Battle of Nashville: Background
The Battle of Nashville was the finale in a disastrous year for General John Bell Hood’s Confederates. The rebels lost a long summer campaign for Atlanta, Georgia, in September 1864 when Hood (1831-79) abandoned the city to the army of William T. Sherman (1820-91). Hood then took his diminished force north into Tennessee. He hoped to draw Sherman out of the Deep South, but Sherman had enough troops to split his force and send part of it to chase Hood into Tennessee. In November, Sherman took the remainder of his army on his march across Georgia.
Did you know?
In June 1861, Tennessee became the 11th and final state to officially secede from the Union. After the Civil War, it was the first state to be readmitted to the United States, in July 1866.
On November 30, Hood attacked the troops of General John Schofield (1831-1906) at Franklin, Tennessee. The Confederates suffered heavy casualties and much of the army’s leadership structure was destroyed. When Schofield moved north to Nashville to join General George Thomas, Hood followed him and dug his army in outside of Nashville’s formidable defenses.
