American Civil War: Battle of Spring Hill

The Battle of Spring Hill was fought November 29, 1864, during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Armies & Commanders

Union

Having captured Atlanta in September 1864, Major General William T. Sherman began planning his March to the Sea to take Savannah. To guard his rear, Sherman detached forces under Major General George H. Thomas. Primarily tasked with guarding Tennessee, Thomas was left with IV and XXIII Corps commanded by Major Generals David Stanley and John Schofield. While Thomas established his headquarters at Nashville and awaited reinforcements from other theaters, Schofield, leading both corps, had his men in positions in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee.

Having been defeated by Sherman at Atlanta, General John Bell Hood concentrated the Army of Tennessee in the area around Florence, AL in late October and early November 1864. Joining with his new cavalry commander, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, he decided not to pursue Sherman but to instead attack north into Tennessee before Thomas could bring together his forces. The goal of this move was to disrupt Sherman's supply lines and capture Nashville. From there, Hood hoped to advance north into Kentucky before moving east and joining General Robert E. Lee's army at Petersburg.

Departing Florence on November 21, Hood advanced north in three columns which were aggressively screened by Forrest's cavalry. It was his goal to unite the army at Mt. Pleasant, TN before pressing on to Columbia, TN. That same day, Thomas received word that the Confederates were on the move. Issuing orders to Schofield, he directed his subordinate to begin retreating north and to occupy Columbia before Hood. Marching quickly Schofield succeeded in reaching the town first and erected series of fortifications only hours before the Confederates arrived (Map).

Reaching Columbia, Hood began a series of skirmishes and bombardments against the Union position. On November 28, Thomas instructed Schofield to withdraw north to Franklin as he hoped to form a defensive line behind the Harpeth River. The Union movement began with Schofield ordering his 800-wagon supply train to depart with a guard force consisting of Brigadier General George Wagner's division of IV Corps. Hoping to cut Schofield off from Thomas, Hood devised an aggressive plan. On November 28, he ordered Forrest to move east then north from Columbia to cut off the Union line of retreat.

The next morning, he ordered Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham's and Lieutenant General Alexander Stewart's corps as well as Major General Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's division to follow while Lieutenant General Stephen Lee's corps and bulk of the army's artillery remained before Columbia as a diversion. Through the night of November 29, Schofield received reports of Confederate movements from his cavalry commander, Brigadier James H. Wilson. Around dawn he realized the severity of the situation and ordered Stanley to move north with the reserve artillery and elements of IV Corps.

Leaving Columbia, Stanley was tasked with protecting the wagon train and holding the crossroads town of Spring Hill through which the army would have to pass to reach Franklin. Around 10:00 AM on November 29, Forrest's men turned west and advanced on Spring Hill. In the town, Wagner positioned the wagon train to the northwest under the protection of Colonel Emerson Opdycke's brigade, while Colonel John Q. Lane's brigade covered the eastern approaches. Colonel Luther Bradley's brigade formed on a knoll to the southeast below McCutcheon's Creek. Around 11:30 AM, Forrest's men encountered Union pickets on Lane's front.

Exchanging fire, Forrest pushed his men forward toward the Union lines. As they approached, Lane's men advanced and drove back the Confederate cavalrymen. As the fighting raged, Forrest was informed that the lead division of Cheatham's corps was approaching and was ordered to hold his position by Hood. Checked by Lane, Forrest directed Brigadier General Tyree Bell to clear what was believed to a small Union force off the knoll near McCutcheon's Creek. Advancing, Bell's men were quickly repulsed by Bradley's brigade and Union artillery (Map).

Arriving on the field, Cheatham's men began extending the Confederate line from Bell's left with Major General Patrick Cleburne's division to the north and Major General William Bate's division to the south. As these men came into line, Hood established his headquarters at the house of Absalom Thomas. In position, Cheatham directed Cleburne and Bate to attack together with the goal of pushing back Bradley and entering Spring Hill. In the first of several miscommunications during the battle, Hood interceded, without Cheatham's knowledge, and ordered Bate to advance west to take the Columbia Pike.

Around 3:30, Schofield departed Columbia with elements of Major General Thomas Ruger's division after becoming convinced that there would be no Confederate attack on the town. Though Lee did eventually attack, the remaining Union forces in Columbia were already on the march north. At 4:00, Cheatham's attack commenced. Advancing against Bradley, Cleburne's men succeeded in overwhelming the Union position and forcing them back to the south side of Spring Hill. To the south, Bate's men reached the Columbia Pike around 5:30 and fired on the lead elements of Ruger's division as they approached from the south. Before the fighting could develop any further, one of Cheatham's aids arrived and ordered Bate to join Cleburne.

As the battle progressed, Cheatham moved Major General John C. Brown's division to the north end of his line with orders to join in the attack. This did not happen when Brown found his right to be unsupported and was unable to find Cheatham for clarification. In the meantime, Stewart's corps had become lost during the afternoon and arrived at the northern end of the Confederate line that evening. Having received confused orders, he went to seek out Hood. Though angered that the Columbia Pike remained open, Hood believed that he could still cut off Schofield the next day and the army encamped for the night (Map).

Aftermath of the Battle of Spring Hill

The fighting on November 29 cost Union forces around 350 killed and wounded while Confederate losses were around 500. While the Confederates slept the remainder of Schofield's army moved up the Columbia Pike past the enemy camps. This movement was noticed by some Confederates, but no effort was made to block it. Moving through the night, Schofield successfully extricated his entire force from Spring Hill and by morning was en route to Franklin. Arriving there, they quickly built a line of fortifications. Realizing what had happened, Hood was incensed and his officers soon began arguing over who was to blame. Having missed a golden opportunity to destroy Schofield, Hood immediately began a pursuit. Arriving at Franklin on November 30, he recklessly attacked Schofield's position in series of assaults that were dubbed the "Pickett's Charge of the West."

Selected Sources