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The First Battle of Florence
Sherman's forces, which were heavily demoralized and nearing starvation in Florence, Alabama due to Longstreet's siege, began to grow increasingly desperate. They had received no reinforcements, and had no news of Grant's army approaching. With each day, the Union forces occupying the city grew weaker. Sherman found himself with few options. He was certain Grant was on his way and would eventually arrive- his faith in the general was enormous, and further, it only made sense for Grant to push east and relieve Sherman. However, he had no way of knowing when those forces would arrive. If they were to arrive soon, it was in Sherman's best interests to remain as-is, and let Longstreet's forces be entrapped like Caesar at Alesia. However, if they were not to arrive for a while, Sherman's forces would continue to starve and eventually be too weak to hold off an attack from Longstreet.
In that case, the better option might be to launch a massive sortie from the fortifications and try to drive off the Confederates. This was risky, however, as not only were they outnumbered, but Longstreet's men occupied high ground to the north of the city, and had an overwhelming advantage in artillery due to the large number of pieces captured from Union forces after the Second Battle of Shiloh. An attempt to retreat across the Tennessee river would be pointless, as the Confederates would easily spot it and attack their rear, and while Sherman was tempted to fake retreating across the river to draw Longstreet into attacking Sherman's fortified positions, this was also a risky move, as it would force him to split his forces and give Longstreet ample time to prepare and assault the city in the exact manner he wanted to.
There was, of course, also the option of surrender. However, Sherman wanted to avoid that at all costs- the recent surrenders of numerous Union armies across Tennessee had left federal forces extremely demoralized, and the surrender of yet another large force might begin to lead to even more widespread desertion and straggling. Further, surrendering the city of Florence would be tantamount to ceding nearly the entire Tennessee river back to the Confederates. It was the last Union stronghold along the river, and if the Confederates were to control it, shipping supplies, reinforcements, and even entire armies from one part of Tennessee to the other would become possible. It would allow the Confederates to shuffle around their smaller forces to achieve momentary numerical advantages, as they had done numerous times so far in the war, particularly with the battle that had seemingly changed everything- Chickamauga. The Confederates had recently made enormous gains at the cost of enormous casualties. If Florence fell, this moment of weakness for them would be made much shorter.
Still, he had his men to consider. If his army was doomed to be lost during the siege anyway, sacrificing thousands of people to drag it out would be pointless, and he simply didn't have it in him to do so. Sherman made up his mind to launch a surprise sortie from the city, but rather than pour out in all directions, would instead concentrate virtually all of his forces on the western portion of Longstreet's line in an attempt to break through and escape to Grant's army.
The First Battle of Florence would begin on the early dawn of March 11th, with Sherman massing up a large force on the west side of town in preparation to sally out and surprise the Confederates before Longstreet's forces were arrayed. However, Confederate skirmishers spotted this movement and alerted their commander, who would then inform Longstreet of the buildup. The Confederate army was quickly scrambled into place as Sherman would begin advancing towards the northwest. Confederate artillery, however, would immediately begin firing an enormous barrage of shells before the Union forces could approach enemy lines, scattering them. They would continue advancing despite the heavy artillery fire, though as an incohesive mass, before a wall of Confederate infantry fired from close range, along with a number of smaller pieces of artillery loaded with cannister, dealing enormous casualties and blunting the attack. Confederate artillery fire came to a halt as the Union advance began to falter and fall back, and the Confederate forces on the western side rose from their lines and charged as the Confederates in the center and right moved to encircle the now routed Union forces. Pursued into the city, the Union forces would take immense casualties before surrendering in isolated pockets.
A small number escaped the Confederate encirclement during the gaps created after the first charge from the Confederate left, but the vast majority were either dead, wounded, or had surrendered. Sherman, who was killed during the chaos as Union forces fell back into the city, had severely underestimated the fortifications of the Confederate forces surrounding Florence, particularly in terms of artillery. This miscalculation, combined with the desperateness of the situation, had lead him to launch an attack which was virtually doomed from its inception, and would result in the effective loss of 12,300 men. A mere 600 Union troops would escape from the battle and arrive at the safety of Grant's army. Out of the 15,000 men which had arrived in Florence, 2,100 had died over the winter from disease, augmented by poor nutrition, 4,900 had died or been wounded during the sortie, and 7,400 had surrendered to the Army of Tennessee. Grant's army would arrive at Florence on March 15th, 4 days later.
This defeat would leave Union forces in Tennessee in a much worse position. Rather than the overwhelming numerical advantage which they'd possessed at the beginning of winter, with 73,000 Union men to 39,000 Confederate men, they now possessed a much closer edge of 46,000 men to the Confederate 34,000. Longstreet was also no longer threatened with overwhelming numerical superiority. The plan, which was to decisively defeat Longstreet with a much larger force, and then push west, defeating the other Confederate forces in detail, was no longer possible, and with nearly the entire Tennessee river now back in Confederate hands, it would be much harder to isolate and destroy Confederate armies. With the Union defeats at Florence and Murfreesboro, the hopes for a quick, easy Union victory in the west had been dashed, and the realization that yet more months of bloody, exhausting slaughter lay ahead set in on both sides.
