John Bell Hood mistook the survival of an army for the survival of the Confederacy and assumed Sherman would follow him north. Sherman made only a half-hearted pursuit before marching east, while George H. Thomas concentrated roughly 55,000 troops around Nashville. Hood began with about 39,000 men, reached Tennessee with about 30,000, and moved away from the rivers and railways needed to sustain heavy artillery. His mobile army lacked the equipment required to attack a fortified concentration effectively. He returned toward Tupelo with about 20,000 men on paper while leaving Georgia without the army most capable of obstructing Sherman. Nashville was the major battle enabling the March to the Sea precisely because it occurred far from Sherman's route.
Notable Point · 1:12:53-1:23:35
Hood's Tennessee campaign leaves Sherman unopposed
Hood's move toward Nashville drew Confederate strength away from Georgia and culminated in a battle his army was poorly equipped to win.