The Battle of Murfreesboro, Day 1

The Southern attack came at dawn today's date, Wednesday, 1862. The fighting of the first day of the battle, took place west and northwest of the town of Murfreesboro. The south end of the battlefield was about a mile below the Franklin Road, which ran west. 1-1/2 miles north of and parallel to this road, was the Wilkinson Turnpike. A mile further north and also parallel, was a small dirt road. Overall’s Creek bound the battlefield, about 3 miles wide, on the east by Stones River¹ and on the west. A short distance apart and directly northwest from Murfreesboro, ran the turnpike and railroad to Nashville.

On the 30th, the Confederate divisions of Generals McCown, Withers, and Cheatham lay in line of battle near the eastern edge of the area, which would soon become the battlefield. McCown’s division formed a line south of the Franklin Road. Beginning at the road Whithers's division extended to a point immediately north of the Nashville Turnpike and railroad, with Cheatham in a line behind Withers. Breckinridge’s and Cleburne’s divisions, north of Murfreesboro, were separated from Withers and Cheatham by Stones River.

Union Gen. Rosecrans concentrated his army facing the Confederate divisions, both on the west and north. At some points the 2 armies were only 500 yards apart.

Both Bragg and Rosecrans essentially had formed the same plan, to be executed the same morning—to attack with the left and drive back the enemy’s right wing. The Confederates, however, advanced earlier on this cold morning.

Battle of Murfreesboro, opening of first day, December 31, 1863
Source: Civil War Maps by Hal Jesperson

Following are the events associated with my Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's division, Gen. Cleburne's of Hardee's Corps, posted on the right of the Wilkinson Pike, extending toward Salem Pike.² 

Gen. Cleburne ordered his men to be awakened and ready for battle at 5:00 AM. The morning was cold and frosty and a thick morning haze covered the ground. No fires were allowed, and the men were assembled quickly and readied to move before sunrise. Cleburne placed S.A.M. Wood’s Brigade behind Polk in a second line as a reserve.

Cleburne and his division, composed of L.E. Polk’s, Bushrod Johnson’s, St. John Liddell’s, and Wood’s brigades, began the advance, and his division moved forward on a front nearly a mile wide. The terrain was not ideal for an attack. The ground was broken and filled with limestone boulders and cedar bushes, allowing for gapping and bunching of the men during the advance.

The division encountered the enemy’s line behind a fence and natural breastworks of limestone. Cleburne threw his brigades into the charge against the Federals. The fight was short, fierce, and bloody, lasting about 25 minutes, when the enemy gave way, and Cleburne’s men pursued. The Rebel charge broke the second Federal line. This line soon yielded and both lines pressed into one. The Federals retreated, leaving behind their two rifled cannon, which were immediately turned upon them by the Confederate attackers. By now the alignment of units became haphazard and disorderly. When Cleburne’s brigades ran up against a new Federal line near the Wilkinson Turnpike about 9:00 AM, their progress was checked by the disciplined volleys of the Federals.

Cleburne's and McCown's Divisions renewed their advance at about 9:30 AM, in a sweep of a line that was 10 brigades long, against the startled Federals of Alexander McCook’s XX Corps. Every soldier assigned to the Confederate attack was now in the front line, and if it faltered before it reached the Nashville Pike, there would be no reserves to throw into the fight.

After the fight along the Wilkinson Pike, Cleburne sent Wood’s Brigade back to allow the men to replenish their depleted cartridge pouches, while his 3 other brigades, plus Preston Smith’s Brigade of Frank Cheatham’s Division, moved a half mile beyond the Wilkerson Pike. There, Cleburne ran into another Federal line, where fierce fighting took place at close range for nearly an hour before the Yankees were driven from the field. 

Cleburne pursued into the early afternoon. By now his men were tired, having carried the burden of the attack for over 8 hours. Now, less than a half mile from the Nashville Pike, with little sleep and no breakfast or lunch or even water, they encountered their fifth line of Federals of the day. Nevertheless, they charged the enemy line and drove the defenders from their position through a cedar break and onto the Nashville Pike, which was the Federals' main line of supply and communication. Cleburne's force had reached the original center of Rosecrans’ army, but it was now after 3:00 PM, and the men had reached the end of their strength. 

