Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Rutherford County
Location of marker: end of W. Main St., main sidewalk courthouse lawn, Murfreesboro
Marker erected by: Tennessee Civil War Trails

Marker text:

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO
Beginning of a legend
Forrest's First Raid For two weeks in July 1862, Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest led 1,400 cavalrymen through Middle Tennessee to raid, scout, and disrupt the Union Army of the Cumberland's operation there, leaving Murfreesboro on July 13.

Few union soldiers stationed in Murfreesboro were stirring in the early hours of Sunday morning, July 13, 1862, when Confederate Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry thundered down East Main Street. The substantial Federal garrison here under Gen. Thomas T. Crittenden guarded the vital Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad line, but the troops had been separated into groups. An infantry regiment, a cavalry detachment, and an artillery battery were camped on Stones River more than a mile northwest of the town square. Another regiment bivouacked at Maney's Spring (Oaklands mansion), and an infantry company guarded the courthouse.

After capturing the sentinels on the outskirts of town without firing a shot, Forrest formed his men into three columns and attacked each separate Federal detachment simultaneously. The action on the square was heavy and Union sharpshooters killed more than twenty Confederates from protected positions in the courthouse and surrounding buildings. The Federal defenders held fast until the Confederates set fire to the first floor of the courthouse and threatened to burn them out.

The combination of surprise, strategy, and guile proved to be effective. Each of the three Federal detachments surrendered in turn. Forrest's cavalry took more than a thousand prisoners, including Crittenden, four artillery pieces, and a large quantity of military stores. They also freed a number of local citizens being held hostage in retaliation for the killing of some foraging Union soldiers.

Group that erected the marker: Tennessee Civil War Trails URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: 1 Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130

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Date Logged Log   04/25/2023 Markerman62 visited it 02/06/2023 Don.Morfe visited it

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