The Battle of Decatur was a demonstration

Demonstration (military)

In military terminology, a demonstration is an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought, made with the aim of deceiving the enemy....

 conducted from October 26 to October 29, 1864, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign

Franklin-Nashville Campaign

The Franklin-Nashville Campaign, also known as Hood's Tennessee Campaign, was a series of battles in the Western Theater, conducted from September 18 to December 27, 1864, in Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War. The Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt....

 of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 forces of 3–5,000 men under Brig. Gen.

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 Robert S. Granger

Robert S. Granger

Robert Seaman Granger was a career officer in the United States Army, reaching the brevet rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 prevented the 39,000 men of the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 Army of Tennessee

Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...

 under Gen. John B. Hood from crossing the Tennessee River

Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...

 at Decatur, Alabama

Decatur, Alabama

Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...

.

Background

John Bell Hood was marching through northern Alabama on his way to an invasion of Tennessee. His army had departed northwest from the vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, in late September 1864, hoping that their destruction of Union supply lines would lure Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Union army into battle. Sherman pursued Hood as far as Gaylesville, Alabama

Gaylesville, Alabama

Gaylesville is a town in Cherokee County, Alabama, United States. The population was 140 at the 2000 census.Gaylesville was the late 19th & early 20th century home to Isaac Knowles, born in the West Indies...

, but decided to return his army to Atlanta and conduct instead a March to the Sea

Sherman's March to the Sea

Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...

 through Georgia. He gave responsibility for the defense of Tennessee to Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas.

Hood departed from Gadsden, Alabama

Gadsden, Alabama

The city of Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama, and it is located about 65 miles northeast of Birmingham, Alabama. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,459. Gadsden is closely associated with the...

, on October 22, en route to Guntersville, Alabama

Guntersville, Alabama

Guntersville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the population of the city was 8,197. The city is the county seat of Marshall County. Guntersville is located in a HUBZone as identified by the...

, where he planned to cross the Tennessee River. Learning that that crossing place was strongly guarded, and concerned that Federal gunboats could destroy any pontoon bridge he might deploy, he impulsively changed his destination to Decatur, 40 miles west.

Battle

When Hood arrived at Decatur on October 26, he found that a Federal infantry force of 3–5,000 men was defending an entrenched line that included two forts and 1,600 yards of rifle pits. Two Federal wooden gunboats patrolled the river. On October 27, Hood arranged his arriving army to encircle Decatur. On October 28, Confederate skirmishers advanced through a dense fog to a ravine within 800 yards of the main fortifications. Around noon, a small Federal detachment drove the sharpshooters and skirmishers out of the ravine, capturing 125 men. Hood, concluding that he could not afford the casualties that would ensue from a full-scale assault, withdrew his army. He decided once again to move to the west, to attempt another crossing near Tuscumbia, Alabama

Tuscumbia, Alabama

Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423 and is included in The Shoals MSA....

, where Muscle Shoals

Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...

 would prevent interference by Federal gunboats.

Aftermath

Union forces burned down the city of Decatur, including the railroad bridge, leaving several structures standing, four of which survive today: the Old State Bank, the Dancy-Polk House, the Todd House, and the McEntire House

McEntire House

The Rhea-McEntire House is a historic antebellum Greek Revival mansion located along the shoreline of the Tennessee River's Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama....

. Slugs

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

 can still be found in the masonry of the Greek Revival bank building.

Further reading

• Carpenter, Noel. A Slight Demonstration
  A Slight Demonstration
  A Slight Demonstration is a 2007 book about the 1864 Civil War Battle of Decatur, a pivotal event in Confederate General John B. Hood's disastrous Tennessee Campaign late in the war, in which a Union force of only 2-5,000 soldiers prevented Hood's 23,000 strong army from crossing the Tennessee...
  
  : Decatur, October 1864, Clumsy Beginning of Gen. John B. Hood's Tennessee Campaign. Austin, TX: Legacy Books and Letters, 2007. ISBN 978-0-615-14866-3.

External links

• Confederate Cemetery, Decatur, Alabama