By now Rosecrans realized his peril and sent reserves to hold the turnpike. Cleburne’s line broke, and the men fled to the protection of the cedar break about a quarter mile to the rear. Hardee detached Wood’s Brigade to guard their ammunition train, which was threatened by a Federal cavalry probe. Judging that another attack by Cleburne “would have been folly, not valor,” Hardee ordered Cleburne to hold the ground he had gained (about a half mile west of the Nashville Turnpike), rest the division, and await further orders.

For the second night in a row, Cleburne’s men went to sleep without the benefit of campfires or hot food. Having discarded their packs in the attack, they were also without tents or blankets. Even so, they slept knowing they had whipped the Yankees badly, and anticipated that they would withdraw. 

The Southern attack, which came at dawn on this first day had the Union on the defensive by day's end. On the enemy's side of the battlefield, the offensive movement planned by Rosecrans was now out of the question. His supreme object now was to save his army from annihilation by holding his line. He will have Gen. George Henry Thomas largely to thank for preventing a Confederate victory.³  By nighttime, Rosecrans's troops may be battered, but they are not defeated. To Bragg's disappointment, over night the enemy prepared to resume fighting tomorrow.

Battle of Murfreesboro, end of first day, December 31, 1863
Source: Civil War Maps by Hal Jespersen

¹ The Battle of Murfreesboro is also known as the Battle of Stones River.

² My great grandfather's 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Lowrey's), which was a part of Wood's Brigade, was a few miles away from the battle on the Stones River. The brigade's assignment for the past few weeks had been to guard bridges south of Nashville to prevent Rosecrans from resupplying his troops stationed in that city. Most recently the brigade had been assisting Gen. Wharton’s cavalry in retarding the advance of Gen. McCook's right wing of the Federal army. The 32nd Regiment did not rejoin its division at Stones River until after the worst of the fighting was over.

³ This won't be the only time that Thomas, a former slave owner from Virginia, will come to the Union army's rescue. He will later be known by the well-deserved nickname, "Rock of Chickamauga," for reasons that will become apparent in the next year. Thomas will remain a thorn in the side of the Army of Tennessee for the duration of the war in the West.

Sources: Confederate Military History: Tennessee, James D. Porter; Stonewall of the West, Craig L. Symonds; Pat Cleburne:  Confederate General, Howell and Elizabeth Purdue; Stones River—Bloody Winter in Tennessee, James Lee McDonough; Civil War Times, Daniel Wait Howe; The Army of the Cumberland, Henry Martyn Cist; Official Records, Vol. 20, Part 2

The eve of battle

On this date, Tuesday, in 1862, Union Gen. McCook, leaving one brigade (Baldwin's) at Triune to cover his extreme right, moved forward with the remainder of his command on a country road known as the Bole Jack road toward Murfreesboro, reaching camp west of the Stones River late in the evening. From the Confederate army's movements he concluded that Gen. Braxton Bragg intended to give battle at Murfreesboro, and so arranged his troops accordingly.

Late that tonight while McCook was preparing his troops, Bragg called his generals, Hardee and Polk, to his headquarters to receive new orders. He had decided to seize the initiative and attack Rosecrans. Hardee was given overall tactical command during the attack, which was to begin at dawn on the 31st. Gen. Cleburne received his orders late in the afternoon of the 30th. Cleburne broke camp and began to march southward through a cold, pelting rain. He deployed his men in line of battle as best he could in the dark, after receiving guidance to his assigned position from Hardee’s staff officers. In the wet and pitch-darkness his men began removing their shoes, and many their trousers, in order to wade through the bone-chilling water of Stones River.

Like Bragg, Rosecrans's plan called for the battle to begin early on the morning of the 31st, by an advance of the army's left, wheeling to the right. Rosecrans expected to advance on Murfreesboro and get into the rear of Bragg's army, while Bragg intended to double back the Federal right across the Nashville Turnpike and cut off Rosecrans's retreat to Nashville.

Both armies await what will become the Battle of Murfreesboro, or the Battle of Stones River, which will begin tomorrow, December 31, 1862, and last through January 2, 1863.

