365 Days of Facts

Major General William Rosencrans and the Union Army defeated Confederate troops at the Battle of Stones River in 1863 one day after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides of the Civil War throughout all major battles. The battle itself was inconclusive, but the Union Army’s repulse of two Confederate attacks and the subsequent Confederate withdrawal were a much-needed boost to Union morale.

Today the site is marked by a National Battlefield in the United States National Park Service.

Battle of Stones River

Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans’s soldiers marched to challenge General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee at Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

On December 31, each army commander planned to attack his opponent’s right flank, but Bragg struck first. A massive assault by the corps of Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee, followed by that of Leonidas Polk, overran the wing commanded by Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook.

A strong defense by Brig. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s division prevented a total collapse. Union armies assumed a tight defensive position backing up to the Nashville Turnpike.

Repeated Confederate attacks were repulsed from this concentrated line, most notably in the cedar “Round Forest” salient against the brigade of Col. William B. Hazen. Bragg attempted to continue the assault with the division of Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, but troop arrival was slow and the resulting smaller attacks failed.

Fighting resumed on January 2, 1863, when Bragg ordered Breckinridge to assault the well-fortified Union position. That position – on a hill to the east of the Stones River – was fortified with artillery.

Faced with an overwhelming barrage of cannon fire and falsely believing that Rosecrans was receiving reinforcements, the Confederates under Bragg chose to withdraw on January 3 to Tullahoma, Tennessee. This caused Bragg to lose the confidence of the Army of Tennessee.