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. It should not be confused with the Union Army of the Tennessee, named after the Tennessee River. Many Army of Tennessee personnel, including General Simon B. Buckner, were Kentuckians who defected southward after their state remained in the Union.
Army of Tennessee in The Guns of the South[]
With the timely arrival of the mysterious Rivington Men, the Army of Tennessee saw an abrupt reversal of fortunes under General Joseph Johnston, whose forces were re-armed with AK-47s as the winter of 1863-1864 drew to a close. During the 1864 campaign, General William Sherman's forces met Johnston's at Rocky Face Ridge, and then again at Resaca and Snake Creek Gap.
In each of those four battles, Sherman's forces were not only beaten but routed, with heavy loss of life on the Union side. Stunned by the sudden revitalization of the Confederate forces and the lethal firepower of their new repeating rifles, Sherman hesitated, unwilling to press the attack any further for fear of losing even more of his men.
In August 1864, the Army returned to Richmond to participate in the victory parade of the Confederate Army. After the parade, the Army of Tennessee marched out to Camp Lee alongside the Army of Northern Virginia, where it was addressed by President Jefferson Davis.
Army of Tennessee in Southern Victory[]
Under the command of Braxton Bragg, the Army of Tennessee occupied Kentucky in 1862, bringing it into the Confederate States after the C.S. won the War of Secession.
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