Eve of the Battle of Murfreesboro, Dec. 30, 1863
Source: Civil War Maps by Hal Jespersen

Sources: The Army of the Cumberland, Henry Martyn Cist; Stonewall of the West, Craig L. Symonds; Civil War Times, 1861-1865, Daniel Wait Howe

Objective: Murfreesboro & Nashville

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 1863, from Harper's Weekly

The town of Murfreesboro was situated on the railroad to Chattanooga, 30 miles southeast of Nashville, in the midst of the great plain stretching from the base of the Cumberland Mountains toward the Cumberland River. It was surrounded by a gently undulating and highly cultivated country.

Leading in every direction from the town were numerous turnpikes. Stones River—named after an early settler—was formed there where the middle and south branches of the stream united, and flowed north between low steep banks of limestone, difficult to cross, and emptied into the Cumberland River. At the time of the battle the stream was so low that it could be crossed by infantry everywhere. The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad crossed the river about 200 yards above the turnpike bridge. 500 yards beyond, the railroad intersected the Nashville Turnpike at a sharp angle, then ran 800 yards between the pike and the river, at which point the stream turns abruptly to the east and passes to the north.

At the time, open fields surrounded the town, fringed with dense cedar-brakes. These brakes provided excellent cover for approaching infantry, but were almost impervious to artillery due to their density. They would prove to be a significant obstacle in the coming conflict.

The center of Bragg's army was at Murfreesboro, under Gen. Leonidas Polk. The right was at Readyville, under Gen. John McCown. The left at Triune and Eaglesville, was under Gen. William Hardee. Three brigades of Hardee's Corps from John C. Breckenridge's Division were at Murfreesboro. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's Division (in which Great Grandfather Oakes served, although presently stationed at Triune) and Adams's Brigade of Breckinridge's Division were under the immediate command of Hardee, near Eaglesville, about 20 miles west of Murfreesboro. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry brigade was also attached to Hardee's Corps at this time.

Battle of Murfreesboro, Dec. 30, 1863
Source: Civil War Maps by Hal Jespersen

Bragg placed Breckinridge's Division on his extreme right, across Stones River, to protect that flank and cover the town. Adams's brigade rested on the Lebanon road, about a mile and a half from town. Breckinridge's Division formed the first line, facing north, and was posted in the edge of the forest. To the left of Adams the line was broken by a field about 300 yards in width, which apparently was left unoccupied; but it and the fields in front were covered by the 20th Tennessee and Wright's Battery. Preston's Brigade rested with its right in the woods, and extended along the edge with its left toward the river. On the left of Preston, Palmer's Brigade was formed, and on his left Hanson's completed that portion of the line, including a hill about 600 yards in front of his center. Jackson's Brigade was placed on the east side of the Lebanon road, in front and the right of Adams's men. On the other side of the river the right of Withers's Division rested at the bank, near the intersection of the turnpike with the railroad, in front and to the right of Hanson's. It extended south across the Wilkinson Pike to the Triune-Franklin road. In the rear of Withers's Division, Cheatham's was posted as a supporting force. McCown's Division, also under Hardee's commanded, was placed on Wither's left. Cleburne's Division was placed on the left, 500 yards to rear as support for that division.

Bragg's main line of battle was in the edge of the woods, with open ground to the front. There he formed his troops in two lines, the first line protected by entrenchments, and his second line formed some six hundred yards to the rear. He awaited Rosecrans's attack on Tuesday the 30th, and not receiving it, made his arrangements for an advance and attack in force on the next morning. His troops remained in line of battle, ready to move with the early Wednesday dawn.

Bragg's plan of battle was, as Providence would have it, a mirror image of  Rosecrans's plan. Hardee on the left, with McCown's and Cleburne's Divisions, was to advance against the Federal right, which being forced back, Polk and Withers's and Cheatham's Divisions were then to push the center. The movement would be made by a steady wheel to the right, with Polk's command as a pivot. Bragg planned to drive the enemy's right and center back against its left on Stones River and across the Nashville Turnpike, seizing this line of communication with Nashville, thereby cutting the Federal army from its base of operations and supplies. In so doing, hoped Bragg, he would secure the objective of his campaign, Nashville.

