Battle of Columbia - Background

Background

Following his defeat in the Atlanta Campaign, Hood had hoped to lure Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman into battle by disrupting his supply lines from Chattanooga to Atlanta. After a brief period in which he pursued Hood, Sherman elected instead to conduct his March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. He left forces under the command of Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, the commander of the Army of the Cumberland, to defend Tennessee and defeat Hood: principally the IV Corps from the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley, and the XXIII Corps from the Army of the Ohio, commanded by Maj. Gen. John Schofield.

Hood moved through northern Alabama and his corps under Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee crossed the Tennessee River at Florence from October 30 to November 2, with the remainder of his army encamped south of the river at Tuscumbia. He waited there for almost three weeks while his commissary officers attempted to provide 20 days supply of rations for the upcoming campaign. This was a difficult assignment because the supply line was tenuous, requiring transport on two railroads, followed by 15 miles on poor roads to Tuscumbia, using wagons pulled by undernourished horses and oxen. Hood also wanted to wait for the arrival of Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was engaged in a cavalry raid against Thomas's supply lines, highlighted by his victory at the Battle of Johnsonville on November 4–5.

During the first week of November, raids by the 2nd Michigan Cavalry under Brig. Gen. John T. Croxton damaged the pontoon bridge that Hood had erected across the Tennessee River. After repairs were affected, Hood transferred his headquarters to Florence on the morning of November 13 and Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham's corps marched across the river that day with the army's supply trains and cattle following on November 14. The final corps, under Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart, crossed the Tennessee on November 20.

On November 16, Hood received word that Sherman was about to depart Atlanta for his March to the Sea. There was no realistic possibility that Hood could return to Georgia from his current location to challenge Sherman's advance, so he focused his strategy on an alternative plan: move north into Tennessee, defeat Thomas's army before it could concentrate, seize the important manufacturing center of Nashville, and continue north into Kentucky, possibly as far as the Ohio River. From this point, he could travel east to Virginia to join up with Gen. Robert E. Lee at Petersburg. His theater commander, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, urged Hood to take immediate action in an attempt to distract Sherman's advance, emphasizing the importance of moving before Thomas could consolidate his forces.

Both Sherman and Thomas considered it likely that Hood would follow Sherman through Georgia. Although Thomas received intelligence that Hood was amassing supplies for a movement north, he discounted most of it—heavy rains during November made the roads almost impassable. As he received reports of Confederate movements 14 miles north of Florence, he was unsure what was going on. Schofield assumed it was merely a raid by Forrest's cavalry against the railroad between Pulaski and Columbia. By November 21, Thomas had evidence that all three of Hood's corps were in motion and he directed Schofield to withdraw gradually to the north to protect Columbia before Hood could seize it. Schofield arrived at Pulaski on the night of November 13 and assumed command of all forces there, including the IV Corps. Thomas remained concerned that 10,000 troops from the XVI Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith, had not arrived as promised reinforcements from Missouri.