In that case, the better option might be to launch a massive sortie from the fortifications and try to drive off the Confederates. This was risky, however, as not only were they outnumbered, but Longstreet's men occupied high ground to the north of the city, and had an overwhelming advantage in artillery due to the large number of pieces captured from Union forces after the Second Battle of Shiloh. An attempt to retreat across the Tennessee river would be pointless, as the Confederates would easily spot it and attack their rear, and while Sherman was tempted to fake retreating across the river to draw Longstreet into attacking Sherman's fortified positions, this was also a risky move, as it would force him to split his forces and give Longstreet ample time to prepare and assault the city in the exact manner he wanted to.
There was, of course, also the option of surrender. However, Sherman wanted to avoid that at all costs- the recent surrenders of numerous Union armies across Tennessee had left federal forces extremely demoralized, and the surrender of yet another large force might begin to lead to even more widespread desertion and straggling. Further, surrendering the city of Florence would be tantamount to ceding nearly the entire Tennessee river back to the Confederates. It was the last Union stronghold along the river, and if the Confederates were to control it, shipping supplies, reinforcements, and even entire armies from one part of Tennessee to the other would become possible. It would allow the Confederates to shuffle around their smaller forces to achieve momentary numerical advantages, as they had done numerous times so far in the war, particularly with the battle that had seemingly changed everything- Chickamauga. The Confederates had recently made enormous gains at the cost of enormous casualties. If Florence fell, this moment of weakness for them would be made much shorter.
Still, he had his men to consider. If his army was doomed to be lost during the siege anyway, sacrificing thousands of people to drag it out would be pointless, and he simply didn't have it in him to do so. Sherman made up his mind to launch a surprise sortie from the city, but rather than pour out in all directions, would instead concentrate virtually all of his forces on the western portion of Longstreet's line in an attempt to break through and escape to Grant's army.
The First Battle of Florence would begin on the early dawn of March 11th, with Sherman massing up a large force on the west side of town in preparation to sally out and surprise the Confederates before Longstreet's forces were arrayed. However, Confederate skirmishers spotted this movement and alerted their commander, who would then inform Longstreet of the buildup. The Confederate army was quickly scrambled into place as Sherman would begin advancing towards the northwest. Confederate artillery, however, would immediately begin firing an enormous barrage of shells before the Union forces could approach enemy lines, scattering them. They would continue advancing despite the heavy artillery fire, though as an incohesive mass, before a wall of Confederate infantry fired from close range, along with a number of smaller pieces of artillery loaded with cannister, dealing enormous casualties and blunting the attack. Confederate artillery fire came to a halt as the Union advance began to falter and fall back, and the Confederate forces on the western side rose from their lines and charged as the Confederates in the center and right moved to encircle the now routed Union forces. Pursued into the city, the Union forces would take immense casualties before surrendering in isolated pockets.
A small number escaped the Confederate encirclement during the gaps created after the first charge from the Confederate left, but the vast majority were either dead, wounded, or had surrendered. Sherman, who was killed during the chaos as Union forces fell back into the city, had severely underestimated the fortifications of the Confederate forces surrounding Florence, particularly in terms of artillery. This miscalculation, combined with the desperateness of the situation, had lead him to launch an attack which was virtually doomed from its inception, and would result in the effective loss of 12,300 men. A mere 600 Union troops would escape from the battle and arrive at the safety of Grant's army. Out of the 15,000 men which had arrived in Florence, 2,100 had died over the winter from disease, augmented by poor nutrition, 4,900 had died or been wounded during the sortie, and 7,400 had surrendered to the Army of Tennessee. Grant's army would arrive at Florence on March 15th, 4 days later.
This defeat would leave Union forces in Tennessee in a much worse position. Rather than the overwhelming numerical advantage which they'd possessed at the beginning of winter, with 73,000 Union men to 39,000 Confederate men, they now possessed a much closer edge of 46,000 men to the Confederate 34,000. Longstreet was also no longer threatened with overwhelming numerical superiority. The plan, which was to decisively defeat Longstreet with a much larger force, and then push west, defeating the other Confederate forces in detail, was no longer possible, and with nearly the entire Tennessee river now back in Confederate hands, it would be much harder to isolate and destroy Confederate armies. With the Union defeats at Florence and Murfreesboro, the hopes for a quick, easy Union victory in the west had been dashed, and the realization that yet more months of bloody, exhausting slaughter lay ahead set in on both sides.
- Pulmonic_Consonant
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