Bragg's plan was equally as bold as that of his opponent, whose command was slightly smaller in strength to the Rebel force. The success of either army depended largely on the degree of success in the opening moves of the battle. Rosecrans's orders were for his troops to breakfast before daylight and attack at 7:00 AM. Bragg issued orders to attack at daylight.

The 2 armies are now arrayed only some 500 yards apart, facing each other and eager for the fight to finally begin.

Sources: The Army of the Cumberland, Henry Martyn Cist; Civil War Times, Daniel Wait Howe; Stone's River: The Turning-Point of the Civil War, Wilson J. Vance

Battle line on the Stones River

On Sunday, the 28th, there was no general movement of troops. Union Gen. McCook sent a brigade on reconnaissance to learn that Hardee's Corps had retired to Murfreesboro.

Confederate Gen. Patrick Cleburne reported:

On the morning of the 28th, General Hardee ordered me to form a line of battle north of Murfreesboro and east of Stone’s River, my line to face north, its left resting on the river, its right near the Lebanon turnpike, 800 or 1,000 yards in rear of a line already occupied by Breckenridge’s division. 

Wood’s brigade, falling back slowly before General McCook’s army corps, impeding his advance wherever opportunities offered, finally reached Stone’s River and rejoined the division on the morning of the 29th.

Although a part of Wood's Brigade, my great grandfather's regiment, Lowrey's 32nd Mississippi Infantry, apparently was not brought back from advanced guard duty at Triune with the rest of the brigade on the 29th. Therefore, this unit will miss the first day of battle.

Sources: The Army of the Cumberland, Henry Martyn Cist; Official Records, Vol. 20, Part 1

Getting into position

As a great battle neared, the 4th Brigade, under command of Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood, was stationed at Triune, 4 miles north of College Grove, on the Nashville and Shelbyville turnpike. My great grandfather's 32nd Mississippi (Lowrey's Regiment), which was a part of Wood's force, was a few miles away at Wartrace, guarding bridges and supporting Gen. Wharton's cavalry force, as Rosecrans's troops advanced toward it on its way to Murfreesboro. According to a regimental soldier's recollection, Lowrey's 32nd Regiment was ordered to Murfreesboro on this Saturday in 1862, although according to Lowrey, the regiment did not participate in the first day of the battle.

Here are the events as they unfolded for Wood's force in the battle.

General Cleburne reports:

Early on the morning of the 27th, I received orders from [Gen. Hardee] to take up position on the turnpike about 1 mile north of my encampment. While making this disposition, I received orders from General Hardee to move the three brigades with me to Murfreesborough by the routes previously decided upon; also that Wood’s brigade would remain at Triune and assist General Wharton’s cavalry to retard the farther advance of the enemy.

For proceedings of Wood’s brigade under this order, I respectfully refer you to the report of Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood, herewith transmitted.

Gen. Wood's report continues the narrative of events prior to the battle: 

On the morning of the 28th, General Hardee ordered me to form line of battle north of Murfreesborough and east of Stone’s River, my line to face north, its left resting on the river, its right near the Lebanon turnpike, 800 or 1,000 yards in rear of a line already occupied by Breckinridge’s division.

Wood’s brigade, falling back slowly before General McCook’s army corps, impending his advance wherever the opportunity offered, finally reached Stone’s River and rejoined the division on the morning of the 29th.

I lay, inactive, in line of battle until the evening of the 30th, when I received orders to move from the right to the left of the army. Arriving in the fording place on Stone’s River, I received orders to remain there until General Hardee had examined the ground and determined my position. It was dark when staff officers were sent to order me forward and show me my position. The passage of the river in the night was attended with many difficulties, and my whole division was not in position before midnight. As well as I could judge from the camp-fires, my line was a prolongation to the left of Cheatham’s line, and was 400 or 500 yards in rear of McCown’s division.”

