October 26 - 29, 1864

The Franklin-Nashville Campaign was a series of battles in the Western Theater, fought in Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia. The Confederate Army of Tennessee, under the command of Lieut. Gen. Hood, drove north from Atlanta, threatening Sherman's lines of communications and central Tennessee, but Union forces under Gen. George H. Thomas defeated Hood decisively at Nashville, Tenn. On Oct. 21, Hood set out in the direction of Decatur, Alabama, with the intention of meeting up with Nathan Bedford Forrest in the area of Florence, Alabama. Hood demonstrated against Decatur in an attempt to cross the Tennessee River. Union forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Granger for most of the battle, numbered only about 5,000 men, but were able to prevent the large Confederate force from crossing the river.