After the Battle of Stone's River, the Confederate Army of Tennessee moved to the Duck River Line, extending from Spring Hill through Shelbyville, Tullahoma, Manchester, to McMinnville, and spent the first six months of 1863 awaiting the advance of the Union Army of the Cumberland at Murfreesboro. Confederate commander General Braxton Bragg established his headquarters in the 13-acre Public Square in Tullahoma, which he chose because of its location on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, a vital line needed to supply the army.