Battle of Liberty Gap

{{Infobox military conflict |conflict=Battle of Liberty Gap | image= Tullahoma Campaign.png | image_size = 300 |caption= |partof=the [[American Civil War]] |date= {{Start date|1863|6|24}} – {{End date|1863|6|26}} |place=[[Bedford County, Tennessee]] |result=[[United States of America|Union]] victory |combatant1= {{flagicon|USA|1861}} [[United States]] ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]) |combatant2= {{flagicon|CSA|1863}} [[Confederate States of America|CSA (Confederacy)]] |commander1=[[Alexander M. McCook]] |commander2=[[St. John R. Liddell]] |units1=[[XX Corps (Union Army)|XX Corps]] |units2=[[First Corps, Army of Tennessee|Hardee's Corps]] |casualties1=Unknown |casualties2=Unknown |}} {{Campaignbox Tullahoma or Middle Tennessee Campaign}} The '''Battle of Liberty Gap''' was fought during the [[Tullahoma Campaign]] of the [[American Civil War]]. The battle was an early instance of [[mounted infantry]] using [[Spencer repeating rifle]]s during the war similar to the concurrent [[battle of Hoover's Gap]]. [[File:"Blow fight!" General August Willich at the Battle of Liberty Gap, Tennessee, June 1863 LCCN2017647020.jpg|thumb|350px|General August Willich at the Battle of Liberty Gap by [[Adolph Metzner]]]] ==Background== Following the retreat after the [[Battle of Stones River]], Gen. [[Braxton Bragg]], commander of the [[Army of Tennessee]], established a fortified line along the Duck River from [[Shelbyville, Tennessee|Shelbyville]] to [[Wartrace, Tennessee|Wartrace]]. On the Confederate right, infantry and artillery detachments guarded Liberty, Hoover's, and Bellbuckle gaps through the mountains. Maj. Gen. [[William S. Rosecrans]], commanding the [[Army of the Cumberland]], feigned an attack on Shelbyville but massed against Bragg's right. His troops struck out toward the gaps with [[George H. Thomas]] and the [[XIV Corps (Union Army)|XIV Corps]] moved against Hoover's Gap. Moving against Liberty Gap was [[Alexander M. McCook]] and the [[XX Corps (Union Army)|XX Corps]].<ref name=ABPP>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080516174306/http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/tn017.htm ABPP: Hoover's Gap]</ref>

==Battle== On June 24 McCook sent a brigade under Colonel [[Luther P. Bradley]] against the Confederate pickets from General [[St. John R. Liddell]]'s brigade holding the crossroads at the gap. Bradley's men were screened by Colonel Thomas J. Harrison's [[39th Indiana Infantry Regiment|39th Indiana Mounted Infantry Regiment]] armed with [[Spencer repeating rifle]]s. Harrison's [[mounted infantry]] moved so quickly they captured the crossroad at a cost of only one man wounded. Hearing the gap was lightly defended, McCook wanted to take advantage of the situation and sent Brig. Gen. [[August Willich]]'s [[Horn Brigade]] forward. Though the gap was held in fact only by two Arkansas infantry regiments and an artillery battery, Willich determined they were in a good defensible position. Willich attempted to flank the Confederates with the [[32nd Indiana Infantry Regiment|32nd Indiana Infantry]] on the left and Harrison's mounted infantry on the right. The Union and Confederate forces launched attacks and counter-attacks while McCook sent forward the 77th Pennsylvanian and 29th Indiana infantry regiments for support. Liddell saw the futility of attempting to hold the gap and withdrew his forces.<ref>[http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/Battle_of_Liberty_Gap Battle of Liberty Gap]</ref>

On June 25 Liddell planned to renew the fight by stalling the Union advance through the gap. Liddell's division commander, [[Patrick R. Cleburne]] sent forward reinforcements. Late in the morning Liddell opened the fight against Willich's Union brigade. A see-saw battle ensued as both sides brought forward reinforcements. During the fighting Colonel [[John Franklin Miller (senator)|John F. Miller]] of the 29th Indiana Infantry was seriously wounded, losing an eye.<ref>Eicher p.390</ref> Willich also had an opportunity to test a tactic he developed while a [[prisoner of war]] he called “advanced firing”. Using the [[49th Ohio Infantry]] Willich deployed the men in four rows. The first row fired a volley while the fourth row moved forward between the men to fire another volley. Continuing this process allowed the soldiers to keep up a continuous line of fire while moving forward at the same time.<ref>[http://www.15thohio.4t.com/custom2.html 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry]</ref> Liddell's brigade was finally forced from the field while [[S.A.M. Wood]]'s neighboring brigade was brought forward but darkness ended the fighting before Wood's men could effectively be brought into action leaving the Federals in control of the gap.

==Aftermath== Although slowed by rain, Rosecrans moved on, forcing Bragg to give up his defensive line and fall back to Tullahoma. Rosecrans sent a flying column (Wilder's Lightning Brigade, the same that had spearheaded the thrust through Hoover's Gap on the 24th) ahead to hit the railroad in Bragg's rear. Arriving too late to destroy the Elk River railroad bridge, the Federals tore up much track around Decherd. Bragg evacuated Middle Tennessee.<ref name=ABPP/>

==References== * Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]]. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}. {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/tx-wotr/id/1825/rec/108 Map of the Skirmishes near Liberty Gap, Tenn. June 24-26, 1863]

[[Category:Tullahoma campaign]] [[Category:Battles of the Middle Tennessee Operations of the American Civil War|Liberty Gap]] [[Category:Union victories of the American Civil War|Liberty Gap]] [[Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Tennessee|Liberty Gap]] [[Category:June 1863]]