On July 13, 1862 Confederate cavalry of Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest conducted a surprise attack on the Union garrison at Murfreesboro commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas Crittenden. After surprising the Union pickets on the Woodbury Pike, Forrest overran the Federal hospital, troops at the jail and courthouse as well as the camp of a detachment from the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry. By late afternoon all of the Union units had surrendered. Forrest’s raid had the effect of diverting Union forces from an advance on Chattanooga.
Belmont
Subject to orders from Brig. Gen. Sooy Smith, Col. Benjamin Grierson (commanding 1 st Brigade, XVI Corps USA) mounted an