Description: |
Spring Hill was the prelude to the Battle of Franklin. On the night of November 28, 1864, Gen. John
Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee marched toward Spring Hill to get astride Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield’s Union
army’s life line. Cavalry skirmishing between Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson’s Union cavalry and Maj. Gen. Nathan
Bedford Forrest’s Confederate troopers continued throughout the day as the Confederates advanced. On
November 29, Hood’s infantry crossed Duck River and converged on Spring Hill. In the meantime, Maj. Gen.
Schofield reinforced the troops holding the crossroads at Spring Hill. In late afternoon, the Federals repulsed a
piecemeal Confederate infantry attack. During the night, the rest of Schofield’s command passed from Columbia
through Spring Hill to Franklin. This was, perhaps, Hood’s best chance to isolate and defeat the Union army. The
engagement has been described as "one of the most controversial non-fighting events of the entire war. " |