Gen. Hardee then ordered that the brigades should be ready to attack the enemy at 4:30 AM. The narrative continues with his report:

Before daylight I formed line, placing Polk’s brigade, with Calvert’s battery, on the right; Johnson’s brigade, with Darden’s battery, in the center, and Liddell’s brigade, with the Warren Light Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant Shannon, on the left. Wood’s brigade I placed a short distance in rear of Polk’s. This brigade had no battery in the fight, its battery (Semple’s, of six Napoleon guns) having been detached the day before to support Hanson’s brigade, of Breckinridge’s division, and having remained with that brigade on the right of the army.

Sources: Corinth Information Database; Official Records, Vol. 20, Part 1; Autumn of Glory, Thomas Lawrence Connelly

Rosecrans advances against Bragg

On today's date, a Friday, in 1862, Union Gen. William Rosecrans began advancing upon Gen. Braxton Bragg with an army of 54,000. Bragg had 37,000, having been weakened some days earlier when President Davis ordered Stevenson’s division to the defense of Vicksburg. While Confederate cavalry and infantry outposts impeded the Federal advance, Bragg, well aware now that Rosecrans's entire army was moving in force against him, formed his army for battle near Stones River. This stream, for which the battle is named, flowing to the north, was about 1-1/2 miles west of Murfreesboro.

The Federal army occupies Nashville, and after 4 months of preparation, Rosecrans is ready to begin  his advance against Bragg's Army of Tennessee. He will spend 4 days advancing a distance of 20 miles, his movements being delayed by the cavalry of Generals Wheeler and Wharton, who will whittle away at his troops, killing and wounding large numbers. Rosecrans's plan is for Maj. Gen. McCook to advance with 3 divisions by Triune against Hardee's Corps, Maj. Gen George H. Thomas to advance on his right with 2 divisions, and Maj. Gen. Crittenden with 3 divisions to move directly on Murfreesboro. Rosecrans is fully informed as to the Confederate position.

The Confederate center is at Murfreesboro under Gen. Leonidas Polk. The right wing of the army is at Readyville under Maj. Gen. John McCown, and the left is at Triune and Eagleville under Gen. William Hardee.

The right of Hardee's Corps (except for the 32nd Mississippi Regiment) and left were spared attack by McCook's force due to morning fog. At noon, when the fog had lifted, McCook pushed rapidly forward, with Sheridan behind him. As they approached Triune, they discovered that the Confederates had burnt the bridge across Wilson's Creek, leaving behind a battery and cavalry support to hold the crossing. Forcing the battery unit to withdraw, the Federals repaired the bridge, crossed over, and encamped on the other side. Meanwhile, Hardee had withdrawn his force and concentrated concentrated at Murfreesboro ready to receive Rosecrans's the attack.

Today it is cold and overcast with rain threatening. Wood’s Brigade is 4 miles north at Triune, serving as a divisional advance guard. Wood will report to Gen. Cleburne that a Federal column is advancing from the north. There are other reports that Rosecrans's army was on the move. The next morning Hardee will order Cleburne to move at once to Murfreesboro.

Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes was in Wood's Brigade at this time. However, his regiment, the 32nd Mississippi, was on special duty guarding the bridges in front of Rosecrans's advance.

Sources: Pat Cleburne: Confederate General, Howell and Elizabeth Purdue; Confederate Military History: Tennessee, Vol. 10, James D. Porter; The Army of the Cumberland, Henry Martyn Cist; Stone's River: The Turning-Point of the Civil War, Wilson J. Vance; Official Records, Vol. 20, Part 1

The battle draws nearer for the 32nd Miss. Regiment

According to historian Dunbar Rowland, on this date in 1862,

Colonel Lowrey, with his regiment and the Third Confederate, was guarding the line of railroad between Normandy Station and Fosterville, and General Breckenridge was ordered to send a regiment, not less than 250 strong, to relieve him. But it does not appear that the Thirty-second had an opportunity to take part in the battle.

Apparently, at this time the 32nd Mississippi Infantry, in which Great Grandfather Oakes was serving, was operating as a unit separate from the rest of Wood's Brigade, which did have an active part in the battle. According the the Official Records,* Gen. Hardee ordered Lowrey and the 32nd Regiment to be relieved on today's date, of guarding the railroad between Normandy Station and Fosterville, south of Murfreesboro, and to rejoin the brigade near Hardee’s headquarters near Eagleville. In his post-war autobiography, Gen. Lowrey explains that his regiment was detached from Wood's Brigade for this special duty, and was not relieved in time to engage in the first day's fight on the 31st. However, according to Lowrey, the regiment did take an active part in the skirmishing that followed, and Lowrey was put in charge of leading Wood's brigade in the army's retreat from Murfreesboro.

