Nashville, TN (ca. 2014)

State Capitol Building

Stones River National Battlefield

Entering Stones River National Battlefield...

Stones River National Battlefield Map

Visitor Center

The size and simplicity of the visitor center at Stones River belies the magnitude of the events which took place here...

Visitor Center

Inside the visitor center is a somewhat smallish exhibit area, though it is clear and concise in its explanation of the events at Stones River...

Headquarters, Army of the Ohio - Major General William S. Rosecrans

General Rosecrans set up his headquarters north of Murphreesboro, along the Nashville Pike. From here, much of the planning for the forthcoming battle would take place...

Headquarters, Army of the Tennessee - Brigadier General Braxton Bragg

This is actually the second headquarters location chosen by Bragg over the course of the battle. His first headquarters was deemed too distant from the fighting so, on January 1, he moved it here along the Nashville Pike just south of the main battleground... "History will yet award the main honor...to the private soldier, who...has encountered all the hardships and suffered all the privations." --General Bragg, CSA, 1863

Headquarters, Army of the Tennessee - Brigadier General Braxton Bragg

Stones River itself as it flows but a few dozen yards behind Bragg's Headquarters...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - Early Morning - McFadden's Lane

After days of marching and skirmishing the Federal army finally arrived at the outskirts of Murphreesboro. On the night of December 30-31 the 80,000 men of both armies were only a few hundred yards of each other. With morning, all knew that major fight would commence but for the time being they just tried to stay as comfortable as possible against the bitter cold...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 6:30am - Dawn Attack

Just as dawn was breaking and the men of General Johnson's division on the Union right were preparing breakfast a crash of musketry announced the Confederate attack. Nearly 10,000 Confederates were charging directly at Johnson's 6,600 men, and the results were predictable. The Union line quickly dissolved and the remaining troops fell back to the north...

McFadden's Lane

This now bucolic lane was at the start of the battle the center of the Union line. Though the battle started far to the right of the troops here, the quick collapse of those divisions brought the battle here in a hurry...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 7:00am - Sheridan Makes a Stand

Of all the divisional commanders on the field that morning, Brigadier General Philip Sheridan had had the foresight to prepare his men for an imminent attack. This meant that, though the right flank of the Union line quickly broke Sheridan's brigades held firm. Sheridan's foresight and determination likely saved the battle for the Union. Wave after wave of rebel attacks struck Sheridan's lines but they held firm. For two precious hours these brigades blunted the Confederate advance allowing General Rosecrans to form a more solid defensive line along the Nashville Pike...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 8:00am - The Slaughter Pen

To General Sheridan's left was the division led by Major General James S. Negley who had taken up positions in a strange cedar forest with a broken, rugged limestone floor. For hour after bloody hour the Confederate's hit these woods with uncoordinated, piecemeal attacks. The carnage was unthinkable. By noon, the defenders of these woods found themselves running out of ammunition and flanked on both sides and they finally retreated. The cost had been enormous. As one Confederate recalled upon reaching the Union lines: "I cannot remember now of ever seeing more dead men and horses and captured cannon all jumbled together, than that scene of blood and carnage … on the (Wilkinson) … Turnpike; the ground was literally covered with blue coats dead.” Union soldiers thought the scene reminiscent of the slaughter pens of the Chicago stockyards...the name stuck...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 8:30am - The Slaughter Pen

To General Sheridan's left was the division led by Major General James S. Negley who had taken up positions in a strange cedar forest with a broken, rugged limestone floor. For hour after bloody hour the Confederate's hit these woods with uncoordinated, piecemeal attacks. The carnage was unthinkable. By noon, the defenders of these woods found themselves running out of ammunition and flanked on both sides and they finally retreated. The cost had been enormous. As one Confederate recalled upon reaching the Union lines: "I cannot remember now of ever seeing more dead men and horses and captured cannon all jumbled together, than that scene of blood and carnage … on the (Wilkinson) … Turnpike; the ground was literally covered with blue coats dead.” Union soldiers thought the scene reminiscent of the slaughter pens of the Chicago stockyards...the name stuck...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 9:00am - The Slaughter Pen

