BATTLE OF STONES RIVER BEGINS

Battle of Stones River begins

As the year 1862 closed, Union fortunes looked dim after setbacks in Virginia, but in central Tennessee a different story was beginning. On December 31st, 1862, the Battle of Stones River opened near Murfreesboro as Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg launched a massive dawn attack against the Army of the Cumberland led by William Rosecrans. The Confederate assault smashed into the Union right, rolling up brigades and driving soldiers back through fields and cedar thickets in chaotic, close-quarters fighting. Yet the Union line refused to break completely, anchoring itself along strong positions near the Nashville Pike and vital supply routes. Over several days of brutal combat, both sides suffered staggering casualties, but Bragg ultimately withdrew, leaving the Union in control of Middle Tennessee. Stones River became one of the war’s bloodiest battles by percentage of forces engaged and offered the North a badly needed strategic and psychological boost after a grim winter.