Following the Battle of Murfreesboro/Stones River, December 31 through January 3, Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, commanding the renamed Army of the Cumberland, remained in the Murfreesboro area for nearly 6 months. To counter the Federals, Gen. Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee, established a fortified line along the Duck River from Shelbyville to Wartrace. On the Confederate right, infantry and artillery detachments guarded Liberty, Hoover's, and Bellbuckle gaps through the mountains.
Rosecrans's superiors, fearing that Bragg might detach some of his own units to oppose Grant in Mississippi, pressured him throughout the winter and spring to attack the Confederates at Tullahoma. Rosecrans argued that if he attacked Bragg, Bragg would withdraw to Mississippi. Therefore, he reasoned, by not attacking Bragg in Tennessee, he actually was aiding Grant in Mississippi.
Rosecrans will finally yield to Washington's pressure, but not before June 24th, when he will begin moving his troops to begin the Tullahoma Campaign. He will force Bragg to withdraw to Chattanooga.
Source: The Army of Tennessee, Stanley F. Horn
Source: The Army of Tennessee, Stanley F. Horn
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