The attacking Confederates had this general view of the brigades holding firm amongst the jumbled rocks of the Slaughter Pen. Both sides suffered severely before the fighting here was over. Many units on both sides lost a third or more of their men and every one of General Sheridan's three brigade commanders were killed or mortally wounded...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 9:30am - The Slaughter Pen

The attacking Confederates had this general view of the brigades holding firm amongst the jumbled rocks of the Slaughter Pen. Both sides suffered severely before the fighting here was over. Many units on both sides lost a third or more of their men and every one of General Sheridan's three brigade commanders were killed or mortally wounded...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 10:30am - The Slaughter Pen

To General Sheridan's left was the division led by Major General James S. Negley who had taken up positions in a strange cedar forest with a broken, rugged limestone floor (on the right in this photo). For hour after bloody hour the Confederate's crossed these fields and hit the woods with uncoordinated, piecemeal attacks. The carnage was unthinkable. By noon, the defenders of these woods found themselves running out of ammunition and flanked on both sides and they finally retreated. The cost had been enormous. As one Confederate recalled upon reaching the Union lines: "I cannot remember now of ever seeing more dead men and horses and captured cannon all jumbled together, than that scene of blood and carnage … on the (Wilkinson) … Turnpike; the ground was literally covered with blue coats dead.” Union soldiers thought the scene reminiscent of the slaughter pens of the Chicago stockyards...the name stuck...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 9:00am - Chalmers Brigade

To the right of the Union line that morning an attacking force of 2,000 Mississippian's under Brigadier General James Chalmers advanced towards a small copse of trees that would bedevil the Confederates the entire first day, now known as Round Forest. In a graphic prelude to what would take place in front of the forest time and time again this day, the Mississippians came under an immediate and overwhelmingly intense fire from the Union troops and guns defending the woods. The rebels were mowed down by the dozens. After the slaughter, Union troops in the trees looked down at the carpet of dead confederates and named this ground "Mississippi Half-Acre"...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 12:00pm - Parsons' Batteries

To the left of the carnage at the Slaughter Pen, a pair of Union Batteries under Captain Charles C. Parsons was also doing more than its part to hold back the Confederate tide. With four 3-inch ordinance rifles and four 12-pounder howitzers, Parsons men dealt out death and destruction at an incredible rate over the course of four hours that morning. In all, his eight guns fired 2,199 rounds at the enemy and, despite being critically low on ammunition, refused to abandon his position until orders came to fall back to the now stout Union line along the Nashville Pike...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 12:00pm - Nashville Pike

Looking towards the Nashville Pike.

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - Afternoon - Pioneer Brigade

By early afternoon the Union position along the Nashville Pike was solid but by no means unbreakable. The enormous loss of men suffered during the morning hours meant that Rosecrans had to continually pull up reserve troops to fill his thinning ranks. Such was his desperation that he even called on units not accustomed to front line duty. The so-called 'Pioneer Brigade" was one such unit. Made up primarily of Mid-westerners, these men were normally called upon for important engineering projects such as bridge building and road improvements. Virtually untested in battle, Rosecrans was taking a gamble on these men being able to stand up to the Confederate onslaught. But stand up they did. When other veteran units were falling back, the Pioneer Brigade held firm. In all, the regimental history records that they withstood five Confederate assaults. Despite taking heavy casualties, the Brigade was instrumental in holding the line and denying a Confederate victory at Stones River...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - Afternoon - Pioneer Brigade

By early afternoon the Union position along the Nashville Pike was solid but by no means unbreakable. The enormous loss of men suffered during the morning hours meant that Rosecrans had to continually pull up reserve troops to fill his thinning ranks. Such was his desperation that he even called on units not accustomed to front line duty. The so-called 'Pioneer Brigade" was one such unit. Made up primarily of Mid-westerners, these men were normally called upon for important engineering projects such as bridge building and road improvements. Virtually untested in battle, Rosecrans was taking a gamble on these men being able to stand up to the Confederate onslaught. But stand up they did. When other veteran units were falling back, the Pioneer Brigade held firm. In all, the regimental history records that they withstood five Confederate assaults. Despite taking heavy casualties, the Brigade was instrumental in holding the line and denying a Confederate victory at Stones River...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 1:00-4:00pm - The Cotton Field

