' D-15 JQ-23 UNITED STATES ..'::;~b<:r ~~~) l DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE t \ Stor.es River ?~P ~---- -- 1..------------------------- ... ----- ------------------- (Area) ' FILE CODE: CAV.Iu.R:Y OP.t:?...:,:TIO:rS BATTLE o:: STO tGS RIV:'B. c.r:.;.P1'2~ I Cav.s.lry Operations Du.ring the Union Apprca cr. l.:arch. Cf..A?l'S1. II - {/heeler's .Cecenber 30th Raid, a..-1d Cavalry Activities on the First Day of the Battle. CliP2I£1. III- Cavalry Operations -- January l-5 TECHf',:1::' ... i ·· ·:,i!.if,T~ON CENTER DENV~~r1 . ·cENTER NATIClr~fiL F;,r.;K SERVICE :·· .:·.·. ~~~l~:/:s:_ L~~nTER ~-- • r :·.: ••• ,;_f.·... ~.;:\ ~~~!\'/iCE Edwin c. Bearss FROM: Research Historian IMPORTANT April 1959 ' _::s file constitutes a part of the official records of the TO: :.:"nat Park Service and should not be separated or papers 1 1 1 , ;r!rawn without express authority of the official in charge. f...-r•-- ..... '.\ Files should be returned promp:ly to the File Room. '··.::cials and employees will be held respCJnsible for failure .. :,~erve these rules, which are neces~ary to protect the ..;nty of the official records. F'DIJ A11CROF!LM I • CAV AIRY OPERATIONS - BATTLE OF STONES RIVER Chapter I ' CAV AIRY OPERATIONS DURING THE UNION APPHOACH MARCH I' It '• 'l December 26, 1862, the d~ selected qy Major General William ii s. I' 11 Rosecrans to inaugurate his projected advance from Nashville into the heart of Middle Tennessee, found the Confederate Army of Tennessee, I! commanded qy General Braxton Bragg, concentrated in the Murfreesboro i ; I area. Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk's corps consisting of the ' I I infantry divisions, commanded qy Major Generals B. Franklin Cheatham ~· I and Jones M. Withers, and three brigades of Major General John C. Breck- i.nridge 1 s division, which were assigned to the corps, led by_ Lieutenant General William H. Hardee, constituted Bragg's center, and were camped in and around Murfreesboro. Brigadier General John K. Jackson's brigade which had until recently been guarding the railroad between Murfreesboro i I and Bridgeport, Alabama, had also been concentrated at the former town. I . I I Upon its arrival at MUrfreesboro, Jackson's brigade was assigned to Breckinridge 1 s division qy Bragg. The other division of Hardee's corps; co~anded by Major General Patrick R. Cleburne, reinforced by Brigadier General Daniel W. kia.'ll..S• 1 i 1 I ·brigade, of Breckinridge s division, was based at College Grove, near I I. I Eagleville, some 15 miles west of Murfreesboro. This force, with which I I Hardee maintained his headquarters, guarded the Confederate left. The I I right flank of Bragg 1 s arr;cy rested at Readyville, 12 miles east of Mur- l j I j I I ·I l frees'boro. Readyville was garrisoned by the division, led by 1-f..ajor I f I i i' [ , General John P. McCown. This division was an organic part of the corps, commanded by Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith. But prior to the Stones River Ca."!lptaign, McCown had been directed by the Confederate War Depart- m~nt to report to Hardee for orders. The reason being that at this time Kirby Smith was in Knoxville, exercising corr.mand of the Department of East Tennessee.1 Bragg's once all powerful force of cavalr,y had been considerab~ reduced at the time that Rosecrans 1 Army of the Cumberland corr.unenced its forward movement. The redoubtable Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest with some 1900 of his hard-riding troopers had crossed the Tennessee River into West Tennessee. At this ver,y moment Forrest's men were wreaking havoc on the Union Supply lines, which were used ~o fwmel supplies to Major General U~sses s. Grant's ~ of the Tennessee, then operating in North Mississippi. On December 221 four ~s before the I ~ of the Cumberland had marched out of Nashville, Bragg's other 1 I •. ! thunder'bolt-Brigadier General John H. Morgan had ridden out of Alexandria, I Tennessee, er~oute to Kentuc~. With him on his second Kentuc~ raid ¥..organ took a force consisting of 3100 rank and file, supported by seven pieces of artillery. The vital lo1lisville and Nashville Railroad, over which Rosecrans drew his supplies was the prilnary objective of Morgan and his "terrible men". The departure of these two crack commands, under their able leaders, served to reduce by one-~~1£ the strength of the . cavalr,y serving with the Arrr;y of Tennessee. Thus when the period of active campaigning comrr.enced, the Federals in Tennessee, for the first 2 ·~"-- I i ! ..... I ~ I i responsibility of screening the Confederates' left flank. Wharton's I picket line tied in with Wheeler's on the right, and extended in a ! . 