BATTLEFIELD ASSESSMENT

Vaught’s Hill

March 20, 1863

Rutherford

The Battle of Vaught’s Hill, also known as the Battle of Milton, occurred on March 20, 1863.  A Union brigade-sized reconnaissance force commanded by Col. Albert S. Hall left Murfreesboro on March 18. Circling to the northeast, Hall encountered Confederate Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s cavalry, which caused him to fall back to a position east of Milton. Pursuing Hall, Morgan’s men caught up with him on the morning of March 20, at Vaught’s Hill. Dismounted, Morgan struck at both Union flanks encircling Hall’s hilltop position. Hall conducted a perimeter defense and withstood all Confederate attacks, which lasted till after 2:00 p.m. Morgan continued to attack the Union force until 4:30 p.m. when he broke off the engagement after learning that Union reinforcements were enroute from Murfreesboro.

HISTORICAL THEMES

This engagement is one of 38 sites evaluated by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission and not subject to a TCWPA Battlefield Assessment

PRESERVATION OPPORTUNITY INDEX

N/A

A rating assigned for each battlefield to indicate relative opportunity and potential for successful site preservation.

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SITE DETAILS

County

Rutherford

Date

March 20, 1863

Preservation Opportunity

N/A

Confederate Units

Morgan’s Cavalry Division (Col. John Hunt Morgan)

Union Units

2nd Brigade, 5th Division, XIV Corps (Col. Albert Hall)

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Terms Legend

Historical Themes:  Topics and subject matter that characterize the battlefield including Control of Tennessee’s Resources, Crucible for Leadership, Guerilla Warfare, Transformation in Warfare, Enslaved People, and Influence on Campaign.  Sites are identified that exhibit themes at moderate to high levels, and some sites may contain one or more Historical Themes.
 
Preservation Opportunity Index (POI):  A rating assigned for each battlefield to indicate relative opportunity and potential for successful site preservation.  The Index is generated by a model that evaluates ratings assigned for site significance, condition, risk of loss, protection potential, and opportunities for interpretation.  Based upon the POI values for each region in Tennessee (West, Middle, East), sites are indicated as having High, Medium, or Low opportunity.
 
Geo-coordinates: General/central location of the battlefield area per latitude and longitude coordinates utilized in Google Earth