Page "Army of Tennessee" Paragraph 8

Hood's tenure as commander proved disastrous.

After several unsuccessful attempts to force Sherman's withdrawal from Atlanta, the city fell to Union troops on September 2, 1864.

Instead of continuing to parry against Sherman's forces, Hood now turned west and headed back north into Tennessee, allowing Sherman to turn south unopposed for the March to the Sea.

In the meantime, Hood was faced in Tennessee by the army's old enemy, the Army of the Cumberland, under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, as well as the Army of the Ohio under Maj. Gen. John Schofield.

On November 30, 1864, Hood attacked Schofield's smaller army at the Battle of Franklin, losing almost a quarter of his troops, but continued to advance north into central Tennessee, where he attempted to besiege Nashville.

On December 15, Thomas's troops launched their attack, completely routing the Confederates in the Battle of Nashville, the most decisive tactical engagement of the war.

The Federals pursued the retreating Army of Tennessee, which left stragglers, cannons, and small arms in its wake.

When the army stopped its retreat in Tupelo just before the new year barely ten thousand men remained, less than half of those who had set out at the beginning of the Tennessee campaign and barely a quarter of the army's strength when Hood took command that summer.