STONE RIVER, or MURFREESBORO, Battle of. After the battle of Perryville (q.v.) 7-8 Oct. 1862, and General Bragg's retreat from Kentucky into East Tennessee, Bragg was au thorized by the Confederate government to make a movement into Middle Tennessee, and late in November had gathered his army at and near Murfreesboro, on Stone River, 33 miles southeast of Nashville. Wheeler's cavalry covered his front, its pickets within 10 miles of Nashville.
Gen. W. S. Rosecrans, who had succeeded General Buell in command of the Army of the Ohio, 27 October, made some changes in the organization of the army, henceforth to be known as the Army of the Cumberland; which was composed of the 14th Army corps. The corps was divided into three wings; the right wing, of three divisions, under Gen. A. McD. McCook, the centre of five divisions, under Gen. Geo. H. Thomas, and the left wing, three divisions, under Gen. T. L. Crittenden. On 26 December Rosecrans, with 56,000 men, advanced from Nashville in three columns, the right, under McCook, by the Nolensville pike, the centre, under Thomas, first on McCook's right by the Franklin pike and subsequently on his left ; and the left, under Crittenden, by the Murfrees boro turnpike. Opposition was encountered from Wheeler's cavalry and Bragg's outposts at Nolensville, La Vergne and Stewart's Creek bridge; and there was some delay caused by ram and bad roads; but at night of the 29th Crittenden was close up to Murfreesboro, and under Rosecrans' orders to occupy the place he threw a brigade across Stone River, two brigades were crossing .the stream, and two divisions were under orders to follow, when the movement was suspended by Rosecrans, and the brigade recalled, after a sharp skirmish with a brigade of Bragg's troops. Thomas came up on Crittenden's right, but McCook was de layed until the next day, and after some severe fighting, in which he lost 135 killed and wounded, he took position on the right of Rose crans' army, with his left, Sheridan's division, on the Wilkinson pike and with Davis's division on the right of Sheridan. At first R. W. John son's division was in reserve, but when McCook ascertained that the Confederate left overlapped him, Johnson was brought up on the right of Davis. Thomas rested his right, Negley's divi sion, on the Wilkinson pike, connecting with Sheridan. Crittenden's left rested on Stone River, with his right across the Nashville and Murfreesboro pike connecting with Thomas.
General Wheeler had promptly informed General Bragg on the morning of the 26th that Rosecrans was on the march, upon which Gen eral Hardee's corps was ordered in from Triune, and Wheeler was directed to protect its flank, impede the Union advance and, when hard pressed, fall back upon the main body of the Confederate army, which was to give battle in front of Murfreesboro. Hardee's corps, con
sisting of the divisions of Breckinridg.e and Cleburne, with John K. Jackson's brigade as a reserve, made up Bragg's right wing; its right rested on the Lebanon pike, north of Murfrees bore, its left on the Nashville road. \Wheeler's cavalry was on the right. Polk's corps — the divisions of Withers and Cheatham—was on Hardee's left, connecting with it on Stone River; McCcnvn's division of E. Kirby Smith's corps, which at first was held in reserve east of the river, was ordered on the night of the 29th to cross over and extend Polk's left; so, on the night of the 30th, Hardee's.corps was east of Stone River and Polk's corps and McCown's division west of it. The two armies bivouacked opposite each other; west of the river they were not over 500 yards apart. Rosecrans had on his rolls 56,000 men, of whom 43,400 were to become engaged; Bragg 51,000, of whom 37,700 were to be carried into action.
While Rosecrans was taking position on the 30th Wheeler's cavalry was raiding his rear. Wheeler, with seven regiments of cavalry and a part of a battery, started from Bragg's right, on the Lebanon pike, about midnight of the 29th crossed Stone River at Jefferson, after dayli ght, and attacked Starkweather's brigade, by which, after a sharp fight, he was repulsed, with a loss to Starkweather of 122 men, most of them prisoners, but he captured and burned part of the brigade train. He then marched for La Vergne, picking up stragglers and burning wagons, and reaching La Vergne at noon of the 30th, attacked and captured the immense sup ply-train of McCook's command, which he burned, took and paroled over 700 prisoners and, pushing on to Rock Spring, attacked, cap tured and destroyed another large train. He then marched to Nolensville, capturing large trains, stores and arms, and about 300 prisoners, who were paroled; halted near Nolensville for a short rest ; and at 2 A.M. of the 31st resumed his march and joined the left of the army, then engaged. He had made a complete circuit of the rear of Rosecrans' army, had taken and paroled over 1,000 prisoners, and destroyed over $1,000,000 worth of stores, leaving miles of road strewn with burning wagons. He brought back with him nearly 5,000 stand of small arms.