Battle of Decatur

From October 26-29, 1864, the Battle of Decatur grew out of Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's attempt to move his army across the Tennessee River into central Tennessee and reclaim Nashville during the larger Franklin-Nashville Campaign. At Decatur, the Union garrison under U.S. Brigadier General Robert S. Granger blocked the crossing and forced Hood to move westward and eventually cross at Tuscumbia about 40 miles away. The fighting delayed Hood's passage over the Tennessee River and contributed to his December failure to retake Nashville for the Confederacy. Short supplies for his starving army, strong resistance from Granger's garrison, and the arrival of two Union gunboats persuaded Hood and his superior, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, who reached the scene on the night of October 27, that further action against Decatur would be foolhardy. During the engagement, the Confederates suffered about 450 casualties and the Union lost 155 men.

Decatur, Alabama · United States