NASHVILLE, BATTLE OF. A battle of the Civil War in America. fought south of Nashville, Tenn., December 15 and 16. 1864. between a Fed eral army under Gen. George IT. Thomas and the Army of Tennessee under Gen. John II. Hood.
When General Hood evacuated Atlanta early in September he moved west into Alabama. hoping to draw' General Sherman after him and carry the war back into Tennessee. General Sherman. however, sent General Thomas and a part of his army to oppose General Hood, while he undertook the 'Slareh to the Sea.' General Thomas pro ceeded to Nashville and assembled the Fourth Corps of the Army of the Cumberland under General Wood, the Twenty-third Corps, Army of the Ohio. under General Schofield, the First and Third Divisions, Army of the Tennessee. under Gen. A. J. Smith, a provisional division includ ing two brigades of colored troops under Gen.
J. B. Steedman, and the cavalry corps under Gen. Jaines 11. Wilson, about 55,000 in all. General advancing northward into Tennessee was repulsed at Franklin. November 30th, by General Selndield, who at Once retired within the in renehments at Nashville. On Deceinlier 2d Genera/ Hood appeared before Nashville and offered battle. General Thomas, feeling that his army was not sufficiently unified, delayed, though ordered to tight at once by the authorities at Washington. On December 15th he advanced from his intrenehments. The cavalry was placed upon the right of a great curve, the Sixteenth Corp: next, the Fourth Corps was the centre and the pivot, the Twenty-third Corps. as a re serve, was to the left, and the Provisional Divi sion was at the extreme left. General Steelman
attacked Cheatham's corps on the Confederate right, hut was repulsed: hut Gen. S. 1). Lee in the centre and General Stewart on the left were driven back and some unfinished works captured. Late in the day General Sehofield with the Twenty-third Corps was moved to the Federal right. During the night General Hood formed Cheatham's corps on the left. No change was made in the Federal arrangement. On the morn ing of December 16th the Fourth Corps made an unsuccessful attack on Overton's hill on the Confederate right, but Cleburne's old division was transferred from the left to strengthen the right. General McArthur, of the Sixteenth Carps. as saulted General Pate's division on the Confederate left. and pierced the line. At this moment sonic of llatch's cavalry, which had made a long detour, attacked the Confederate rear and soon the re treat became a rout along the whole line. Gen eral Forrest with the Confederate cavalry ea me up and covered the rear. General flood with the fragments of his army retreated across the Ten nessee liver, a/14ton January 14. 1865, asked to be relieved from the enminanil. The Federal troops actually engaged numbered about 45.000; the Confederate about 25,000. The Federal forces lost in killed, wounded, and missing 3037, The Confederate losses in killed and wounded were not given. but 1462 were taken prisoners. Con sult: Hood, Adronre and L',lrre( (New Orleans. 1880); Johnson and Duel (ed.), Battles and Leaders of the Vivi/ War (New York. 1887): and ('ox, March to Sua (New York. 1582),