Tennessee 53rd Infantry (Confederate)

Fort Donelson

Early in the war, Union commanders realized control of the major rivers would be the key to success in the Western Theater.READ MORE

CaptainJames J. Rittenbury

Brigadier GeneralGeorge D. Johnston

Brigadier GeneralWilliam A. Quarles

Major GeneralEdward C. Walthall

CaptainJames J. Rittenbury

Brigadier GeneralWilliam A. Quarles

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

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