Stones River Campaign Map
American Civil War
December 1862 - January 1863

Stones River Campaign Morning December 31 Afternoon December 31 January 2 1863

As 1862 drew to a close, President Abraham Lincoln was desperate for a military victory. His armies were stalled, and the terrible defeat at Fredericksburg spread a pall of defeat across the nation. There was also the Emancipation Proclamation to consider. The nation needed a victory to bolster morale and support the proclamation when it went into effect on January 1, 1863.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee was camped in Murfreesboro, Tennessee only 30 miles away from General William S. Rosecrans' army in Nashville. General Braxton Bragg chose this area in order to position himself to stop any Union advances towards Chattanooga and to protect the rich farms of Middle Tennessee that were feeding his men.

Union General-In-Chief Henry Halleck telegraphed Rosecrans telling him that, “… the Government demands action, and if you cannot respond to that demand some one else will be tried.”

On December 26, 1862, the Union Army of the Cumberland left Nashville to meet the Confederates. This was the beginning of the Stones River Campaign.


Battle Position December 28
Click to Enlarge Map Picture


Stones River
Winter Lightning: A Guide to the Battle of Stones River
Lincoln thanked Rosecrans saying that the nation could not have taken another defeat. Additionally, Lincoln said he would remember this victory as long as he lived


Biography of General William S. Rosecrans
The Edge of Glory: A Biography of General William S. Rosecrans, U.S.A
The best biography on William Rosecrans despite having been published over 40 years ago. William Lamers, who was a school official and not a historian, was looking at a limited portion of his subject's career
Battle of Stones River - Civil War Panoramic Map
Battle of Stones River - Civil War Panoramic Map
12 in. x 9 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed   Mounted

No Better Place to Die
No Better Place to Die
The Battle of Stones River

The forces of Braxton Bragg came very close to victory. But the star-crossed Confederate general ended up withdrawing, leaving Rosecrans' Union forces to claim victory by holding the field of battle

On December 26, 1862, the Union Army of the Cumberland left Nashville to engage Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee. General William S. Rosecrans sent the three wings of his army on different routes in search of the Rebel army.

Rain, sleet and fog combined with spirited resistance from Confederate cavalry slowed the Federal advance. By the evening of December 30, 1862 both armies faced each other in the fields and forests west and south of Murfreesboro.

During the night, Bragg and Rosecrans planned their attacks. Both chose to attack the right flank of the enemy and cut off their supply line and escape route. Bragg extended his lines to the south using all but General John C. Breckinridge's Division of General William Hardee's Corps. This movement of troops left only Breckinridge's men to face Rosecrans's planned onslaught on the east bank of the Stones River with General Thomas J. Crittenden's Left Wing.

While the generals planned, then men lay down in the mud and rocks trying to get some sleep. The bands of both armies played tunes to raise the men's spirits. It was during this "battle of the bands" that one of the most poignant moments of the war occurred. Sam Seay of the First Tennessee Infantry described what happened that evening.

“Just before ‘tattoo' the military bands on each side began their evening music. The still winter night carried their strains to great distance. At every pause on our side, far away could be heard the military bands of the other. Finally one of them struck up ‘Home Sweet Home.' As if by common consent, all other airs ceased, and the bands of both armies as far as the ear could reach, joined in the refrain. Who knows how many hearts were bold next day by reason of that air?”

Battle Positions December 29


Battle Positions December 30

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American Civil War Book Titles

The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville
John Bell Hood rallied his demoralized troops and marched them off the Tennessee, desperately hoping to draw Sherman after him and forestall the Confederacy's defeat

Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign
The war probably could have been over in 1862 had Lieutenant Phelps destroyed the bridge at Florence. Not doing so provided a retreat for A. S. Johnston to move his men to Corinth and then to Shiloh
A Very Violet Rebel Ellen Renshaw Diary
A Very Violent Rebel: The Civil War Diary of Ellen Renshaw House
The Siege of Knoxville (November 1863) is covered and Sutherland's footnotes make for good history

The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga
All the information you need to understand the flow of the battle at Chattanooga as well as the political intriguing that helped to shape the results is here

Sanctified Trial: The Diary of Eliza Rhea Anderson Fain, a Confederate Woman in East Tennessee
The Diary of Eliza Rhea Anderson Fain

Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence
This is a wonderful memoir of the author's year and half of active service on the staff of the legendary Confederate cavalry General, J. E. B. Stuart.

The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
1988 Pulitzer Prize for History and a New York Times Bestseller. Rare contemporary photographs, period cartoons, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, carefully choosing those that best illuminate the narrative

The Civil War a Narrative
Trilogy of books on the American Civil War is not only a piece of first-rate history, but also a marvelous work of literature. Foote brings a skilled novelist's narrative power to this great epic. Many know him for his role as a commentator on the PBS series about the Civil War

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