The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lieutenant General John Bell Hood and the Union Army of the Cumberland (AoC) under Major General George H. Thomas. In one of the largest victories achieved by the Union Army during the war, Thomas attacked and routed Hood's army, largely destroying it as an effective fighting force.
The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, fought August 29–30, 1862, was one of the most complete Confederate victories in the war by Major General Edmund Kirby Smith against Union major general William "Bull" Nelson's forces, which were defending the town. It was the first major battle in the Kentucky Campaign. The battle took place on and around what is now the grounds of the Blue Grass Army Depot, outside Richmond, Kentucky.
The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal.
The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861.
The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861 in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S. president, who was fighting Major General Leonidas Polk. Grant's troops in this battle were the "nucleus" of what would become the Union Army of the Tennessee.
The siege of Knoxville saw Lieutenant General James Longstreet's Confederate forces besiege the Union garrison of Knoxville, Tennessee, led by Major General Ambrose Burnside. When Major General William T. Sherman approached Knoxville with an overwhelming Union force, Longstreet ended the siege on December 4 and withdrew northeast. The siege was part of the Knoxville campaign of the American Civil War.
Louisville in the American Civil War was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the Western Theater. By the end of the war, Louisville had not been attacked once, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Perryville and Corydon, Indiana, took place nearby.
Marcellus Jerome Clarke was a Confederate captain who in 1864 became one of Kentucky's most famous guerrillas. He was rumored to be "Sue Mundy", a character publicized by George Prentice, editor of the Louisville Journal.
The 104th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. It played a conspicuous role at the Battle of Franklin during the 1864 Franklin–Nashville campaign, where six members later received the Medal of Honor, most for capturing enemy flags.
The Battle of Middle Boggy, also known as the 'Battle of Middle Boggy River or Battle of Middle Boggy Depot, took place on February 13, 1864 in Choctaw Indian Territory, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of what is now Allen in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. Advancing down the Dragoon Trail toward Fort Washita, Union Colonel William A. Phillips sent out an advance of approximately 350 men from the 14th Kansas Cavalry and two howitzers to attack a Confederate outpost guarding the Trail's crossing of Middle Boggy River. The Confederate force was led by Captain Jonathan Nail and composed of one company of the First Choctaw and Chickasaw Cavalry, a detachment of the 20th Texas Cavalry and part of the Seminole Battalion of Mounted Rifles. The outpost was about 12 miles (19 km) from Muddy Boggy Depot, which was held by the Confederates. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says that the battlefield was 15 miles northeast of the depot, whereas the battlefield marker says the distance was 12 miles. The Confederate force at the outpost, consisting of 90 poorly armed men, were caught off guard when Willetts attacked them. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Confederates held off the Union cavalry attack for approximately 30 minutes before retreating to the rest of Lt. Col. John Jumper's Seminole Battalion, who were not at the main skirmish. The Confederates retreated 45 miles (72 km) southwest down the Dragoon Trail. The Union advance continued south toward Ft. Washita the next day, but when the expected reinforcements did not arrive Philips' Expedition into Indian Territory stalled on February 15, near old Stonewall.
The Confederate Heartland Offensive, also known as the Kentucky Campaign, was an American Civil War campaign conducted by the Confederate States Army in Tennessee and Kentucky where Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith tried to draw neutral Kentucky into the Confederacy by outflanking Union troops under Major General Don Carlos Buell. Though they scored some successes, notably a tactical win at Perryville, they soon retreated, leaving Kentucky primarily under Union control for the rest of the war.
The 80th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of ten companies that drew primarily from eight southern Illinois counties. Over the course of the war the regiment traveled approximately 6,000 miles, and was in over 20 battles.
The 78th Illinois Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 11th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment from Illinois that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In April 1861, it was formed as a three-month volunteer unit, and in July 1861 it was reorganized as a three-year unit, in which role it served until the end of the war. Two of its commanding officers were promoted to brigadier general and led major units during the war. In its first major action at Fort Donelson the regiment suffered terrible losses. The 11th Illinois also fought at Shiloh, Riggins Hill, Vicksburg, First Yazoo City, Second Yazoo City, and Fort Blakely. In April 1863, the 109th Illinois Infantry Regiment was disbanded and its enlisted men transferred into the 11th Illinois. The regiment was mustered out of service in July 1865.
The 107th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was raised as part of the call for 300,000 volunteers in the summer and fall of 1862. It was organized on September 4, 1862, at Camp Butler near Springfield, Illinois, and was composed of men from DeWitt, Piatt, and Williamson Counties in central and southern Illinois.
The 63rd Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Battle of Riggins Hill was a minor engagement in western Tennessee during the American Civil War. A Confederate raiding force under Colonel Thomas Woodward captured Clarksville, Tennessee, threatening Union shipping on the Cumberland River. Several Union regiments led by Colonel William Warren Lowe advanced from nearby Fort Donelson and drove off the Confederates after a struggle lasting less than an hour. The action occurred during the Confederate Heartland Offensive but only affected the local area.
The M1857 12-pounder Napoleon or Light 12-pounder gun or 12-pounder gun-howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzleloading artillery piece that was adopted by the United States Army in 1857 and extensively employed in the American Civil War. The gun was the American-manufactured version of the French canon obusier de 12 which combined the functions of both field gun and howitzer. The weapon proved to be simple to produce, reliable, and robust. It fired a 12.03 lb (5.5 kg) round shot a distance of 1,619 to 1,680 yd at 5° elevation. It could also fire canister shot, common shell, and spherical case shot. The 12-pounder Napoleon outclassed and soon replaced the M1841 6-pounder field gun and the M1841 12-pounder howitzer in the U.S. Army, while replacement of these older weapons was slower in the Confederate States Army. A total of 1,157 were produced for the U.S. Army, all but a few in the period 1861–1863. The Confederate States of America utilized captured U.S. 12-pounder Napoleons and also manufactured about 500 during the war. The weapon was named after Napoleon III of France who helped develop the weapon.
The Madison Louisiana Light Artillery was a Louisiana artillery unit that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Formed as an infantry company, it arrived in the Eastern Theater in May 1861 and was converted to an artillery battery in August. The unit was armed with six guns in 1861, but by September 1862, it had only four guns. It served at Garnett's and Golding's Farm, Savage's Station, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg in 1862. The battery fought at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg and in the Knoxville campaign in 1863. The Madison Light Artillery served in the Overland campaign and at the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. The unit surrendered at Appomattox in April 1865.
Morgan's Christmas Raid was carried out by Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan between December 22, 1862, and January 5, 1863. Morgan's intention was to cut the supply lines to the Union Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee. The Union used the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Morgan had identified two 500-foot (150 m) long trestle bridges at Muldraugh's Hill that could be burnt. Morgan's 4,000-strong cavalry force left Alexandria, Tennessee, on December 22 and passed into Kentucky on Christmas Eve, defeating part of the 2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment near Tompkinsville. On Christmas Day they fought and defeated an Indiana cavalry detachment at Bear Wallow, Barren County. The Union sent forces under Colonel John Marshall Harlan and Major General Joseph J. Reynolds to try to catch Morgan, though Morgan used ruses to distract his pursuers. Morgan captured a Union stockade at Bonnieville on December 26 and on December 27 captured Elizabethtown before burning the bridges at Muldraugh's Hill.
