. . . Played Hell in Tennessee

<div class=Section1><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>In 1864 the Confederate States of America was in aprecarious situation.<span style=mso-spacerun: yes> </span>It had been splitdown the middle when the Union forces gained control of the Mississippi River.</span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>To add to the problems of the Confederategovernment the individual states especially those that were threatened withinvasion by the northern forces were determined to maintain a rather largehome militia to be used only in the event their states were invaded.</span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>The Army of Tennessee had operated under a defensivestrategy for some time since the Battle of Perryville falling back to the nextmost strategic position hoping to draw the Union forces into an unfavorablesituation.<span style=mso-spacerun: yes> </span>However the Army ofTennessee found itself falling back rapidly upon Atlanta an important rail huband vital to the supply of the South.</span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>The Confederate administration wanted militaryvictories.<span style=mso-spacerun: yes> </span>Politicking in and out ofthe army John B. Hood became the commander of the Army of Tennesseesupposedly with a better plan to save the breadbasket of the South and drivethe enemy back to the Ohio River.<span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span></span></p></div>