Battle of Stones River Facts

December 31, 1862–January 2, 1863

Key facts about the Battle of Stones River, also known as the Battle of Murfreesboro.

Black and white photo of William H. Rosecrans.

After the federal victory at the Battle of Stones River, General William Rosecrans established a supply depot at Murfreesboro, Tennessee that served the Union for the rest of the war. [Wikimedia Commons]

Also known as:

  • Battle of Murfreesboro

Date:

  • December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863

Location:

  • Rutherford County, near Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Campaign:

  • Stones River

Principal Union commander:

Principal Confederate commander:

Union forces engaged:

Confederate forces engaged:

Number of Union soldiers engaged:

  • Roughly 44,000

Number of Confederate soldiers engaged:

  • Roughly 38,000

Estimated Union casualties:

  • 12,906 (1,677 killed,7,543 wounded, 3,686 captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate casualties:

  • 11,739 (1,294 killed, 7,945 wounded, 2,500 captured/missing)

Result:

  • Union victory

Significance:

  • The Battle of Stones River was a particularly deadly battle, even by Civil War standards. Total casualties for the battle were comparable to the carnage at Shiloh and Antietam.
  • The percentage of casualties at the Battle of Stones River was higher than in any other battle in the Civil War.
  • After the Battle of Stones River, General Rosecrans established a supply depot at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, that served the Union for the rest of the war.
  • Contrasted with late 1862 federal defeats at the Battle of Fredericksburg in the East, and the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou in the West, the Union victory at the Battle of Stones River provided the Lincoln administration and the northern public with some much-needed hope.
  • The Union victory at the Battle of Stones River added some teeth to the Emancipation Proclamation, which had gone into effect on January 1, 1863, while the battle was being contested.