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On the same day, there was a smart contest at the railway crossing of
Overall's Creek, five miles north of Murfreesboroa, where there was a block-house well-manned and armed.
General Thomas was unwilling to relax his hold upon
Chattanooga, and endeavored to keep open the railway communication between himself and
Granger, at
Stevenson.
For that purpose, he placed
General Rousseau, with eight thousand troops, in Fort Rosecrans,
1 at Murfreesboroa.
When the block-house at
Overall's Creek was attacked
by
Bate's division of
Cheatham's corps,
General Milroy was sent out from Fort Rosecrans with a small force to its assistance.
The little garrison held it firmly until
Milroy came, when the assailants were quickly driven away.
During the next three days,
Bate was re-enforced by two divisions of infantry and about twenty-five hundred cavalry, and then menaced Fort Rosecrans, but did not actually assail it.
Buford's cavalry, after its batteries had opened briskly upon Murfreesboroa, dashed into the town,
but they were quickly expelled by a regiment of infantry, when they swept around by way of
Lebanon, to the
Cumberland, with the intention of getting upon
Thomas's communications with
Louisville by rail.
The gunboats patrolling the river foiled their designs.
On the same day,
Milroy went out again with a stronger force, and fought the
Confederates on the
Wilkeson pike, routing them, with a loss on his part of two hundred and five men killed and wounded, and capturing from his antagonist over two hundred men and two guns.
For a week after this the cold was intense, and little of importance was done.
The soldiers of both armies felt its severity much; but the
Confederates, more thinly clad and more exposed than the Nationals, suffered most.
The torpor of that week was advantageous to
Thomas, and when, on the 14th, the cold abated, he was ready to take the offensive, and gave orders accordingly.
Hood was then behind strong intrenchments, extending from the
Hillsboroa pike around to the Murfreesboroa railroad.
Thomas ordered a general advance upon
Hood from his right, early on the morning of the 15th,
while
Steedman should make a vigorous demonstration from his left upon
Hood's right, to distract him. The country that morning was covered with a dense fog, and it did not rise until near noon. This, with the hilly character of the ground, gave
Thomas a great advantage, and
Steedman's attack, east of the
Nolensville pike, caused
Hood to strengthen his right at the expense of his left and center, where the main blow was to be struck.
When
Steedman had completed his prescribed movement, with some loss,
General Smith pressed forward,
en echelon, along the line of the
Hardin pike, while
Wilson's cavalry made a wide circuit to gain the flank of
Hood's infantry on his left.
Johnson's division moved along the
Charlotte pike, on the extreme right, and attacked and routed
Chalmer's cavalry; and late in the afternoon they assaulted a battery at
Bell's Landing, eight miles below
Nashville, in conjunction with gun-boats under
Lieutenant-commander Fitch.
The battery was not captured, but it was abandoned that night.
Meanwhile,
Hatch's division, moving on
Smith's flank, with General
