Confederate cavalry commanded by Gen. Joseph Wheeler moved into middle Tennessee in an attempt to disrupt the supply lines supporting Sherman’s armies around Atlanta. On August 31, 1864 after bypassing the heavily armed Fortress Rosecrans in Murfreesboro, Wheeler’s men descended upon Lavergne and Smyrna attacking the blockhouses and bridges at Hurricane and Stewart’s Creek capturing one before nightfall.
Johnsonville
On November 4, 1864 Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest positioned artillery on ridges across the Tennessee River from Johnsonville