roger1961
Private
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2016
- Location
- nashville, tennessee
Dec. 25, 1864.-Skirmish at Richland Creek, Tenn.
Action at King's (or Anthony's) Hill,
or Devil's Gap, Tenn.
Action at King's (or Anthony's) Hill,
or Devil's Gap, Tenn.
How did Gen. John Bell Hood perform during this battle?
Thanks for the info.The simple answer is that while his performance was personally brave as a commander he did poorly. He tried to hold too much ground with too little, not having enough men to assault Nashville nor enough to prevent his lines from being turned. Hood exacerbated this problem by taking detachments of Cheatham's corps and Forrest's cavalry in an failed attempt to capture the Federal garrison at Murfreesboro, weakening his line even further. His first line was turned, and his second line was positioned badly on the natural crest of Shy's and Overton's Hills (a repeating pattern in the Army of Tennessee, unfortunately), which was further exacerbated by the placement of his worst division and commander, Bate's division, to defend the key part of the line here. Bate's men overshot the attacking the Federals, and were quickly broken, though brave men like Colonel Shy tried to stand their ground.
Hood's reasoning was that he could hold a line if attacked and that he would get reinforcements from Mobile and the Trans-Mississippi Department (Baker's brigade, Walker's division, etc.). This reasoning was flawed, as Kirby Smith had been unable to provide infantry reinforcements even to his own offensive efforts (Price's Raid in Missouri) as he intended. Once Hood repulsed these attacks, he would follow with a counterattack into Nashville. This was flawed reasoning at best.
Hood managed to bring his army (minus a lot prisoners and losses, including valuable artillery) off, but that was in large part due to men like S.D. Lee, Nathan B. Forrest, Edward C. Walthall, and the dog tired but determined veterans like the remnants of Cheatham's and Loring's divisions who fought in the rear guard over the retreat.
Thanks for the info.
An example of prime meat turned into chop meat.The Battles of Franklin and Nashville were Confederate "Meat-Grinders."
I toured the Hallowed Grounds of the Battle of Nashville in 2013. I always heard and read there is only crumbs scattered around this city but nothing much to see. I decided to do my own research, read some information on the interweb and plan my itinerary. My best resource was Mark Zimmerman's book entitled, "Guide to Civil War Nashville." I absolutely loved my tour of this Tennessee State Capitol. There is plenty to see related to this conflict. My favorite spot was climbing Shy's Hill (Compton Hill). A big thanks goes out to the Civil War Trust and the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society.
Bill