Key Facts
- Duration
- Sep 18 – Dec 27, 1864 (about 3 months)
- Theater
- Western Theater, American Civil War
- Geographic scope
- Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia
- Outcome
- Decisive Union victory; Army of Tennessee destroyed
- Confederate commander
- Lt. Gen. John B. Hood resigned after defeat
Strategic Narrative Overview
Hood's army pushed north through Alabama into Tennessee, but failed to cut off Schofield's Union force at Spring Hill on November 29. The next day at Franklin, Hood launched costly frontal assaults that inflicted severe Confederate losses without dislodging the Union line. Schofield successfully withdrew northward to Nashville, where General George H. Thomas consolidated Union forces and prepared a counteroffensive against Hood's weakened army.
01 / The Origins
Following the fall of Atlanta in September 1864, Confederate General John B. Hood sought to reverse Confederate fortunes by driving north into Tennessee, threatening Union General William T. Sherman's supply lines. Hood hoped to draw Sherman out of the Deep South or force a decisive engagement in Middle Tennessee, potentially reclaiming lost Confederate territory and reviving Southern morale late in the war.
03 / The Outcome
On December 15–16, Thomas launched a decisive two-day assault at Nashville that routed Hood's depleted army, sending it retreating south to Tupelo, Mississippi. Hood resigned his command shortly after. The Army of Tennessee, one of the Confederacy's two main armies, ceased to function as a coherent fighting force, effectively ending Confederate military power in the Western Theater.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
John B. Hood.
Side B
1 belligerent
George H. Thomas, John Schofield, William T. Sherman.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.