Editing Murfreesboro, Tennessee (section)

===Civil War===
On December 31, 1862, the [[Battle of Stones River]], also called the Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought near the city between the Union [[Army of the Cumberland]] and the Confederate [[Army of Tennessee]]. This was a major engagement of the [[American Civil War]], and between December 31 and January 2, 1863, the rival armies suffered a combined total of 23,515 casualties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/tn010.htm |title=Battle Summary: Stones River |publisher=US National Park Service |access-date=December 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821061749/http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/tn010.htm |archive-date=August 21, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the bloodiest battle of the war by percentage of casualties.

Following the Confederate retreat after the drawn [[Battle of Perryville]] in central Kentucky, the Confederate army moved through East Tennessee and turned northwest to defend Murfreesboro. General [[Braxton Bragg]]'s veteran cavalry successfully harassed Union General [[William Rosecrans]]{{'}} troop movements, capturing and destroying many of his supply trains, but they could not completely prevent supplies and reinforcements from reaching Rosecrans. Despite the large number of casualties, the battle was inconclusive. It is usually considered a Union victory, since afterward, General Bragg retreated {{convert|36|mi}} south to [[Tullahoma, Tennessee|Tullahoma]]. Even so, the Union army did not [[Tullahoma Campaign|move against Bragg]] until six months later, in June 1863. The battle was significant, since the Union gained a base from which it could push its eventual drive further south, which enabled its later advances against [[Battle of Chickamauga|Chattanooga]] and [[Battle of Atlanta|Atlanta]]. The Union eventually divided the territory into the [[Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Eastern]] and [[Western Theater of the American Civil War|Western]] theaters, followed by [[Sherman's March to the Sea]] through the South. The [[Stones River National Battlefield]] is now a national historical site.

General Rosecrans' move to the south depended on a secure source of provisions, and Murfreesboro was chosen for his supply depot. Soon after the battle, Brigadier General [[James St. Clair Morton]], chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland, was ordered to build [[Old Fort Park and Golf Course|Fortress Rosecrans]], some {{convert|2|mi}} northwest of the town. The fortifications covered about {{convert|225|acre|km2}} and were the largest built during the war. Fortress Rosecrans consisted of eight [[Lunette (fortification)|lunettes]], four [[redoubt]]s, and connecting fortifications. The fortress was built around the [[Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad]] and the West Fork of the [[Stones River]]; two roads provided additional access and transportation.

The fort's interior was a huge logistical resource center, including sawmills, warehouses, quartermaster maintenance depots, ammunition magazines, and living quarters for the 2,000 men who handled the operations and defended the post. After the fortress was completed in June 1863, Rosecrans ventured to the south.<ref name="urlTN Encyclopedia: FORTRESS ROSECRANS">{{cite web |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/fortress-rosecrans/ |title=TN Encyclopedia: FORTRESS ROSECRANS |access-date=February 23, 2025}}</ref> The fortress was never attacked, in part because the Union troops held the town of Murfreesboro hostage by training their artillery on the courthouse. Major portions of the earthworks still exist and have been incorporated into the battlefield historic site.