The battle was now nearly six hours old as the severely bloodied Confederate army emerged from the woodline on the edge of the cotton fields lining the Nashville Pike. The Confederates had suffered horrendous casualties up to this point and the sight that greeted them on the other side of the field must have been overwhelming...a fresh blue line, 30,000 strong, backed by no less than 38 cannon which opened up on them as soon as they emerged from the trees. The fight was far from over...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 1:00-4:00pm - The Cotton Field

Though the Confederates took a few minutes to rest and regroup as they reached the cotton field that lay between them and the last Union line along the Nashville Pike they soon resumed the offensive. It was a slaughter. The intensity of the fire raining down on them from the Pike drove back the first charge in 10 minutes...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - 1:00-4:00pm - The Cotton Field

Here is the full panorama of the cotton field which lay between the advancing Confederate forces and the main Union like along the Nashville Pike (along the trees in the far distance). In charge after futile charge, the Confederates threw themselves against the 30,000 muskets and 38 cannon that were arrayed against them across the fields. One Texan recalled that the artillery fire was such that "it seemed as if heavens and earth were coming together." Despite fearful losses the Confederates did manage to push close to the Federal lines. However, the reinforcements needed to break it were being fed into another fight in a nearby woodland which had completely captured the attention of General Bragg...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - Mid-Afternoon - Round Forest

At this point in the battle the Union line was shaped a bit like a half-folded jackknife. The bend in the line was marked by this small copse of trees, known as the Round Forest. Protruding defiantly into the line of the Confederate advance, this salient was occupied by one 1,600-man brigade under the command of Colonel William Hazen and was supported by four battery of cannon. During the morning of the 31st, Hazen's Brigade had absolutely shredded each and every assault that had come against them. Rosecrans believed the position vital to the Union defense and ordered Hazen to hold it to the last man. Bragg on the other hand might have been better served to bolster his forces at the Cotton Field but by early afternoon this defiant Union position had completely consumed his attention and he ordered it taken at all costs. The result was an unmitigated and largely useless slaughter that continued the rest of the afternoon...

First Day - Dec. 31, 1862 - Mid-Afternoon - Round Forest

Granted a lull in the early afternoon to strengthen his position, Colonel Hazen and his defiant brigade stood ready when the Confederates resumed their piecemeal attacks against Round Forest in mid-afternoon. For four hours, wave after wave of Rebel assaults were flung against the forest. Each time these assaults were swept away by the intensity of the Union fire rained down upon them. The last assaults were carried out as dusk descended and were repulsed so easily that Union defenders wondered if they actually represented a serious effort on the Confederates part. As the first day of battle drew to a close, Hazen's Brigade hadn't moved one inch and spread out before and around it was a bloody tapestry of death and destruction. "Hell's Half-acre' as it would soon be known, marked the turning point in the battle. The Union line had held firm. Though both armies had suffered massively this day, the advantage had now shifted to the men in blue...

Second Day - January 1, 1863

A freezing wind blew across the war-torn fields of Murphreesboro on New Years Day of 1863. The two armies had seemingly pounded each other into a daze. In fact, it was only Confederate General Bragg who lacked initiative this day. General Rosecrans had decided before the dawn that his army would not consider retreat, ordering his generals to "fight or die". Bragg, on the other hand, did little to improve his army's position as he was completely convinced Rosecrans would yet retire from the field. Thus given the gift of time, the Union soldiers spent the day resupplying and digging fortifications while their Confederate counterparts sat shivering in their lines knowing that every free minute given the Yankee's, the more difficult and bloody their job would be should the fight resume...

Third Day - Jan. 2, 1863 - Morning - McFadden's Farm

By the morning of the third day Rosecrans had extended his lines to the left up over the high ground overlooking Stones River at McFadden's Ford. Bragg, by now realizing that Rosecrans wasn't going anywhere saw these developments and quickly determined to resume his attack on the Federals. Because of the tremendous losses to his army the first day, the duty to attack would fall upon the Confederate troops directly across from the Federal left under Major General John C. Breckenridge who where in the best condition to carry out an assault. Noting Rebel activity to his front, Union Colonel Sam Beatty started to make preparations for a Rebel assault. Assembling whatever artillery he could, he placed his guns atop the ridge at McFadden's Farm where they could best greet the onslaught...

