OLLI0027 - John Bell Hood's Tennessee Campaign

Course Description

By 1864, the American Civil War had dragged on for three long and bloody years. While Federal forces were able to reverse some early Confederate victories, through the spring and early summer of that year the war was at a stalemate in both the east and the west with no end in sight. However, by the end of the summer, forces under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman began to make progress, finally claiming Atlanta in early September. Freed from the constraints of having to defend Atlanta against Sherman’s massive force, the Confederacy hoped to regroup under the recently appointed commander of the Army of Tennessee John Bell Hood. Hood looked to retake the offensive, attacking Sherman’s Lines of communication throughout northern Georgia, ultimately planning an invasion of Tennessee that would, he hoped, culminate with the recapture of the strategically critical city of Nashville and the return of Tennessee territory to the Confederate fold.