Civil War - Battle of Stones River

 
 
 The Battle of Stones River,at Murfreesboro, was one of the bloodiest encounters of the Civil War - over 1,800 Confederates were killed or wounded in less than an hour in the battle's final action. The Union victory gave them control of the road to Nashville which was a major supply line; this was a pivotal point in the war. The battle was fought from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. At first the Confederates beat back the Union soldiers and thought they would be victorious. The rocky landscape played an important part in this battle - the Confederates were unable to move their artillery over the large rocks. Union soldiers moved their cannons to higher ground and slaughtered the Confederate soldiers.
Only 600 of 6,000 acres have been saved - part of the original battleground now is a shopping mall. The park service has a very nice building with many exhibits and a short movie of the battle. We went on a guided tour with a ranger who explained the action that took place on a few of the sites. I was trying to imagine the horror those young men endured.