Redoubt No. 4, Battle of Nashville

Redoubt No. 4, Battle of Nashville. December 15, 1864. Redoubt No. 4 lies before you, one of the last surviving features of the Battle of Nashville., In early December 1864, C.S.A. General John Bell Hood brought the 25,000-man Army ofTennessee to Nashville, hoping to liberate the city and move into Kentucky. On December 10, Hood ordered the construction of five redoubts (log and earth fortifications) near Hillsboro Pike to protect his flanks. A winter storm froze the ground, preventing the soldiers from completing Redoubt No. 4 when the opening attack came on December 15., In this part of the battlefield, U.S. troops formed about 11 a.m. along the ridge approximately ½ mile to the west of Redoubt No. 4 (now Estes Road). Meanwhile over 24 U.S. cannons dueled with the redoubt's four cannons fired by the 48 artillerymen of Lumsden's Battery, supported by 148 men of the 24th Alabama Infantry. They were ordered to hold the position at all hazard. 7,000 U.S. infantry and dismounted cavalry troops, armed with Spencer repeating rifles, began an assault at 2:15 p.m. Also, the U.S. had captured Redoubt No. 5 to the south, and directed its cannon at Lumsden's position. The Alabama troops were overwhelmed around 3 p.m. and a number were captured. The U.S. forces then crossed Hillsboro Pike, attacking the C.S.A. troops sheltered behind the rock walls., The Battle of Nashville continued until the late afternoon of December 16, when Hood's army was finally defeated by the 50,000 soldiers under U.S. General George Thomas. It was the last battle of importance in Tennessee. By the following April, the Confederate States of America was no more.