Civil War - Battles - Tennessee

The Battle of Bean’s Station was fought on December 14, 1863, during the Knoxville Campaign. Confederate General James Longstreet attacked Union cavalry under General J.M. Shackelford and forced the Federals to retreat. The Confederate victory produced few lasting military gains and was the final major engagement of Longstreet’s Knoxville Campaign.

The Battle of Campbell’s Station was fought on November 16, 1863, during the Knoxville Campaign. Confederate General James Longstreet tried to cut off General Ambrose Burnside’s retreat to Knoxville, but Union troops reached a critical crossroads first. Although Confederate attacks pushed Burnside’s forces back, the Union army withdrew in good order and reached its fortifications at Knoxville.

The Battle of Chattanooga was fought from November 23 through November 25, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant captured Orchard Knob, forced the Confederates to abandon Lookout Mountain, and drove General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee from Missionary Ridge. The Union victory ended the Confederate Siege of Chattanooga, forced Bragg’s army into Georgia, and opened the way for General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.

The Second Battle of Collierville took place on November 3, 1863. The outcome was a Union victory and kept the Memphis & Charleston Railroad open for Union troop movements.

The Battle of Columbia was a series of military clashes fought from November 24-29, 1864, during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Union General John M. Schofield reached Columbia before Confederate General John Bell Hood and delayed his advance for five days. However, Hood crossed the Duck River east of Columbia and threatened Schofield’s route to Nashville, forcing the Union army to retreat toward Franklin.

The Second Battle of Corinth was fought on October 3-4, 1862, when General Earl Van Dorn’s Confederate Army of West Tennessee tried to recapture the city from General William S. Rosecrans’ Union Army of the Mississippi. Confederate forces initially drove Union troops into their inner defenses, but Union artillery and counterattacks defeated the assault. The battle ended in a Union victory, although Rosecrans failed to destroy Van Dorn’s retreating army.

The Siege of Corinth was a Union offensive conducted from April 29 to May 30, 1862, to capture the important Confederate railroad center at Corinth, Mississippi. Union General Henry Halleck advanced cautiously with about 120,000 soldiers against General P.G.T. Beauregard’s fortified army. Beauregard used an elaborate deception to evacuate Corinth, allowing the Union to capture the town while the Confederate army escaped.

The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought between the United States and the Confederate States from February 12 to February 16, 1862. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant surrounded the fort, stopped a Confederate breakout, and forced General Simon B. Buckner to surrender. The Union victory opened the Cumberland River as an invasion route into the South and forced Confederate forces to withdraw deeper into Tennessee.

The Battle of Fort Henry was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America in western Tennessee on February 6, 1862. Union gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote bombarded the fort and forced General Lloyd Tilghman to surrender. The victory opened the Tennessee River to Union operations and gave General Ulysses S. Grant his first significant victory in the Western Theater.

The Battle of Fort Sanders was on November 29, 1863, during the Knoxville Campaign. Confederate General James Longstreet attacked Fort Sanders in an attempt to break Union defenses during the Siege of Knoxville, but Union troops repulsed the assault in about 20 minutes. The Union victory helped end Longstreet’s siege, which he lifted on December 4, 1863.

The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood launched repeated assaults against General John M. Schofield’s fortified Union army at Franklin, Tennessee. Union troops held their defenses, inflicted devastating Confederate losses, and withdrew to Nashville, where Schofield joined forces with General George H. Thomas.

The Battle of Hatchie’s Bridge, also known as the Battle of Davis Bridge, was fought on October 5, 1862, during the Iuka and Corinth Operations. Union forces under General Edward O.C. Ord and General Stephen A. Hurlbut drove Confederate troops across Davis Bridge, but most of General Earl Van Dorn’s army escaped across the Hatchie River at Crum’s Mill. The Union victory failed to destroy Van Dorn’s army or open a clear path to Vicksburg.

The Battle of Hoover’s Gap was fought from June 24–26, 1863, during the Tullahoma Campaign. Colonel John Wilder and his mounted infantry captured a mountain pass and defeated several Confederate counterattacks with the help of Spencer Repeating Rifles. The Union victory helped force General Braxton Bragg to retreat toward Chattanooga and abandon Middle Tennessee.

The Battle of Iuka was fought on September 19, 1862, between General William S. Rosecrans’ Union Army of the Mississippi and General Sterling Price’s Confederate Army of the West. Union forces regained Iuka, but poor coordination allowed Price’s army to escape and later unite with General Earl Van Dorn’s forces for an attack on Corinth.

The Siege of Knoxville was fought from November 4 to December 14, 1863, during the Knoxville Campaign. Confederate General James Longstreet tried to defeat General Ambrose Burnside and recapture Knoxville, but Burnside reached the city’s defenses after the Battle of Campbell’s Station. Longstreet besieged Knoxville and attacked Fort Sanders, but Union forces repulsed the assault, forcing the Confederates to withdraw.

The Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought on November 24, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign. General Joseph Hooker’s Union forces attacked Confederate positions on Lookout Mountain despite dense fog covering the battlefield, which is why the battle is also known as the “Battle Above the Clouds.” The Union victory forced the Confederates to withdraw and allowed Hooker’s troops to assist in the Union victory at Missionary Ridge the next day.

The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought on November 25, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant defeated General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of Tennessee after soldiers from the Army of the Cumberland captured Confederate rifle pits and charged up Missionary Ridge. The victory ended the Confederate Siege of Chattanooga and established the city as an important Union supply center for General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign in 1864.

The Battle of Nashville was fought from December 15–16, 1864, during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. General George H. Thomas led Union forces in attacks against General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee, breaking the Confederate defensive line and forcing Hood to retreat. The Union victory severely weakened the Army of Tennessee. It was the last major battle that took place in the Western Theater of the war.

The Battle of Orchard Knob was fought on November 23, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign. About 14,000 Union soldiers under General Thomas J. Wood quickly captured a key position from roughly 600 Confederate defenders under General Arthur Manigault. The Union victory marked the first engagement of General Ulysses S. Grant’s breakout from the Confederate Siege of Chattanooga.

The Battle of Shiloh was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America from April 6 to April 7, 1862. Confederate forces surprised Ulysses S. Grant’s army on the first day, but Union reinforcements arrived during the night and supported a counterattack the next morning. The Union victory weakened Confederate leadership in the West and opened the way for further Federal advances into the South.