The War was not "winding up" in late 1864, except for those gifted with hindsight. The Army of Northern Virginia had not been pinned, despite Grant's relentless and bloody Overland Campaign.
The study of history by necessity involves hindsight
LOL. Ok, so everyone living in 1864 knew what you know. Ergo, everything that went wrong for Confederates was pre-determined by 21st Century hindsight. Equally, everything that went right for the Union Army was determined by 21-Century hindsight.
Gothcha
Schofield defeated Hood, and Grant defeated Lee. Not sure of the point being made here.Grant couldn't do to Lee what Schofield did to Hood, but that is for a different thread.
That is an interesting question, the order of battle at Nashville was:This raises a question; just what was Thomas's army at Nashville called, if anything? He had the 4th Corps which had been in the Army of the Cumberland but the other 2 corps of that army, the 14th and 20th, were now marching to the Sea and called the Army of Georgia. And Thomas had the 23rd Corps which had been called the Army of the Ohio. And he had AJ Smith's force of 3 divisions which was called Detachment Army of the Tennessee. And various garrison troops and Wilson's cavalry. All these forces were operating in the Department of the Cumberland and I assume Thomas kept the headquarters and staff of the Army of the Cumberland, so was his army in effect the Army of the Cumberland if not in name? I wonder.
I wonder also if anybody back then cared. The war was winding up fast and Federal troops were shuffled around and formed into armies and battle groups as needed. This was also seen in the Shenandoah, Mobile and Appomattox campaigns.
If he actually believed that, we may have to revive the "under the influence" theory that Steve Davis and the Hood papers have thoroughly refuted.Hood sent a positive report to Richmond. So perhaps Hood felt he had won.
Hood sent a positive report to Richmond. So perhaps Hood felt he had won.
Hood is the poster boy for the Peter Principle.
But Spring Hill was his and his staff's faultHe was a bit of a one-trick pony. He made his name with hard-hitting assaults and that instinct followed him from brigade up to army command.
That said, and in fairness to Hood, after the Spring Hill debacle, Franklin was going to be the last chance to impede Schofield from reaching Nashville and Hood threw a hail-mary. Unfortunately for his men, it turned into a bloody disaster.
Ryan
Schofield wasn't in the AoC. He was a department Commander, which was why he was in command of those units with him until he reached Nashville. It was Stanley whom I believe ranked him otherwise.That is an interesting question, the order of battle at Nashville was:
Army of the Cumberland
MG George Thomas, Commanding
IV Corps
BG Thomas J. Wood
XXIII Corps
MG John M. Schofield
Detachment, Army of the Tennessee
MG Andrew J. Smith
Provisional Detachment (District of the Etowah)
MG James B. Steedman
Cavalry Corps
MG James H. Wilson
Mississippi River Squadron
10th District
Lt. Commander LeRoy Fitch
[Most people are unaware that Thomas had a fleet, so will list the vessels.]
River Monitor, U.S.S. Neosho; Ironclad, U.S.S. Carondelet; Tinclad, U.S.S. Silver Lake, Brillliant, Reindeer, Moose, Fairplay, & Springfield.
But Spring Hill was his and his staff's fault
I think that a lot of that was CYA pointing to the fact that he held the field after Schofield withdrew toward Nashville.
Ryan
I believe Schofield commanded the Army of the Ohio.Schofield wasn't in the AoC. He was a department Commander, which was why he was in command of those units with him until he reached Nashville. It was Stanley whom I believe ranked him otherwise.
In all fairness, I would bet that most CW commanders on either side wrote their after action reports to put their best spin on the outcome of the battle.
Sometimes they didn't wait that long. Beauregard notified Richmond towards the end of the first day's fighting at Shiloh that the Army of Mississippi had scored a victory. Bragg did the same thing after the first day at Stones River. Of course, in their own way, the first day of fighting at both those battles did favor the Confederacy, but those commanders were obviously over eager to get credit, albeit prematurely.Absolutely. That's why there's a lot of, "I didn't retreat until all the units around me ran."
Ryan