Third Day - Jan. 2, 1863 - 12:00pm - McFadden's Ford

General Bragg took most of the morning to formulate his plan of attack. Because Breckenridge's troops were in the best condition for an assault he determined to use them against the Federal left. The grand charge would proceed from the east bank of Stone's River crossing it here, at McFadden's Ford, and continuing up the hill into the the Union line at McFadden's Farm. General Breckenridge immediately realized the difficulties his troops would face in carrying out their assault and was quickly convinced that it would result in a bloody failure. Soon after receiving his orders (under protest) from Bragg, Breckenridge confided in a subordinate that "this attack is made against my judgement...If it should result in disaster, and I be among the slain...tell people that I believed this attack to be very unwise, and tried to prevent it..."

Third Day - Jan. 2, 1863 - 1:00pm - Artillery Duel

At precisely one o'clock, Confederate artillery began to bombard the Union lines across from McFadden's ford. Because of his foresight, Colonel Beatty had already begun to assemble an impressive collection of Federal cannon to respond to the Rebel threat. Some 18 Union guns thus began a two hour duel with their counterparts across the river. However, this was only a fraction of the artillery Beatty would have ready to greet the men of Breckenridge's division should they eventually dare to advance...

Third Day - Jan. 2, 1863 - 4:00pm - The Assault Begins

As opposed to today's thickly forested landscape the Union soldiers defending the line at McFadden's Farm would have had a fairly unobstructed view of the attacking Confederate force when they stepped off at 4:00pm. Around a thousand yards separated the opposing lines and for the first 900 the Confederates advance was only damaged slightly. However once they passed within 100 yards, the Union line unleashed a hellish volley of lead, staggering the Rebels and tearing huge holes in their up-to-now perfectly dressed lines...

Third Day - Jan. 2, 1863 - 4:30pm - Beatty's Grand Battery

Unknown to the attacking troops of Brekenridge's Division, the commander of the Union soldiers they were fighting had been busy all that afternoon assembling every piece of artillery he could get his hands on and placing them in along the high ground just across the river. By the time the Confederate's stepped off no less than 57 cannon stood at the ready...the butternut troops would never have a chance...

Third Day - Jan. 2, 1863 - 5:00pm - The Assault Collapses

As the rebel line approached Stones River, the sight that greeted them must have filled them with an overwhelming dread. Lining the ridge opposite them a line of cannon seven football fields long awaited. Almost immediately that ridge erupted in a sheet of flame. The devastating effect is best described by an attacking Kentuckian... "The very earth trembled as with an exploding mine, and a mass of iron hail was hurled upon us. The artillery bellowed forth such thunder that the men were stunned and could not distinguish sounds. There were falling timbers, crashing arms, and whirring of missiles in every direction, the bursting of the dreadful shell, the groans of the wounded, the shouts of the officers, mingled in one horrid din that beggars description. The effect of this cannonade on the Confederate was as immediate as it was destructive. According to the eye witness account of Union General Crittenden the Rebels "cannot be said to have been checked in their advance--from a rapid advance they broke at once into a rapid retreat."

January 3, 1863 - A Terrible Victory

It wasn't until the following day that General Bragg decided that further attacks against Rosecrans would be unwise and he began his retreat to the south. He had very nearly orchestrated a stunning Confederate victory, and indeed few southern soldiers would concede they had in fact been defeated. However, the cost to both sides had been enormous. Stones River had been an undeniable Union victory but the scale of the human suffering here made it a terrible one. Casualties for the Federals amounted to 1,636 killed, 7,397 wounded, 3,673 captured while the Confederates lost 1,236 killed, 7,766 wounded, and 868 captured. In total Rosecrans lost 12,706 men, or 29% of his force while Bragg lost 9,870, or 26% of his force. Overall Stone's River would go down as the 7th bloodiest battle of the Civil War with casualties slightly less than Shiloh but more than Antietam.

Pictured here is the Artillery Monument standing atop the ridge at McFadden's Farm. The plaque reads:

'On January 2nd, 1863 at 3:00pm there were stationed on this hill fifty-eight cannon commanding the field across the river and as the Confederates advanced over this field the shot and shell from these guns resulted in the loss of eighteen-hundred killed and wounded in less than an hour.'

