Illinois 44th Infantry (Union)

Pea Ridge

By the spring of 1862, Union forces had pushed Confederates south and west through Missouri into northwestern Arkansas. On the night of March 6, 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn and his 16,000-man Army of the West set out to counterattack the Union position near Pea Ridge. Hoping to move quickly, in a fateful decision, Van Dorn ordered the supply trains far to the rear. Learning of Van Dorn's approach, some 10,000 Federals in Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Southwest marched to meet the…READ MORE

Lieutenant ColonelBernard Laiboldt

k-22 w-102 m-1 = 125

12 guns k-51 w-288 m-14 = 353

Brigadier GeneralPhilip Henry Sheridan

Company L 2nd Kentucky Cavalry:

Escort:

Perryville

On October 7, 1862, Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio, in pursuit of Gen Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi, approached the crossroads town of Perryville, Kentucky. Union forces skirmished with Confederates on the Springfield Pike before heavy fighting began on Peters Hill. The next day, fighting continued as a Union division advanced up the pike. After noon, a Confederate division struck the Union left flank and forced it to fall back. When more Confederates joined the fray, the Union line ma…READ MORE

ColonelFrederick Schaefer

Lieutenant ColonelBenard Laiboldt

Brigadier GeneralPhilip Sheridan

CaptainWallace W. Barrett

ColonelFrederick Schaefer

Stones River

After his October 1862 defeat at Perryville in Kentucky, Gen. Braxton Bragg withdrew his army into middle Tennessee and resupplied his men near Murfreesboro.READ MORE

ColonelBernard Laiboldt

Major GeneralPhilip Sheridan

ColonelWallace W. Barrett

Chickamauga

After the successful Tullahoma Campaign, Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans continued the Union offensive, aiming to force Gen. Braxton Bragg's Confederate army out of Chattanooga. Through a series of skillful marches towards the Confederate-held city, Rosecrans forced Bragg out of Chattanooga and into Georgia. Determined to reoccupy the city, Bragg followed the Federals north, brushing with Rosecrans' army at Davis' Cross Roads. While they marched on September 18th, his cavalry and infantry skirmished with Un…READ MORE

Resaca

Following his withdrawal from Rocky Face Ridge, the first battle in Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's campaign against Atlanta, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston established a four-mile defensive position protecting the Western & Atlantic Railroad west and north of Resaca, where the railroad crossed the Oostanaula River. On May 13th, Sherman tested the Rebel lines, sending forward divisions to skirmish with the Confederates, with little substantive result. On the 14th, the fighting erupted into a full-…READ MORE

Dallas

During early and mid-May 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman successfully outmaneuvered the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in multiple battles in northwest Georgia. Each time, Johnston fell back to a new defensive position closer to the strategic Confederate city of Atlanta. Stopped at New Hope Church on Johnston's left on May 26th, Sherman attacked Johnston's right at Pickett's Mill on May 27th. The next day, Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps probed the Union defensive line, held by Maj. Gen. John A. Log…READ MORE

Kennesaw Mountain

Fearing envelopment northwest of Atlanta, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston withdrew his army to a new defensive position astride Kennesaw Mountain near Marietta. Johnston selected this position in order to protect the Western & Atlantic Railroad, his supply link to Atlanta. Prior to taking up this new line on June 19th, Johnston had pioneers working through the night digging trenches and erecting fortifications, turning Kennesaw into a formidable earthen fortress. Having defeated Lieut. Gen. John…READ MORE

Brigadier GeneralNathan Kimball

Brigadier GeneralJohn Newton

Peachtree Creek

Weary of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's pattern of retreat through northwest Georgia in the face of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's advancing armies, President Jefferson Davis removed him from command of the Army of Tennessee, replacing him with Lieut. Gen. John B. Hood. On July 20th, Hood determined to take the fight to the enemy by setting upon an isolated portion of Sherman's forces in front of Atlanta. Hood's target would be the Union corps of Maj. Gens. Oliver O. Howard and Joseph Hooker from Maj. Gen. Geo…READ MORE

Atlanta

Despite the defeat at Peach Tree Creek, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood still had hopes of driving Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Yankees from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow. On the night of July 21, 1864, Hood ordered Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps to make 15-mile night march and assault the Union left flank east of the city, held by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. Joining the attack with Hardee would be the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham. Hood attac…READ MORE

Jonesborough

By late August 1865, the city of Atlanta was not yet subdued by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's armies. A few supply lines remained open to the city supporting the army of Lieut. Gen. John B. Hood encircled there. Union cavalry raids inflicted only superficial damage, quickly repaired by the Confederates. Sherman determined that if he could destroy the Macon & Western and Atlanta & West Point Railroads to the south the Rebel army would be forced to evacuate the city. On August 25, Union infantry beg…READ MORE

ColonelEmerson Opdycke

Brigadier GeneralGeorge D. Wagner

Franklin (1864)

After allowing Maj. Gen. John Schofield's Army of the Ohio to pass him near Spring Hill, Tennessee, the previous morning, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood led his 30,000-man Army of Tennessee to the outskirts of Franklin on November 30th. Schofield's army had constructed a strong defensive line south of the town. Hood took a position two miles south of Schofield, with open, rolling farm land between them, and prepared to attack. At 4:00 p.m., over 20,000 Confederates moved forward east and west of the Columbia Pike…READ MORE

Brigadier GeneralWashington Lafayette Elliott

Nashville

Despite a series of defeats in the closing days of November, 1864, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood continued to drag his bloodied Army of Tennessee, approximately 30,000 strong, north towards Nashville. The city was protected by 55,000 Union soldiers, which should have precluded further offensive operations, but Hood was determined and his situation was dire. Hood reached Nashville on December 2nd and staked out a position south of the city, hoping to draw the Union forces into a costly attack. Ulys…READ MORE