The Battle of Decatur was a demonstration conducted from October 26 to October 29, 1864, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces of 3–5,000 men under

Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

Robert S. Granger Robert Seaman Granger (May 24, 1816 – April 25, 1894) was a career officer in the United States Army, reaching the brevet rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Life and military career Granger was born in Zan ...

prevented the 39,000 men of the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...

under

Gen. The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; Hebrew language, Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its i ...

John B. Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

from crossing the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

Background

John Bell Hood was marching through northern Alabama on his way to an invasion of Union-held Tennessee. His army had departed northwest from the vicinity of

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, in late September 1864, hoping their destruction of Union supply lines would lure Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

's Union army into battle. Sherman pursued Hood as far as

Gaylesville, Alabama Gaylesville is a town in Cherokee County, Alabama, United States. The population was 144 at the 2010 census. History Gaylesville is named for George W. Gayle, an Alabama politician. However, Gayle may also be the name of a local Cherokee Indian. ...

, but decided to return his army to Atlanta and instead conduct a March to the Sea through Georgia. He gave responsibility for the defense of Tennessee to Maj. Gen.

George H. Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. Hood departed from

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...

, on October 22, en route to

Guntersville, Alabama Guntersville (previously known as Gunter's Ferry and later Gunter's Landing) is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,553. Guntersville is located in a HUBZon ...

, where he planned to cross the Tennessee River. However, he later learned from cavalry

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Phillip Roddey Philip Dale Roddey (April 2, 1826 – July 20, 1897) was a brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Biography Roddey was born in Moulton, Lawrence County, Alabama, to Philip and Sarah Ro ...

that crossing place was strongly guarded, while Decatur, forty miles west, was said to be "lightly guarded". Concerned over the possibility of Federal gunboats destroying any pontoon bridge he might deploy, along with the absence of

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

's horsemen to bring him intelligence, Hood changed his course to Decatur.Stephan M. Hood, pp. 92–93; Kennedy, p. 392; Sword, p. 64.

Battle

When Hood arrived at Decatur on October 26, he found a Federal infantry force of 3,000 to 5,000 men defending an entrenched line that included two forts and 1,600 yards of rifle pits; a much heavier force than Roddey had believed. Two Federal gunboats patrolled the river. General George Thomas, in Nashville, sent supplies and reinforcements to Decatur along with orders to "defend Decatur to the last extremity." On October 27, Hood arranged his army as it arrived to encircle Decatur. Meanwhile, the Union continued to pour reinforcements into Decatur which arrived just in time to fill gaps in the wavering Union lines. The next morning, he sent Confederate

skirmisher Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an i ...

s through a dense fog to a ravine within 800 yards of the main fortifications. At about noon, a Federal regiment drove the skirmishers out of the ravine, capturing 125 men. "With the soldiers hungry and supplies scarce", Hood knew he could not afford the casualties from a full-scale assault and decided to cross the Tennessee River elsewhere. He marched further the west and crossed near

Tuscumbia, Alabama Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423. The city is part of The Shoals metropolitan area. Tuscumbia was the hometown of Helen Keller, who lived at Iv ...

, where

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...

prevented interference by the Federal gunboats.Stephan M. Hood, pp. 93–94; Jacobson, p. 43; Sword, pp. 64–65.

Notes

References

* Eicher, David J. ''The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. . * Hood, Stephen M. ''John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General''. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013. . * Jacobson, Eric A., and Richard A. Rupp. ''For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin''. O'More Publishing, 2007. . * Kennedy, Frances H., ed. ''The Civil War Battlefield Guide''. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. . * Sword, Wiley. ''The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1993. . First published with the title ''Embrace an Angry Wind'' in 1992 by HarperCollins. * Thrasher, Christopher. Suffering in the Army of Tennessee: ''A Social History of the Confederate Army of the Heartland from the Battles for Atlanta to the Retreat from Nashville''. University of Tennessee Press, 2021.
National Park Service battle description

Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields – State of Alabama

"Battle of Decatur"
Encyclopedia of Alabama.

External links

Confederate Cemetery, Decatur, Alabama
* {{authority control 1864 in Alabama Decatur 1864 Decatur Decatur 1864 Decatur 1864 Morgan County, Alabama Limestone County, Alabama Decatur, Alabama Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area Decatur October 1864 events

Background

Battle

Notes

References

Further reading

External links