Shelbyville

On June 27, 1863, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg’s army was withdrawing from the vicinity of fortified Shelbyville and concentrating at Tullahoma in the face of Union Gen. William S. Rosecran’s advance. Union Gen. David S. Stanley’s cavalry clashed outside town with Confederate Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s troopers, who were screening the infantry’s retreat.  Wheeler’s men temporarily occupied part of the defensive works on the outskirts of Shelbyville. Stanley’s cavalry found a portion of the works undefended and moved along it until the struck the Confederate flank.  Part of Wheeler’s command fled through Shelbyville where the Confederates made a brief stand before retreating.  Union cavalry overwhelmed Wheeler at the Duck River bridge where some men and horses were trampled or drowned in the river. For lack of infantry support, Stanley discontinued the pursuit of Wheeler [Excerpted from Civil War Trails Marker-Shelbyville, TN]