Nashville, Battle of, was one of the Confederacy’s worst defeats during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The battle took place in central Tennessee on Dec. 15 and 16, 1864. About 55,000 Union troops led by General George H. Thomas crushed a Confederate force of about 30,000 men led by General John Bell Hood. The defeat practically ended Confederate resistance in the West—the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
On Nov. 30, 1864, Union forces under General George Schofield defeated Confederate forces led by Hood at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. After the victory, Schofield moved his troops 18 miles (29 kilometers) north to Nashville to unite with Thomas’s troops. Even though Hood had little chance of success after his defeat at Franklin, he followed Schofield and built fortifications south of Nashville. Hood did not have enough men to surround Nashville, but he feared that many of his troops would desert if he retreated south.
General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded all Northern armies, wanted Thomas to attack Hood’s troops before they withdrew. Despite repeated orders from Grant to attack the Confederates, Thomas waited until his cavalry was ready and he was completely prepared. Grant ran out of patience and ordered another general to go to Nashville to replace Thomas. Grant was heading for Nashville himself when he learned that the attack had begun.
On December 15, Union soldiers at the eastern end of the battlefield pinned down Confederate troops while the Union soldiers at the western end and in the center made the main attack. The Union attack pushed Hood’s men south about 2 miles (3 kilometers). During the night, Hood’s forces built entrenchments. The next day, the Union army attacked Hood’s newly fortified position. Union troops were eventually able to attack the Confederates from three sides. The Confederate troops fled south before they could be surrounded.
Union troops chased the remaining Confederates until the Confederates eventually reached Tupelo, Mississippi. Thousands of Hood’s troops deserted the Confederate army on the way to Tupelo.
Over the course of the two days of fighting, the Union suffered about 3,100 casualties and the Confederates about 6,000. In January 1865, Hood was removed from command. The battle essentially marked the end of the war in the West.
See also Civil War, American ; Franklin, Battle of ; Hood, John Bell ; Thomas, George Henry .
