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The Franklin-Nashville Campaign, also known as '''Hood's Tennessee Campaign''', was a series of battles in the Western Theater , fought in the fall of 1864 in Alabama , Tennessee , and northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War . The Confederate Army Of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood drove north from Atlanta , threatening Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman 's lines of communications and central Tennessee, but Union forces under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas defeated Hood decisively at Nashville, Tennessee . OPPOSING FORCES Hood's Army of Tennessee, at 39,000 men, constituted the second-largest remaining army of the Confederacy, ranking in strength only after Gen. Robert E. Lee 's Army Of Northern Virginia . The army consisted of the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham , Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee , and Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart , and cavalry forces under Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest . At the beginning of the campaign, Union forces designated the Military Division of the Mississippi were commanded by Sherman in Atlanta, but his personal involvement in the campaign lasted only until the end of October. Reporting to Sherman was the Army Of The Cumberland under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas (the "Rock of Chickamauga "), the force previously commanded by Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans and then Sherman himself. Thomas was the principal Union commander after Sherman's departure. Subordinate to him was the Army Of The Ohio , commanded by Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield . It consisted of 34,000 men, made up of the IV Corps under Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley , the XXIII Corps under Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox , and a Cavalry Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson . Thomas had an additional 26,000 men at Nashville and scattered around his department. PRELUDE After his successful Atlanta Campaign , Sherman occupied Atlanta, and Hood, who was forced to evacuate the city, regrouped at Lovejoy's Station. For almost a month, the normally aggressive Sherman took little action while his men sat about idly, and many left the army at the end of their enlistments. On September 21 , 1864 , Hood moved his forces to Palmetto, Georgia , where on September 27 , he was visited by Confederate President Jefferson Davis . The two men planned their strategy, which called for Hood to move toward Chattanooga, Tennessee , and operate against Sherman's lines of communications. They hoped that Sherman would follow and that Hood would be able to maneuver Sherman into a decisive battle. Although Sherman was planning to march east to seize the city of Savannah, Georgia (the campaign that would be known as Sherman's March To The Sea ) he was concerned about his lines of communications back to Chattanooga. One particular threat was the Guerrilla leader and cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest, who had long bedeviled Union expeditions with lightning raids into their rear areas. On September 29 , Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant urged Sherman to dispose of Forrest and Sherman sent Thomas to Nashville, Tennessee, to organize all of the troops in the state. Sherman sent another division, under Brig. Gen. James D. Morgan , to Chattanooga. So far, the Confederate strategy was working, because Sherman was being forced to disperse his strength to maintain his lines of communications. However, Sherman was not about to fall into Hood's trap completely. He intended to provide Thomas with sufficient strength to cope with Forrest and Hood, while he completed plans to strike out for Savannah. On September 29 , Hood began his advance across the Chattahoochee River , heading to the northwest with 40,000 men to threaten the Western & Atlantic Railroad , Sherman's supply line. On October 1 , Hood's cavalry was intercepted by Union cavalry under Brig. Gens. Judson Kilpatrick and Israel Garrard in a raid on the railroad near Marietta , but Sherman was still uncertain of Hood's location. For the next three weeks, Sherman had difficulty keeping abreast of Hood's movements. Hood moved rapidly, screened his march, and maintained the initiative. The Union cavalry, which Sherman had neglected to train adequately, had a difficult time following Hood and reporting his movements. On October 3 , Sherman left Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum in Atlanta and moved toward Marietta with a force of about 55,000 men. Hood split his force, sending the majority of his command to Dallas, Georgia . The remainder, a division under Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French , moved along the railroad toward Allatoona , where a brigade under Brig. Gen. John M. Corse had been sent to block them. BATTLES |
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