On January 4, 1864 Union cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen. David Stanley encountered Confederates in heavy force at Lytle’s Creek on the Manchester Pike, 3 1/2 miles from Murfreesboro. The engagement lasted until near sundown, pushing the Confederates from one cedar-brake to another. When re-enforcements under Brig. Gen. James Spears’ brigade of East Tennesseans arrived, Stanley drove the enemy off the battlefield. The Union forces returned after dark and encamped on Lytle’s Creek. Stanley described the skirmishing as very severe.
Watauga River
On April 26, 1864 a Confederate force partially destroyed a bridge on the Watauga River. Union troops commanded by Brig.