6 t southwester~ direction as far as Franklino i Three infantr,y brigades were advanced and posted in close support- ing distance of each of the eavalr.f brigades. The hard-hitting brigade, co~~nded qy Brigadier General George Maney, of Cheatham's division, was I thrown f'or.liard to Stewarts Creek to bolster Wheeler's command. 7 A brig- ade from Cleburne's division, led qy the Brigadier General Stirling A. H. Wood, was stationed at Triune, ready to move to Wharton's succor I 8 if the need should arise. Pegram's troops were supported qy Colonel I l John Q. !J:>omis, Alabama brigade, which was drawn .from Withers• division. Almost simultaneous~ with the receipt o.f the intelligence that Bragg's Ar~ of Tennessee had been weakened b.Y the departure of Forrest's 1 i and ¥..organ s raiders, to pray on the Union supply lines, Rosecrans I learned, from. his staff, that sufficient war material had been stock piled in the Nashville magazines to enable the Ar~ of the Cumberland to assu:rne the offensive. As matured Rosecrans' master plan called for i the following movements: Major General Alexander M. McCook 1 s Right I Wing, consisting of three divisions, would move out of the Nashville I i defenses, via the Nolensville pike, to Triune. Major General George R. Thomas; with two divisions, would advance on HcCook' s right. Thomas' command would utilize the Franklin and Wilson pikes as it pushed fox-,(ard. While McCook threatened Hardee's command in .front, Thomas• would threaten his left flank. Major General Thomas L. Crittenden, in command or the ' ' ' 4 three divisions which constituted the Army of the Cumberland's Left I l Wing, would move forward on McCook's left as far as lavergne, using I I i I ; l the Nashville pike as the axis of his advance. Once Tho~~s• two divi- sions reached Nolensville, McCook was to attack Hardee at Triune. I:f Bragg should decide to stand and fight and reinforced Hardee with Polk, Thomas was to rush to McCook's support. However, i.f McCook should de- feat Hardee unaided or force him to evacuate Triune without a fight, and the Rebels should mass behind Stewarts Creek, Crittenden was to spearhead the attack. If these circQ~stances came to pass, Tnomas was to move into position on Crittenden's right, while McCook, after II detaching a division charged with the mission of pursuing Hardee, would ! - l endeavor to turn the Confederates' left and get into their rear. After drafting these orders .for the guidance of his subordinates, Rosecrans scheduled D-d~ for the morning of the 26th.9 Prior to the .Army of the Cumberland's departure from Nashville, ,. Major General David s. Stanley, Rosecrans' hand-picked chief of cavalry, divided the 4200 troopers assigned to his organization into three com- !na.nds. The lst Brigade, co:nm.anded by Colonel Robert H. G. Minty, would operate along the Nashville pike, screening the advance of Crittenden's ; corps. Colonel Lewis Zahmis 2d Brigade would drive directly on Franklin, i I I covering the right flank or McCook's column, and brushing aside 'Wharton's I Rebel troopers. A reserve force consisting of' three recent~ organized ) I I l by ! regiments, stiffened four companies of the Jd Indiana Cavalry, would i receive their orders direct~ from General Stanl~. With this force 5 Stanl~ would cover McCook's corps as it pushed toward Nolensville. Colonel Minty would receive his orders directly from Colonel John Kennett, who co~~ded the division of" cava~. 10 i I At 6 a.m. on the 26th, several hours before Stanley's troopers put ! I in an appearance at McCook's camps which were situated on Mill Creek, I I five miles south of Nashville, the infantry had hit the road. The div- I ision, commanded qy Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, tramped south- ward along the Edmondson pike. Davis' division would utilize the Edmond- son pike as its avenue of advance as far as Prim's blacksmith shop. Here the division would turn into a country lane, which led to Nolens- II ville. Brigadier General Philip H. Sheridan's division trudged out of I the Mill Creek staging area at the same hour as Davis' did.- Sherida.."l used I as the axis of his advance, the Nolensville pike. McCook's third divi- sion, led qy Brigadier General Richard W. Johnson, followed in Sheridan's I wake. By the time that Stanley's conunand put in its appearance, the ,. roads leading to Nolens~lle were jammed with McCook's troops and their trains. It was apparent to the troopers that they would not be able to reach their assigned positions in advance of McCook's Right Wing, until 11 after the infantry had bivouacked for the night.