Go inside the story of the battles for Midle Tennessee in late 1862-63 through letters, reports and memoirs. After the Battle of Perryville in October 1862, the focus of the Civil War in the West shifted back to Tennessee. The Union Army of the Cumberland regrouped in Nashville, while the Confederate Army of Tennessee camped 30 miles away in Murfreesboro. On December 26 the Federals marched southward and fought a three-day brawl at Stones River with their Confederate counterparts. The Confederates withdrew, and both armies spent the winter and spring harassing each other and regrouping for the next round. In the Confederate camp, dissention corroded the army's high command. The critical engagement at Stones River (by percentage of loss the Civil War's bloodiest battle) and the masterful Tullahoma operation will receive detailed attention in this journey through the historic moment in time.

Middle Tennessee represented one of the most strategically important pieces of land in the Civil War. Both armies recognized the value of its central location, and it became one of the war's most bitterly contested battlegrounds. From November 1862 to July 1863, hard fighting and heavy losses characterized the Stones River and Tullahoma Campaigns. Though these engagements have been largely overshadowed by other, more famous operations elsewhere, they had major implications for the war's outcome. By percentages, Stones River saw the war's heaviest casualties, while the battles at Tullahoma proved to be significant turning points for increasing Union mobility, ultimately hastening the end of the war. Author and military historian Christopher Kolakowski gives a definitive look into the dramatic proceedings that defined these important campaigns and the legendary commanders who presided over them. Book jacket.

Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk was a distinguished West Point graduate, the first Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, a university founder, and a Confederate commander beloved by his troops, esteemed by the public, and killed on the field of battle. In spite of his many accomplishments, historians invariably disparage Polk's generalship and even his personal character--but is their treatment fair or accurate? This work employs a balanced perspective to shed new light on Polk's military leadership and reveal unexpected truths that explain his conflict with General Braxton Bragg. A seemingly insignificant piece of correspondence, along with an exploration of both men's writings, coalesce into an understanding of the root cause of the command dysfunction and chronic failures of the Army of Tennessee.

At the Battle of Stones River, General David Stanley's Union cavalry repeatedly fought General Joseph Wheeler's Confederate cavalry. The campaign saw some of the most desperately fought mounted engagements in the Civil War's Western Theater and marked the end of the Southern cavalry's dominance in Tennessee. This history describes the events leading up to the battle and the key actions, including the December 31 attack by Wheeler's cavalry, the Union counterattack, the repulse of General John Wharton by the 1st Michigan Engineers and Wheeler's daring raid on the rear of Williams Rosecrans' army. The author reassesses the actions of General John Pegram's cavalry brigade.

During the Chickamauga Campaign, General Stanley's two Union cavalry divisions battled Forrest's and Wheeler's cavalry corps in some of the most difficult terrain for mounted operations. The Federal troopers, commanded by Crook and McCook, guarded the flanks of the advance on Chattanooga, secured the crossing of the Tennessee River, then pushed into enemy territory. The battle exploded on September 18 as Col. Minty and Col. Wilder held off a determined attack by Confederate infantry. The fighting along Chickamauga Creek included notable actions at Glass Mill and Cooper's Gap. Union cavalry dogged Wheeler's forces throughout Tennessee. The Union troopers fought under conditions so dusty they could hardly see, leading the infantry through the second costliest battle of the war.

The Nashville Campaign, culminating with the last major battle of the Civil War, is one of the most compelling and controversial campaigns of the conflict. The campaign pitted the young and energetic James Harrison Wilson and his Union cavalry against the cunning and experienced Nathan Bedford Forrest with his Confederate cavalry. This book is an analysis of contributions made by the two opposing cavalry forces and provides new insights and details into the actions of the cavalry during the battle. This campaign highlighted important changes in cavalry tactics and never in the Civil War was there closer support by the cavalry for infantry actions than for the Union forces in the Battle of Nashville. The retreat by Cheatham's corps and the Battle of the Barricade receive a more in-depth discussion than in previous works on this battle. The importance of this campaign cannot be overstated as a different outcome of this battle could have altered history. The Nashville Campaign reflected the stark realities of the war across the country in December 1864 and would mark an important part of the death knell for the Confederacy.

In the spring of 1862, Confederate troops' lack of infantry men and loss of critical battles forced their commanders to make a bold, strategic change. Using a unique, day-by-day narrative, author Michael R. Bradley recounts how Southern forces utilized horsemen to strike behind enemy lines and complete the most successful mounted operation of the Civil War. Thoroughly detailed, this work relates the daring military pursuits of Confederate commanders Forrest, Wheeler, Van Dorn, and Morgan who were instrumental in leading the South to utilize mobile warfare techniques.

This study examines the operational insights offered by the analysis of the Tullahoma, or Middle Tennessee, Campaign of 1863. The thesis uncovers these operational insights by examining how Major General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, and General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee, planned for and conducted the nine day campaign. This study of both commanders planning and execution of a campaign characterized by maneuver, rather than large scale battles, highlights five important insights into operational warfighting. These insights include the translation of strategic guidance into an operational plan, offensive and defensive operational planning, the importance of deception, the effects of sustainment on an operation, and the influence of leadership on the planning and conduct of a campaign.