Hazen Brigade Monument

Hazen Brigade Monument - South Face

The inscription reads:

'HAZEN'S BRIGADE--TO THE MEMORY OF ITS SOLDIERS WHO FELL AT STONES RIVER, DEC. 31ST 1862. THEIR FACES TOWARDS HEAVEN, THEIR FEET TO THE FOE'

Hazen Brigade Monument - North Face

The inscription reads:

'ERECTED 1863 UPON THE GROUND WHICH THEY FELL--BY THEIR COMRADES'

Forty First Infantry Ohio Volunteers - Lt. Col. A Wiley
Sixth Infantry Kentucky Volunteers - Col. W.E. Whitaker
Ninth Infantry Indiana Volunteers - Col. W.H. Blake
One Hundred and Tenth Infantry Illinois Volunteers - Col. T.S. Casey

Nineteenth Brigade Buell's Army of the Ohio. Col. William B. Hazen 41st Inf'try O. Vols. Commanding

Hazen Brigade Monument

Surrounding the monument are the graves of 45 of the 409 men in Hazen's Brigade who fell defending Round Forest. In the words of 1st Lt. Edward Crebbin of the 9th Indiana Volunteer Infantry who erected the monument...

"...around the spot where the monument was erected...to the best recollection 113 of our regiment were killed and wounded...it is hoped that the monument will remain standing as a memorial to the gallant and patriotic men of General Hazen's brigade who fell...in defense of Union and Liberty."

Fortress Rosecrans - Redoubt Brannan

A fort within a fort, Redoubt Brannan was one of four or five such redoubts which served to protect the sprawling 200 acre interior of Fortress Rosecrans. Redoubt Brannan is located a few miles south of the battlefield near today's downtown Murphreesboro...

Fortress Rosecrans - Redoubt Brannan

During it's years of service (1863-1866), the soldiers posted here would use sod to reinforce the earthen terraces. Today the NPS uses native grasses but you can still get a good idea standing next to the ramparts how impressive they once were...

Fortress Rosecrans - Redoubt Brannan

Looking out from atop the redoubt over what once was the bustling interior of Fortress Rosecrans. The 200 protected acres within the fort contained the main line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, enough food and ammunition to supply the Army of the Cumberland for 90 days, as well as the soldiers assigned here which numbered around 50,000...

Fortress Rosecrans - Redoubt Brannan

Due to the fact that the NPS lets the natural grasses grow unchecked atop the old redoubt I had a hard time really picturing the walls and gun platforms within it. You can certainly tell somethings there, just no defining features...

Fortress Rosecrans (ca. 1863-1866)

This map shows the relative location of Fortress Rosecrans in relation to the battlefield and Murphreesboro (just off the map to the bottom right). The fortress was the largest such earthen fort constructed during the Civil War. It contained over 3-miles of walls which enclosed 225 acres. Contained within it was the main line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, enough food and ammunition to supply the Army of the Cumberland for 90 days, as well as the soldiers assigned here which numbered around 50,000. It served to protect the main supply route for operations to the south, primarily against Chattanooga...

Fortress Rosecrans (ca. 1863-1866)

Unfortunately little of the original fortress remains. What does still exist, aside from Redoubt Brannan, is a section of the outer earthworks which marked the southwestern perimeter of the fort. A nice walking trail, which I'd now follow, loops you through the three main sections of these earthworks; Lunette Palmer, Curtain Wall No. 2, and Lunette Thomas...

Fortress Rosecrans

From the parking are Fortress Rosecrans is not nearly so impressive as it once was. With 50 cannon and 50,000 men ready to defend it, the fort was never seriously threatened by Confederate forces...

Fortress Rosecrans (ca. 1863-1866) - Sally Port

Entering Fort Rosecrans by way of the old sally port along the western wall adjacent to Lunette Palmer...

Fortress Rosecrans (ca. 1863-1866) - Lunette Palmer

'Lunette Palmer was a multi-sided, angled earthwork that projects outward from the basic profile of the fort. The ten lunettes of Fortress Rosecrans were designed to allow infantry or artillery to sweep every inch of ground in front of the fort. There were no "dead spaces" where an attacking foe could take refuge.' -taken from NPS informational sign