 5, Forrest marched toward Murfreesboro in two columns, one to attack the fort on the hill and the other to take Blockhouse No. 4, both at La Vergne. Forrest demanded the garrisons at both locations surrender, which they did. Outside La Vergne, Forrest joined Bate's division and the command advanced on to Murfreesboro along two roads, driving the Union forces into their Fortress Rosecrans fortifications, then encamped in the city outskirts for the night. The next morning, on December 6, fighting flared for a couple of hours, but the Union troops ceased firing and both sides glared at each other for the rest of the day. Brig. Gen. Claudius W. Sears's and Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Palmer's infantry brigades joined Forrest's command in the evening, further increasing his numbers. On the morning of December 7, Maj. Gen.

Lovell Rousseau Lovell Harrison Rousseau (August 4, 1818 – January 7, 1869) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a lawyer and politician in Kentucky and Indiana. Rousseau was a member of the Whig Party early in his politi ...

, commanding all of the forces at Murfreesboro, sent two brigades out under Brig. Gen. Robert H. Milroy on the Salem Pike to feel out the enemy. These brigades were led by Col.

Minor T. Thomas Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

, a veteran of the

Dakota War The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota collectiv ...

, and Col. Edward Anderson. With Thomas' brigade forming the first line of battle and Anderson forming the second, Milroy engaged the Confederates and fighting continued. At one point some of Bate's troops broke and ran. Forrest "seized the colors of the retreating troops and endeavored to rally them". Bate was equally unsuccessful. The rest of Forrest's command conducted an orderly retreat from the field and encamped for the night outside Murfreesboro. Forrest had destroyed railroad track, blockhouses, and some homes and generally disrupted Union operations in the area. More importantly, he succeeded in keeping Rousseau confined to Murfreesboro and kept the important supply line and retreat route open.Stephen M. Hood, John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of a Confederate General, El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie LLC, 2013, pp. 185–186.

References

Sources

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. .
National Park Service battle description
{{authority control Murfreesboro III Murfreesboro III Murfreesboro III Murfreesboro III Rutherford County, Tennessee

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

1864 in Tennessee December 1864