On December 30, 1862, the Union Army of the Cumberland, commanded by General William S. Rosecrans, arrived at Murfreesboro. Troops occupied this area along McFadden’s Lane (called Van Cleve Lane today). As night fell, soldiers struggled to sleep in the freezing mud without campfires, knowing a major battle was imminent. For thousands, that night would be their last.
Union soldiers fiercely defended their position here. Confederates launched attack after failed attack, causing heavy losses to both sides. Bodies piled up in the rocks, and blood soaked the ground. The Union retreated, but the delay gave their army time to form a new line along the Nashville Pike.
This site saw some of the deadliest and most pivotal fighting of the Battle of Stones River and is marked by the oldest, intact battlefield monument erected during the Civil War.
Shortly after the Battle of Stones River, the men of the Army of the Cumberland began building a massive fortification known as Fortress Rosecrans. Named after General William S. Rosecrans, it was the largest earthen fortification of its kind built during the Civil War.
The Hazen Brigade Monument in the Stones River National Cemetery near Murfreesboro, Tennessee is the oldest Civil War monument still in its original location. The Hazen Brigade is credited preserving the Union victory at Stones River on December 31, 1862.
Created after the Battle of Stones River, Stones River National Cemetery serves as the final resting place for over 6,100 Union soldiers and nearly 1,000 veterans of following wars.