* The organization of the army, which is undated in the Official Records, Vol. 20, Part 1, but is placed in the Stones River Campaign section (note at bottom of page indicates that it was “compiled from the reports”), Wood’s Brigade (Fourth) is listed without Lowrey's 32nd Mississippi Regiment. This is likely because the regiment was counted as being on detached duty at the time, guarding bridges and supporting Gen. Wharton's cavalry.

Sources: Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898, Dunbar Rowland; Official Records, Vol. 20, Part 2; Lowrey's Autobiography; Autumn of Glory, Thomas Lawrence Connelly

Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne

Maj. Gen. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne

President Davis visited the Army of Tennessee stationed at Murfreesboro on this date in 1862. Among other urgent business, he commissioned the rising star, Patrick R. Cleburne, as Major General (recommended by Gens. Bragg, Buckner, and Hardee) and appointed him to fill the vacancy left by Simon B. Buckner’s transfer to another department. In so doing, Davis promoted Cleburne over 2 other senior brigadier generals, S.A.M. Wood and Bushrod Johnson.  

Maj. Gen. Cleburne’s division now consisted of his old brigade (now commanded by the newly appointed Brig. Gen. Lucius E. Polk), Liddell’s Arkansas brigade, Bushrod Johnson’s Tennessee brigade, and S.A.M. Wood’s Alabama and Mississippi Brigade (including my great grandfather's 32nd Mississippi Regiment). Attached to this division are Calvert’s Arkansas Battery, Swett’s Mississippi battery, Darden’s Mississippi Battery, and Henry Semple’s Alabama Battery.

Born in County Cork, Ireland, Patrick Cleburne was an orphan by the age of 15. He served in a Welsh regiment in the British Army, rising to the rank of corporal. After 3 years of army life, he emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Helena, Arkansas, where he became a pharmacist. By 1860, he was a naturalized citizen, a practicing lawyer, and a well respected citizen of his adopted town.

At the beginning of the War for Southern Independence, Cleburne sided with the Southern nation that had adopted him as one of its own. Enlisting as a 33-year old private in the local militia, he quickly rose in rank. In January 1861, he led his company in the seizure of the U.S. Arsenal in Little Rock. When Arkansas left the Union, his militia unit became part of the 1st Arkansas Infantry, later designated the 15th Arkansas, of which he was elected Colonel. He was promoted to brigadier general in March 1862.

Wiley Sword, agreeing with fellow Civil War historian Thomas Connelly's assessment, wrote that while Cleburne had a mild-mannered personalty, he was also "a ferocious fighter, perhaps the best infantry general of the Confederacy's Western armies." Sword also observes that "Cleburne was an overachiever with a driving zeal for success." He also was possessed with "uncompromising integrity... Unwilling to compromise principle or personal dignity for political expediency."

Cleburne monument at Ringgold Gap

Cleburne's first serious engagement in the Army of Mississippi, was at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. Later that August, in the Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, he was wounded in the face. After receiving his current promotion to Major General at Murfreesboro, Cleburne will lead his division, among which was my great grandfathers 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment, in the upcoming Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River). He will go on to achieve military success, even while the army looses some of its engagements. His strategic ability and the admiration of his men earned him the nickname "Stonewall of the West." Sadly, Gen. Cleburne will not survive the war. He will fall at the Battle of Franklin in 1864.

Interestingly, in early 1864, Cleburne wrote a proposal to emancipate slaves and enlist them in the Confederate Army. This proposal was not well received by the rest of the army's leadership and was largely ignored. Toward the end of the war, though, even the Confederate Congress came around to the idea. However, by then it was too late to make any difference in the war's outcome.

Sources: Official Records, Vol 20, Part 2; Pat Cleburne: Confederate General, Howell and Elizabeth Purdue; Autumn of Glory, Thomas Lawrence Connelly; Mountains Touched With Fire, Wile Sword