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The Battle of Stones River
December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863

Intro  |  Seeing the Elephant  |  Tullahoma Campaign

Decisive Charge Upon Byrne's Confederate Battery

"Decisive Charge Upon Byrne's Confederate Battery, By The Seventy-Eight Pennsylvania and Twenty-First Ohio Volunteers, at the Battle of Murfreesboro', January 2d 1863," Harper's Weekly, 1892
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee Collection

As 1862 drew to a close, the Confederacy was on the verge of scoring a major victory that had the potential to drive Union forces from Middle Tennessee. On the morning of December 31, Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee met Union General William Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland northwest of Murfreesboro. Bragg's early morning attack caught the Union troops on Rosecrans' right wing by surprise and quickly drove them back. Rosecrans' men, however, were able to repulse further Confederate attacks for the rest of the day.

Stones River National Battlefield

Artillery Monument at Stones River National Battlefield, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, ca. 1920s
Archives Photograph Collection

Both sides spent New Year's Day resting and attending to their wounded. Fighting resumed in the afternoon on January 2, 1863, when Bragg attacked Rosecrans' left flank. The Confederate attack pushed Union troops back across the Stones River, but then stalled as it ran into the massed Union artillery at McFadden Ford. In less than an hour, the Army of Tennessee suffered over 1,800 casualties. As Rosecrans began receiving reinforcements and supplies on January 3, Bragg retreated back to Tullahoma.

Nearly 29% of the approximately 81,000 troops from both sides were either killed, wounded, or captured during the battle, giving the Battle of Stones River the highest casualty rate of any major engagement during the Civil War.

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"I have seen the elephant."
Alexander B. Walker letter

Letter from Private Alexander B. Walker, 12th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Day's), CSA, describing the Battle of Stones River, from Shelbyville, Tennessee, January 7, 1863
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee Collection
PDF of entire letter

The phrase "to see the elephant" predates the Civil War and was used to express experiencing something strange and unusual. Civil War soldiers adapted the phrase to express being in combat.

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The Tullahoma Campaign
Order from the Federal Quartermaster

Order from the Federal Quartermaster sending supplies to Tullahoma, Estill Springs, Elk River Bridge, Manchester, and Murfreesboro, Nashville, Tennessee, July 14, 1863
Tennessee Historical Society Civil War Collection

The Tullahoma Campaign was fought from June 24-July 3, 1863. Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland outmaneuvered Bragg's Army of Tennessee and drove it from Middle Tennessee. Although the campaign was a success and one or Rosecrans's greatest achievements, it was overshadowed by Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. It also left Bragg’s army essentially intact, leading to Rosecrans’ disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in September.

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Rosecrans' Battle March

Rosecrans' Battle March sheet music, St. Louis, Missouri, 1863
Kenneth D. Rose Sheet Music Collection

English-made double-barreled shotgun
English-made double-barreled shotgun

English-made double-barreled shotgun (ca. 1850s) captured at the Battle of Stones River, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, January 1, 1863
The shotgun was shortened and modified for cavalry use.
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee Collection

artillery shell

Union Schenkl 12-lb. shell dug at the Stones River Battlefield in 1984
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee Collection

Henry Osborn

Tintype of Henry Osborn, Company F, 8th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, CSA, who was wounded at the Battle of Stones River, ca. 1862
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee Collection

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity pin

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity pin (ca. 1859), belonging to A. J. Thomas, that was recovered from the Confederate camp site at the Battle of Stones River
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee Collection



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