Battle of Stones River

December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863 · Western Theater

Phases

1. 1Dec 31, Dawn — The Confederate WheelDecember 31, 1862 — 6:00 to 10:00 AM
2. 2Dec 31, Afternoon — Hell’s Half AcreDecember 31, 1862 — 10:00 AM to Dark
3. 3Jan 1 — The Armies GlareJanuary 1, 1863
4. 4Jan 2 — Breckinridge’s ChargeJanuary 2, 1863 — 4:00 PM

December 31, 1862 — 6:00 to 10:00 AM

Both commanders planned the same dawn attack on the other’s right — Bragg simply struck first. Hardee’s corps crashes into McCook’s wing at breakfast and bends the Union line back three miles, like a jackknife closing, until it stands at right angles along the Nashville Pike — the army’s only lifeline. Rosecrans, spattered with the blood of his chief of staff (decapitated beside him by a cannonball), gallops the line plugging holes.

• ➤Hardee’s Corps — Crushes the Union right at breakfast
• ➤Polk’s Corps — Joins the wheeling attack
• ➤McCook’s wing — Bent back three miles to the Nashville Pike
• ●The Nashville Pike — the army’s only lifeline