Army of Tennessee

Army of Tennessee, primary Confederate army of the Western Theatre during the American Civil War (1861–65). Although the army fought in numerous engagements, it won few victories. In addition to facing some of the Union’s most capable generals, the army was plagued by problems of command, supply, and logistics for the duration of the war. Historians have identified the string of defeats suffered by the Army of Tennessee as a primary cause of Confederate defeat in the war.

Origins and early campaigns

Although the Army of Tennessee would not receive its permanent title until November 1862, for all intents and purposes its origin can be found with the formation of the Provisional Army of Tennessee, organized by Gov. Isham G. Harris in the spring and early summer of 1861. By July, however, that state force had been turned over to the Confederate government. Over the next several months the army would serve as the nucleus of a larger force that fought under a number of titles, including the Army of the West and the Army of Mississippi.

In the war’s early months the army, commanded by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, was tasked with shielding the young Confederacy from invasion along the Tennessee-Kentucky border. However, after Union forces captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, the army was forced to abandon this line of defense and retreat before consolidating with other Confederate forces at Corinth, Mississippi.

Johnston, hoping to stave off further disaster in the Western Theatre, decided that he would launch a surprise attack against Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Federal army encamped at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. This attack ushered in the Battle of Shiloh (April 6–7, 1862), which initially went well for the Confederates. However, Johnston was killed in action a few hours into the battle, and his successor, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, soon ordered his forces to halt. Overnight, Grant was reinforced by another Union army commanded by Gen. Don Carlos Buell and quickly turned the tide on the Confederates the following day.

Bragg’s command

After the defeat at Shiloh, Beauregard ordered his army to retreat back to Corinth; however, his tenure as commander would be short-lived. Owing to conflicts with Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis, Beauregard was replaced by Gen. Braxton Bragg. In the fall of 1862 Bragg’s army joined that of Gen. E. Kirby-Smith in the invasion of Kentucky. Although the advance was initially designed as a combined mission, conflicts between the two commanders resulted in the two forces’ operating independently of each another.

Bragg’s wing of the campaign culminated in the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862) against Union Gen. Don Carlos Buell. Bragg attacked an isolated wing of the Union army and forced it to retreat. However, Bragg was unable or unwilling to maintain the initiative, and as the Federal force began to receive reinforcements he ordered his army to retreat back into Tennessee, above the protests of some of his lieutenants. Following this retreat the army was reorganized and joined by other Confederate forces in the region and renamed the Army of Tennessee.

Bragg ordered the army to take up a defensive position at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where it awaited the arrival of the Union Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Gen. William Rosecrans. The Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862–January 2, 1863) began when Bragg struck at the approaching Federals, forcing their right flank to fall back. As at Perryville, Murfreesboro first appeared promising for the Confederates. Bragg hoped that this attack would culminate in breaking the Union’s supply line, forcing Rosecrans to retreat. The Confederate momentum could not be sustained, however, and by nightfall the two armies were eyeing each other from their trenches. Given the relative success of the battle’s first day, Bragg expected Rosecrans to retreat. Nevertheless, as the new year dawned, the Union lines remained. On January 2 Bragg tried to regain the initiative, this time by attacking the Federals’ left flank, but it was to no avail, and Bragg again ordered his army to retreat—this time to Tullahoma, Tennessee, where it remained until summer.

Soon, however, the Army of Tennessee’s retreat would continue, and, in a near-bloodless campaign, Rosecrans managed to maneuver his army into positions that forced Bragg to retreat into north Georgia, while the Union occupied Chattanooga, Tennessee—an important supply and transportation centre. Having successfully captured the city, Rosecrans was determined to crush Bragg’s army, and their forces collided at the Battle of Chickamauga Creek (September 19–20, 1863).

Bragg, intent on retaking Chattanooga and hoping to crush the Union army, welcomed this battle. At Chickamauga, Bragg received many reinforcements—including two divisions from Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army under Gen. James Longstreet. On the battle’s second day those troops exploited a gap in Rosecrans’s lines, driving a large portion of his army from the field. At Chickamauga the Army of Tennessee won its only major victory of the war. Nonetheless, determined resistance by Union troops under Gen. George Thomas allowed the rest of the northern army to safely retreat back to Chattanooga.

While some of Bragg’s lieutenants urged him to immediately pursue the federals, he opted to let them escape before placing Chattanooga under siege. The siege, however, was a failure, and the Union army was able to open an effective supply line and soon received reinforcements. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant—recently appointed commander of all Federal forces in the West—took command at Chattanooga. Making matters even worse for the Confederates, northern forces in the city were reinforced by another army under Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. The combined might of these forces was too much for the Army of Tennessee, and as a result of the Battle of Chattanooga (November 23–25, 1863), it was forced once again to retreat into north Georgia.